Beast Master's Ark

Rating:
Summary: Updates don't always work
Review: This book is a sequel to the two books in the "Beast Master" series (NO resemblence to the movie/TV version, which is good) about the discharged stellar commando Hosteen Storm. As with many other recent books by Norton, she has a co-author here, who probably wrote most or all of the book.
In general the style of Miss Norton's old SF novels is kept too, but the writing seems a little different, and the dialogue less natural.
The attempt to update the technology with lasers instead of blasters does not work for me, sticking with the original would have been better. Similarly, the discussion of how Earth was "burned off" makes no sense.
The other break from the original is that the Xiks are back as a power, albeit a constrained one. I got the impression the Xik worlds were destroyed from the originals. In the final fight with the Xik "aper" in the first book Storm distracts him by taunting him that he is alone, his home destroyed. But I guess that wouldn't be PC these days.
Overall a decent read, but not as good as the original.

Rating:
Summary: Beast Master's Ark
Review: When I first saw the advertisement for this book, I was skeptical as to it's quality.When I picked it up and actually started reading it, I didn't want to stop reading.It was that good.I also enjoyed Beast Master's Circus also written by Andre Norton.You can't read one with out reading the other.