The Zero Stone

© 1968 by Andre Norton

Hmm. It seems like the past two-dozen science fiction paperbacks I’ve read involved survival on a very dangerous jungle planet. Most of PJF’s stuff from the beginning of the year, Omnivore to a certain extent, Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, and now, The Zero Stone.

It started off well enough. A young lad named Murdoc apprenticing to be a merchant of exotic items; an aloof and powerful father mysteriously murdered; a ring of unknown origin and powers, coveted by many for obscure reasons. The fairly straightforward story of just-what-the-heck-is-this-ring-exactly takes quite a few space-operish turns. An alien being named Eet (born of a cat) suddenly pops in to accompany Murdoc in his quest to find the makers of the ring – the “Zero Stone.” Soon they’re on the jungle planet, pursued by indigenous nasties, captured by pirates after the stone, and in an uneasy alliance with a not-completely-incorruptible Galactic Patrolman.

Not bad for a plotline; I’ve certainly read worse. Yet I found myself unable to really fall into the story, unable to visualize the characters in action. Instead I remained conscious that I was reading a story. Ever happen to you?

[Side note: speaking of “space opera,” I experienced this same disconnect when reading one of Doc Smith’s Lensman books, and I noted this about halfway through The Zero Stone …]

Additionally, Eet’s identity and background are never satisfactorily explained, nor is anything in this “universe” where our hero lives and breathes. What are the sentient races? How many habitable planets are there? How long has the Galactic Patrol existed? Is it a force for good or selfishness in this universe? What are the cultures of the planets in Murdoc’s universe? Their languages, belief systems (okay, that’s interestingly handled in the very first chapter), levels of technology?

So much left out. Now, normally this isn’t a bad thing. The best books I’ve read authors leave a whole lot out, leave a whole lot to the reader’s imagination. But they don’t leave a vacuum – they drop hints. Their characters mention interesting tangents and let them drop. A line of exposition leads in a certain direction. A recollection here, a word spoken in warning there. Suggestions and teases. All these things add up and build a universe in your mind.

I did not experience this in The Zero Stone. It was perhaps the main reason I never made it through one of Norton’s more famous works, Witch World, which I struggled with over a week or two a decade ago. Yeah, I kinda sorta liked Voorloper, but that read was more of “taking care of unfinished business” than a labor of love. So, although the story had potential and I liked the characters, I can’t recommend this book.

Grade: C. It started off very well but then faltered and never regained its promise. Now – a moratorium on jungle planets!