Redline the Stars - Softcover

It's been more than twenty years since the last Solar Queen novel was published. Memorable adventures like Sargasso of Space took the crew of the small interstellar trade ship across the rim of the galaxy in search of valuable cargo and profitable new markets. Business wasn't easy for small independents like the Solar Queen, but it kept Captain Jellico and his crew busy enough to keep the ship viable - and along the way, their adventures have entertained science fiction readers for decades. No matter how perilous their voyages are, the crew has always survived, even Dane Thorson, the Cargo apprentice who seemed to bring his own luck to the ship. And now there's another new crew member: Rael Cofort, half-sister of one of the Queen's chief competitors. Attractive and competent, she just wanted passage to the new port of call, Canuche, in the Halios system. But what seems a simple run becomes a doubly dangerous mission as first a plague of rats and then an explosive crisis on the planetary star docks threaten to end the days of the Solar Queen and wipe out the population of Canuche's capital as well. It's do-or-die time for the Solar Queen...and her mysterious new crew member!

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.