''Stranglers' Moon'' is a 1976

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by American writer

Stephen Goldin Stephen Charles Goldin (born February 28, 1947) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Biography Goldin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A graduate of UCLA with a bachelor's degree in Astronomy, he worked for the U.S. Navy a ...

, the second book in the

Family D'Alembert The Family D'Alembert series is a set of science fiction novels by Stephen Goldin Stephen Charles Goldin (born February 28, 1947) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Biography Goldin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A gr ...

series, the first of which was expanded by Goldin from a novella by E.E. “Doc” Smith. This is the second in a series of ten Family D'Alembert novels. Set in a future where humankind has expanded to the stars but reverted to an old-style feudal system of government in an advanced technological setting, all known planets and space are ruled by an Earth-based Empire.

Plot summary

Jules and Yvette D'Alembert are a brother and sister team of aerialists in the D'Alembert family Circus of the Empire. But they are also legendary agents "Wombat" and "Periwinkle" in SOTE, "The Service of The Empire", the imperial intelligence agency, sent to investigate the disappearance of a planetary economist and his wife on a moon devoted to recreation: seemingly a vacationers' paradise... The plot is based in part on

Thuggee Thuggee (, ) are actions and crimes carried out by Thugs, historically, organised gangs of professional robbers and murderers in India. The English word ''thug'' traces its roots to the Hindi ठग (), which means 'swindler' or 'deceiver'. Rela ...

External links

* 1976 American novels 1976 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Pyramid Books books {{1970s-sf-novel-stub