Key Out of Time

Andre Norton's Key Out of Time launches readers into a brisk science-fantasy quest where stranded outsiders, ancient powers, and alien intelligence collide. From the eerie "Lotus World" to the sea-roads of Hawaika, Ross Murdock and his allies race to uncover a secret buried beneath the waves before the Baldies and the Foanna turn the planet's hidden past into a weapon. The novel moves from mystery to open conflict as Ross survives a dragonlike sea predator, uncovers a metal-lined ruin on the ocean floor, and begins to suspect that a lost civilization once shaped this world. Captured by sea-rovers, Ross wins respect through courage, quick thinking, and skilled nonlethal combat, then maneuvers for information about the Foanna and the "star men" who have slaughtered Hawaikan crews with fire-tubes and a terrifying mental compulsion. As the survivors regroup, they face devastating losses and devise a desperate trap to draw the enemy out. When Ross infiltrates a Baldy ship, sabotages its systems, and improvises a false ceremonial identity to survive, the story becomes a tense blend of espionage, telepathy, and survival against a danger lurking both above and beneath the sea. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.