Eye of the Monster

By Andre Norton

Book Overview

Good copy. No apparent markings throughout. Spine is solid. General wear. Ships out quickly. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B005T18E0S
• Release Date: January 1962
• Publisher: Ace Books
• Length: 135 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Eye of the Spider

Eye of the Monster (1962) is a short SF novel set in the universe of the Solar Queen series, but further in the future. The Council of the South Sector Empire has decided to let the natives govern their own planet and have withdrawn their military forces. The offworlders have been warned that they will be on their own after the Patrol leaves. In this novel, Rees Naper is an orphan whose closest relative is his uncle, Milo Naper. Rees was a Survey brat and had been attending the Survey Academy when his father failed to return from a mission. Since his mother had already passed, Milo took Rees out of the Academy and brought him to Ishkur. Dr. Milo Naper is a missionary to the Ishkurians. He has very different opinions about the Ishkurians than his nephew. In fact, they disagree about almost everything, particularly about the use of military force. Despite their disagreements, Milo has custody of Rees and refuses to let him return to the Academy. Gordy Beltz is the young son of two missionaries. He has known no other home than the Ishkurian jungles. Sometimes he tags along with Rees on normal tasks around the mission. Zannah is a Salarika cubling and is probably younger than Gordy. Rees finds her in a pit trap and rescues her. But the trap was poisoned with ka thorns and he goes to the mission office to get the only known antidote. Isiga is second-companion to Lord Sakfor. She has been living at the Salarikan trade compound, but comes looking for Zannah. Her meeting with Rees at the mission is more than a little painful. In this story, the Ishkurians -- Crocs -- start killing off all the offworlders within reach. They hit the mission first and then the Salarikan compound. Rees and Gordy now have no living kin on the planet and Isiga and Zannah are the only surviving Salarikans. Rees has some small knowledge -- practically none -- in xenopsychology. His father's notes suggest that he try to "think like a spider". He knows a little about the reptilian natives, but nobody really knows how they think. Nonetheless, he uses what little he knows to anticipate the moves of the Crocs. The mission copter was supposed to return after delivering the fleeing missionaries, but had not done so. All the other copters are now gone. So Rees uses a roller to travel about in the jungle. It is a hunting vehicle, so it does have some useful tools and instruments, including a flamer. Rees takes the roller -- which also has jump capabilities -- toward the mountains. If they can reach the Wrexul plantation, they should be safe. As they are jumping along the river, a force beam passes close to the roller. They barely manage to crash on the river bank. This tale is not one of the major works by the author. It seems to reflect current events of that era. The story seems most similar to the native uprisings in Africa. Many missionaries lost their lives on the dark continent before the natives established more or less stable governments. The