Plague Ship

Readers will remember Cargo-master-apprentice Dane Thornson and his ill-fated ship, the Solar Queen, with its motley crew, from Sargasso of Space. Now the Solar Queen is on the look out for new business, and buys the right to trade on Sargol, a planet rich in exotic gems and valuable oils, inhabited by a sly feline people. But their most ruthless competitor, Inter-Solar, has arrived there before them. The Solar Queen's try to play fair, but it is only after take-off that the space-trader's most desperate hours begin. The crew are struck down by a deadly, unknown disease; as a "Plague Ship" they are not permitted to land anywhere, and other ships have orders that they are to be destroyed on sight. With this thrilling space story, Andre Norton justifies her position as one of the top writers of science fiction for young people.