Book Review: Derelict For Trade by Andre Norton and Sherwood Smith

Book:  Derelict For Trade by Andre Norton and Sherwood Smith (1998), 283 pages.

    Andre Norton, as some of you probably know, was one of the most prolific science fiction and fantasy authors of the 1950s - 1970s. Although not producing anything as deep or weighty as other authors of that era such as Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, or Herbert, she produced generally good yarns suitable for a teenage audience. 

    A couple of my favorite books when I was an early teen, in fact, were by Norton: Daybreak 2250 A.D. (a post-apocalypse novel which I've previously reviewed) and Sargasso of Space. The latter book recounted the exploits of the fictional Dane Thorson, a new graduate of the space equivalent of the merchant marine, who joins the crew of the "free trader" Solar Queen--a small starship serving as an independent trader and freight vessel along the fringes of human space, combining elements of exploration, the age of the Yankee trader, and the Western/cowboy genre. Andre Norton went on to write a couple more Solar Queen novels including Plague Ship and Postmarked the Stars, as well as a novella entitled Voodoo Planet. As befitted the time period and intended audience of teenage boys, the primary protagonist in the books was the young Dane Thorson. 

    In the 1990s, three more books were introduced to the series, each written with the help of another writer. The first, which I have not read, was Redline the Stars (1993), written with P. M. Griffin, and the latter two were Derelict for Trade and A Mind for Trade both published in 1997 and co-written with Sherwood Smith. I recently finished Derelict for Trade.

    As a stand alone book, Derelict for Trade is an acceptable space opera adventure. The crew of the Solar Queen exits hyperspace into a new star system running on fumes and low on cash when they hit something that throws them on a collision course with the primary habitat in the system, facing the choice of possible destruction or losing their ship to pay off rescue fees. Fortunately, though, the object they collided with is a derelict ship. Able to syphon enough fuel off the derelict ship to regain control of the Solar Queen, they dock at the habitat (inhabited mostly by humans and two alien species, each with different gravity requirements). The crew then begins the process of claiming salvage on the derelict and scrounging up a new cargo to haul before the docking fees eat up their available cash.

    But there is something off about the history of the derelict. Although apparently lost months earlier according to the official records, there were two cats on the derelict that had been abandoned for no more than a few weeks; and a hidden data storage found in the hydroponics room refers to a ship with a different name. 

    As the crew unravels the mystery of the derelict while navigating a bureaucracy involving alien species and cultures, they uncover a massive criminal conspiracy involving piracy, hijacking, and fraud. And we get a look at what life in an O'Neill Cylinder might be like. 

    Like I said, a solid if somewhat predictable book suitable for a teen audience.

    What I didn't like about the book, though, was the shift from an adventure story for boys to one oriented toward girls. First, the story shifts from having Dane Thorson as the primary protagonist to a female doctor/psychologist, Rael Cofort, who apparently joined the crew in the 1993 Redline the Stars. Although the Cofort character begins the book as a typical "Mary Sue" the author wisely pulls back from this as the book continues. But counterbalancing this, Thorson is initially downgraded to a bumbling, introvert, although this also corrected as the story progresses. 

    Second, as befits a book intended for girls, the author interjects a romance. Not between Cofort and Thorson (or a crew members her own age) but with the captain of the ship, culminating with their marriage at the end of the story. I guess I should be happy that it was not written today, in which case the romance would probably have been between two (or more) homosexual characters and the danger and adventure would have been completely missing and replaced with some story revolving around taking down the patriarchy. 

    In any event, other than my two gripes (which really only apply to a male reader), it is a decent enough addition to the Solar Queen series--certainly better than Postmarked the Stars or Voodoo Planet if inferior to Sargasso of Space and Plague Ship.