Moonsinger - Andre Norton

Moonsinger
Andre Norton
Baen Books
Copyright: 2006
ISBN: 9781416555179

The amazon.com product description:

Moon of Three Rings: It is the time of the Moon of the Three Rings when the Free Trader ship Lydis lands on the primitive world of Yiktor, a world the Combine was seeking to control for the power the Three Rings would bring them. The life of a Free Trader was all junior crew member Krip Vorlund knew. That life ended at a beast show on Yiktor when Vorlund was strangely attracted to the owner of the show animals, a delicate and mysterious woman named Maelen. Too soon Vorlund learned the nature of Maelen's sorcery, too soon he is caught up in the struggle over the fate of a world…. But his soul would remain his own.


Exiles of the Stars: The galactic trade ship Lydis is making a run to the planet Thoth when a civil war lands her in a battle of ancient powers and nameless evil, with a Forerunner treasure at its heart. The crew seems normal—until you look closely at two of its members: Krip Vorlund, a man who walks in a body not his own, and his pet, a four-legged beast hiding the mind of Maelen the Moon Singer, a woman whose esper powers can save them all—or bring them to eternal destruction.

Publisher's Note: Moonsinger has appeared separately as Moon of Three Rings, and its sequel, Exiles of the Stars. This is the first time the complete saga has appeared in one mass market volume.

This isn't the first time I've read Andre Norton's Moonsinger, but the last time was definitely a few years ago. My original review is here, and it's dated from January 2008, fairly close to the time I started writing All Booked Up. Even then, it wasn't the first time if my memory's correct. I seem to recall reading both the books in their separate editions: Moon of Three Rings and Exiles of the Stars as well, at some point back in the mists of time.

Moonsinger is set in the same world as the original Free Trader/Solar Queen novels, which include: Plague Ship, Redline The Stars, Derelict For Trade and A Mind For Trade, though it's set far into the future from those books. At the same time there are other books involving Krip Vorlund and Maelen which have also been gathered together into an omnibus edition: Moonsinger's Quest, containing Flight in Yiktor and Dare To Go A-Hunting. I know I've read the first of those two books - the review is here, but I can't remember if I've read Dare To Go A-Hunting.

Although it's a part of the same world as the above series, Moonsinger and it's sequels also stand alone - to an extent, even from each other - at least, that's the feeling I got from Flight In Yiktor after reading Moon of Three Rings and Exiles of the Stars.