Title attributed to Andre Norton

The X Factor

Bibliography ~

¯ (1965) * Published by Harcourt Brace, HC, LCCN 65017992, $3.25, 191pg ~ Cover Richard Powers {Orange Cloth Boards}

¯ (1967) * Published by Gollancz, HC, 0-575-00213-1, £ 15s (180p), 192pg ~ UK printing ~ cover by Alan Breese {Dark Green Boards}

¯ (1967) * Published by ACE, PB, # G-646, $0.50, 158pg ~ cover and illustrated by Jack Gaughan ~ as of 1972 the copyright page credits Jack Gaughan as cover artists but it does not match his style.

¯ (1981) * Published by Fawcett, PB, 0-449-24395-8, $2.25, 191pg ~ cover by Ken Barr

¯ (1984) * Published by Ballantine Del Rey, PB, 0-345-31557-X, $2.50, 191pg ~ cover by Laurence Schwinger

¯ The Game of Stars and Comets (2009) * Published by BAEN, HC, 1-416-59155-9, $24.00, 480pg ~ cover by Bob Eggleton ~ Omnibus containing Eye of the Monster (1972), The Sioux Spaceman (1966), Voorloper (1980) & The X Factor (1965)

Non English Editions ~

¯ (1973) Published in Rastatt, Germany; by Pabel, OCLC: 70854714, 159pg ~ translated by Udo H. Schwager ~ German title Der faktor X

Synopsis ~

Diskan Fentress was rejected as mentally unsuitable for Scout training; his size and great strength mark him as a throwback. Since his mother's death in childbirth and his father's disappearance in space left him in state custody, he wound up assigned to manual labor - until the day Renfry Fentress reappeared. Renfry had found a new civilization, and even a wife among his adopted people - but knowing that they could not have children, he sought out his son. But Diskan, despite - or because of - the endless patience, charm, and tact of his father's adopted people, is utterly alone among strangers, marked by clumsiness, his great size and strength, and inability to express himself. Anyone who has ever felt like an outsider will appreciate how his isolation is drawn here - and will understand why he gives in to temptation. Fleeing from an embarrassing scene of (accidentally) shattered artwork, Diskan hides in Renfry's study - and steals a voyage tape for Mimir, a world marked as only partially explored and having some mystery about it. His journey in a stolen spaceship brings him into contact with a Zacathan archeologist, the Guild, and the ruins of an alien civilization. Or are they really ruins ~ could Mimir still be inhabited?

Non-English Covers

(Click on image to enlarge)

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