A psychic sorceress, a telepathic adventurer, and deformed ex-slave use their extrasensory powers to stop an intergalactic organization of thieves from looting the planets.

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About the Author

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.  

A crippled child seeking courage and identity. An exiled sorceress seeking redemption. A spaceman in an alien’s body, seeking justice: Three quests joined together beneath a moon of three rings.

Orphaned, deformed, Farree was a beastmerchant’s slave in a spaceport slum. Suddenly he and his only friend, a venomous hunting pet, Toggor the smux, were released by two strangers: Lady Maelen, the Moon Singer, a psychic, body-stealing sorceress; and Lord-One Krip Vorlund, a telepathic ex-Free Trader. With their encouragement, Farree began to learn self-respect as his limited mental rapport with animals grew into a full mind-touch.

But Farree’s freedom brought new perils: Maelen and Krip had earlier stopped the intergalactic Thieves’ Guild from looting Forerunner artifacts, and the pirates had marked them for death. On planet and in space, the three and their beasts repeatedly fought off Guild attacks, as their course led to the planet Yiktor—Maelen’s homeworld, from which she had been exiled by her people, the Thassa mindmasters. But now she had to return: a secret Guild plot centered on Yiktor, the pirates had perfected a mind shield, and the non-technological Thassa might not be able to stop the plundering of their world.

Thus, with Farree, Krip and Maelen each helping and protecting the others, the triple quests began. One would lead to success; one to disaster, destruction and terrifying devastation. And one would lead to an incredible transformation, to the emergence of a being whose beauty, grace and power had never before been seen in the galaxy; and to a great—and possibly unsolvable—mystery…