Telzey Amberdon
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Average rating3
15
Ratings4
Average rating3
Telzey Amberdon was only in her teens when she discovered that she was a telepath. Not only a telepath, but a xenotelepath, able to communicate mentally not just with humans, but with alien intelligences. And she turned out to be one of the most powerful telepaths in the history of the galactic civilization called the Hub.
First she had to deal with an alien race that humans hadn't realized were intelligent, and who were about to eliminate those troublesome humans who thought they were colonizing an uninhabited world. Then, she had to fend off the secret psi agents of the Psychological Corps who took a dim view of any telepath, let alone one with Telzey's powers, operating outside of their control. Next, she stumbled across a telepathic serial killer, who used an unstoppable predator, under his mental control, to hunt and kill his victims -- and Telzey was to be the catch of the day.
It was fortunate for the human race that she survived, since she next found herself in the middle of a secret war between two hidden races of genetically engineered humans. They called it the "Lion Game," and they made the mistake of thinking that in this clash of predators, Telzey was just a harmless kitten. But when the dust settled, Telzey would be the only one purring....
Series
2 primary books4 released booksTelzey and Trigger is a 4-book series with 2 primary works first released in 1964 with contributions by James H. Schmitz.
Series
5 released booksThe Hub is a 5-book series first released in 1964 with contributions by James H. Schmitz.
Reviews with the most likes.
I first encountered Telzey long ago, perhaps in the 1970s or even the 1960s; and I have some affection for her and for Schmitz's work in general.
However, this is old-style sf and not really great fiction by modern standards. If you don't mind old-style sf, the Telzey stories are still quite readable and entertaining; the couple of non-Telzey stories added at the end of this volume are duller stuff.
Telzey is a 15-year-old genius (we're told!) who is also a powerful telepath, though untrained and inexperienced. A supergirl, in fact, although her powers are mental rather than physical.
Having created this supergirl, Schmitz then had to find situations and opponents difficult enough to challenge her, which in his own way he managed to do.
