Beast Master's Ark (Beast Master Originals Series,) - Hardcover

Norton, Andre; McConchie, Lyn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0765300419 ISBN 13: 9780765300416

Publisher: Tor Books, 2002

Synopsis

Grand new Beast Master adventure

Death-which-Comes-in-the-Night

More than thirty years ago in Beast Master and Lord of Thunder, Andre Norton created a memorable character, Hosteen Storm. A Native American soldier for Earth, he barely escaped his doomed home world when the Xic destroyed it. Armed with his soldier's skills, his ancestors' insights, and an uncanny ability to communicate mind-to-mind with animals, Storm is a hero unlike any other in science fiction.

Now, science fiction Grand Master Andre Norton has teamed up with Lyn McConchie to pit Storm against his most dangerous enemy yet: Death-which-Comes-in-the-Night.

It is silent. It leaves no tracks. The only evidence that remains is the perfectly cleaned bones of its victims. And it has developed a taste for humans.

No one has survived an attack yet, and the natives of Storm's adopted planet, Arzor, are moving in on human territory as they try to escape the silent scourge. The already high tensions between Humans and Natives soar, sparking a race against time as Storm attempts to solve the mystery of Death-which-comes-in-the-Night before Humans and Natives clash.

But he can't do it without help from Tani, a genetic engineer from the Ark, a ship traveling space with genetic material from across the galaxy, including the destroyed Earth. But Tani has been poisoned against Beast Masters by her mother. She must conquer her own unreasoning hatred, and awaken the powerful Beast Master in herself, before she and Storm can conquer Death-which-Comes-in-the-Night and uncover the great conspiracy that threatens not only Arzor, but all human-occupied planets.

About this title

About the Author:

For well over a half century, Andre Norton has been one of the most popular science fiction and fantasy authors in the world. Since her first SF novels were published in the 1940s, her adventure SF has enthralled readers young and old. With series such as Time Traders, Solar Queen, Forerunner, Beast Master, Crosstime, and Janus, as well as many stand-alone novels, her tales of action and adventure throughout the galaxy have drawn countless readers to science fiction.

Her fantasy, including the best-selling Witch World series, her "Magic" series, and many other unrelated novels, has been popular with readers for decades. Lauded as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, she is the recipient of a Life Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Convention. Not only have her books been enormously popular; she also has inspired several generations of SF and fantasy writers, especially many talented women writers who have followed in her footsteps. In the past two decades she has worked with other writers on a number of novels. Most notable among these are collaborations with Mercedes Lackey, the Halfblood Chronicles, as well as collaborations with A.C. Crispin (in the Witch World series) and Sherwood Smith (in the Time Traders and Solar Queen series). An Ohio native, Ms. Norton lived for a number of years in Winter Park, Florida, and now makes her home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where she continues to write, and presides over High Hallack, a writers' resource and retreat.

Lyn McConchie has been collaborating successfully with Andre Norton since the early 1990s, first via mail and more recently via e-mail, bridging the equator and most of the Earth's oceans to write rousing SF adventures together. Ms. McConchie lives in New Zealand.

From Publishers Weekly:

On the planet Arzor, Terrans must not only win over the indigenous Nitri but face a common enemy, the mysterious Death by Night, which leaves only skeletons behind, in this long-awaited addition to the Beast Master series from SF Grand Master Norton and New Zealander McConchie. Earth itself is now only a memory, a charred cinder in space destroyed by the ruthless Xik invaders. The human survivors have populated other planets, and their travels on the Ark have the dull regularity of a daily commute. The Nitri accept 19-year-old Tani, the book's naive, winsome heroine, because she's of Cheyenne Indian stock on her father's side. Despite physical differences, the Cheyenne and the Nitri share much in terms of custom, speech and tradition. The Xik killed Tani's father, who as a Beast Master had an affinity with animals. Her Irish mother, however, had mistrusted such people and taught Tani to loathe them. Since Tani will one day become a Beast Master, she must overcome the prejudice instilled by her mother. Through her special understanding of animals, Tani gains the affections of a fierce, horse-like Duocorn, among other wondrous creatures. The plot proceeds at a leisurely pace as the authors dwell on tribal ways, but Tani and her animal companions take on the Death by Night in an exciting climax that should leave fans eager for the next installment.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0765300419
• ISBN 13: 9780765300416
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320