Great space opera and did not feel dated to me, despite the fact that it is 65 years old now.

The story is told from the perspective of a new cargo apprentice, traveling on his first Trade ship. I liked Dane and look forward to reading more about him and his shipmates. ( )

Norton, Andre (a.k.a. Andrew North). Sargasso of Space. 1955. Solar Queen No. 1. Open Road Media, 2014.
Andre Norton’s Solar Queen series is not one of the enduring science fiction monuments of the 1950s, such as Fahrenheit 451, I, Robot, or The Stars My Destination; it is not even up there with Starship Troopers. It is, nevertheless, a book I probably read and enjoyed when I was 11 or 12 in the 1950s, and I enjoy it still. Apprentice Cargo-Master Dane of the independent trade Solar Queen is a likeable young man who learns from experience negotiating with aliens on newly opened planets. The crew of the Queen are a well-individualized set of characters who have believable relationships with each other. Sadly, Norton still felt compelled to make space travel a boy's club, and the cool-your-rockets space opera slang is hard to take, though it is no worse than Heinlein got away with in some of his juveniles. Still 4 stars from me. ( )

Sargasso of Space by Andre Norton

This is a well-paced adventure with a mystery to solve.

The crew of the Solar Queen, a free-trader starship, buys commercial rights to a distant world at an auction. At first, they are disappointed to learn that the planet is just a war-ravaged remnant of what it once was, but after arriving there they find much more than they had bargained for.

The story is well written and quite absorbing, but it does not possess much introspective depth. Characterization of crew members is also a little bland, although descriptions of their different personalities are distinct enough. There are no female characters, and even the shipboard cat (Sinbad) is male. The book was originally published under the pseudonym "Andrew North".

It has a couple of elements which I really like, such as a planet with ancient advanced technology left behind by a vanished alien race, and a graveyard of crashed spaceships, some of which are at least centuries old. I found the archaeological aspect intriguing, along with the idea that the geometry and colors of "Forerunner" buildings and structures cause human observers to feel considerable unease.

Although some of the equipment used by the crew seems primitive by today's standards (for example, their communications devices and perhaps even the shape of the spacecraft), these details are not hard to forgive considering that this story was first published in 1955. I enjoyed the explanation of the dangers of hyperspace travel, and I certainly think that there are plenty of other fascinating ideas and descriptions in this work to keep the reader engaged.





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Although written in the 1950s, Sargasso of Space did not read like a stereotypical early SciFi. The plot flowed along nicely with the technical aspects only vaguely described, which not only made the book more timely but more believable. I enjoyed reading this, and will look for other books in the Solar Queen series. ( )

It was ok. Made me reread 'Catseye' and 'The Beast Master' which I have loved over many years. This seems a very slight book by comparison. It always gives me a surprise to remember Andre Norton is a woman as I always think of her as a male writer - probably because she doesn't have any women characters at all! Not something I noticed when I was a teenager. ( )