reasie's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good one. It's got a lot in it - cat-people, duels and feasts, weird critters, and clever plot twists as a Big Corporation tries to steal a trade contract from our Free Trade heroes.
For the first third of the novel, honestly, nothing seems to phase the Solar Queen crew but I was enjoying the cat people so I didn't mind, then their real troubles begin after they lift off - and a mysterious illness has them labeled a plague ship and banned from landing anywhere - with only the four youngest members of the crew unaffected!
Theres a lot of 'action story' logic to look askance at, but overall the conclusion felt fair - the heroes do pay a price for their deeds, and it seems measured, and the way the cargo-master saves their financial day scans well and sets up the next book.
For the first third of the novel, honestly, nothing seems to phase the Solar Queen crew but I was enjoying the cat people so I didn't mind, then their real troubles begin after they lift off - and a mysterious illness has them labeled a plague ship and banned from landing anywhere - with only the four youngest members of the crew unaffected!
Theres a lot of 'action story' logic to look askance at, but overall the conclusion felt fair - the heroes do pay a price for their deeds, and it seems measured, and the way the cargo-master saves their financial day scans well and sets up the next book.
leeroyjenkins's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
tarana's review against another edition
4.0
This turned out to be good despite the slow start. Beginning would have been better had I read the first book. Spacers acquire an illness and not only have to try to fight off the illness, but the powers that be.
dpmcalister's review against another edition
4.0
This was certainly a book of two halves. Both were good, but for different reasons. The first half is a great study in first contact approaches while the second is a breakneck race against time. The first felt slow and plodding but that meant I felt the same as the characters, wishing for something to happen. In the second I could barely stop for breath (again, much like the characters).
tessnightoak's review against another edition
3.0
Wish I could give 3.5 stars. A clever interstellar-intercultural tale with some inventive departures from the tropes of its era, and a first-rate epidemiological mystery when crew members who seem to have little in common start getting sick.
Characterization is limited; it feels in the vein of Golden Age classics where the characters are as much vessels for ideas as anything else. I also found myself yelling at the cast and at Ms Norton for the way certain decisions and events unfolded in the late chapters.
Characterization is limited; it feels in the vein of Golden Age classics where the characters are as much vessels for ideas as anything else. I also found myself yelling at the cast and at Ms Norton for the way certain decisions and events unfolded in the late chapters.
absentminded_reader's review against another edition
3.0
“Plague Ship” by Andre Norton. Good book! It starts off slow with a bit too much info dumping, as was the norm in bygone days, but the world building is top notch, and soon the story clips along at a great pace with a tight narrative. 👍🏻 #MyFirstAndreNorton
pm_ray's review against another edition
3.0
If I had read this in the 70s when I was a teen I probably would have loved it. Even now it compares well to a lot of what was written in the 50s for scifi. A quick easy read if you enjoy classic scifi from that time.
libbet's review against another edition
4.0
Librivox audiobook. Good reading of it. Has been good for keeping my brain occupied while driving to and from Winston. Didn't realize it was the second of a series.
faerylynne's review against another edition
3.0
interesting premise, but not one of ms Norton's better novels. A bit slow and tedious at times.