Forerunner

Two Andre Norton Forerunner novels, Forerunner and Forerunner: The Second Venture, featuring young Forerunner/human hybrid Simsa, collected for the first time in one volume. Forerunner: On ancient port world planet Kuxortal, young Simsa grows up among garbage pickers who live upon the ancient ruins of a fallen galactic civilization-the Forerunners. But Simsa has always been different. When Simsa's mentor dies, she must scrape a poor existence from an unyielding planet. But then Thom, a star ranger, arrives from the heavens, and he leads Simsa on a path to the discovery of her origins that takes both through danger to the ultimate revelation. Forerunner: The Second Venture: Simsa has escaped the criminal guilds of Kuxortal only to find herself held prisoner by starfaring humans intent on discovering the secrets of the Forerunners contained within her. With the aid of her pet zorsal, Simsa escapes her captors and crash lands on a sandy world full of danger and mystery-another world touched by ancient Forerunner civilization. Now Simsa must escape death at alien hands while battling the spirit within her that seeks to possess her very being and transform her into something utterly inhuman.

When a Terran outpost is destroyed by the menacing, insectoid Throgs, two human (and two wolverines) survivors must find a way to survive being hunted on a hostile planet. Only an unlikely alliance with the telepathic, saurian inhabitants-and the wisdom to distinguish between dreams and reality-will lead them out of darkness and towards a united future.

In a sweeping generational saga, the story of Warlock is told by three humans: Shann Lontee was the lowest-ranking member of an exploration team sent to the newly discovered planet Warlock. When the insectile Throgs attacked the base, only he and two trained wolverines escaped. Hunted by the Throgs, he and the wolverines had to survive without technology on an alien world. Then he discovered the Wyvern, who were his only hope-if they weren't an even more deadly menace than the Throgs. Charis Nordholm was sold into slavery by the outlaw colony on the planet Demeter. The trader, Jogon, who holds her contract, was on his way to Warlock to trade with the Wyvern. But the alien witches had ominous plans of their own, and both Charis and Shann Lantee found themselves fighting for their lives. Ziantho's mental powers had made her a valuable asset to the interstellar criminals she worked for. Then she encountered a gem of ancient power and stole it. Pursued both by the stone's owners and the agents of the Patrol, she fled across the galaxy and encountered Ris Lantee who alone could solve the powerful gem's mystery.