Forerunner Foray

Rating:
Summary: A simple little job for an Esper thief...
Review: Don't confuse this book with _Forerunner_ (public libraries sometimes mix them up). They're not part of the same series, in that they don't deal with the same characters or even the same planets, just the same universe. _Forerunner Foray_ is actually 3rd in the Shan Lantee series (see _Storm Over Warlock_, _Ordeal in Otherwhere_), although it won't be apparent until you're well along in the book.

"Forerunner" is a term used to refer to long-dead civilizations, where 'long' is measured in millions of years rather than millenia. Forerunner artifacts are sometimes of immense value, particularly examples of technology that outstrip that of the current galactic civilization. In this universe, archeologists have to compete not only with legitimate government agencies over custody of their finds, but with the Guild, that shadowy, loose organization of the Galaxy's criminals.

The evening our story begins, Ziantha, a Guild Esper, ventures into the office of one of the many power-brokers who reside on the pleasure-planet Korwar. She's not there even to touch any of the valuable artwork - just to use her talent to identify specific computer memory cubes in his safe, and to copy their contents into her own memory without touching them, or leaving any trace. But while her defenses are down for the transfer, she is drawn to one of the artifacts - the ugly lump of rock on the coffee table, which is more than it seems.

Ziantha's superior, the Lady Yasa, organizes an expedition to trace the artifact back to its origins, during which Ziantha is drawn into its past.

This book provides a different view of life on Korwar (the starting point for several of Norton's science fiction novels), more Forerunner civilization(s), and a closer look at the Guild.

Some background information, for flavor: Korwar's capital city, during the Council/Confederation war mentioned in other books (e.g. _Dark Piper_) was the site of a refugee camp. After the war, those whose worlds had been destroyed (or traded away over the peace table), were trapped there, so it became the Dipple, a huge slum blighting the otherwise serene face of Korwar. Troy Horan (_Catseye_) and Niall Renfro (_Judgement on Janus_) were of the first generation, brought there as refugee children; Ziantha is of the next generation, born there.

Ziantha's superior, Lady Yasa, is an example of the interesting supporting cast. She identified Ziantha, then a street child on begging detail, as a potential sensitive, and rescued her from the Dipple. One of the few high-ranking females in the Guild, she operates behind a respectable (and quite real) cover as the operator of a powerful Salariki trading firm. (Did I mention that Yasa is a feline Salarika rather than a human? :) Aliens have crooks too. Equal opportunity organization, the Guild.)

If you like this sidelight on the Guild, you might want to try _The Zero Stone_, whose protagonist is the son of a respected Guild fence and appraiser.

Rating:
Summary: Waystar, the Thieve's Guild and a Forerunner Artifact
Review: Ziantha, another of Andre Norton's outsider characters with a wild talent, was working for Lady Yasa, a Salariki Veep in the Guild, when she was compelled to aport a Forerunner artifact.

If the sentence above means anything to you then settle back, you are going to love Forerunner Foray. If it sounds like so much gobbilty gook then you are in a for a bigger treat-- welcome to the far future world of Andre Norton.

Humanity has spread out to the stars like fluff blown from a dandelion head. Terrans have met alien races, been exposed to alien suns, and mutated until it is hard to say what the original stock was.

Ziantha, the heroine of Forerunner Foray, is Terran to the eye, but she has a wild talent that makes her both feared and valued. She has psychic abilities that first draw her to a chance seen artifact in a room where she is engaged in some highly illegal activity. Unable to forget the item, she later aports it from the apartment with the aid of an alien "pet", kept by Ziantha's employer, much as Ziantha herself is kept. This release of power is noted by a prowling sensitive.

This event is noted by Lady Yasa's superiors and she is warned to disappear for a while. This fits in very well with the Salariki's own plans for Ziantha.

This book gives a closer look at the underworld of the future, including the mysterious Waystar, an outlaw hideout. There is also an interesting adventure story as Ziantha and her puruser are drawn into the past of the source of the Forerunner artifact.

There are some darker themes played out in this story but it's also good space opera and better than average Norton, which is very good indeed.