Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids

Reissued after seventy-five years out of print--and in hardcover for the first time in a generation--Lucky Starr and the Pirates of Asteroids is the second book in the Lucky Starr series written by the legendary Isaac Asimov, author of Foundation, the Galactic Empire series, and I, Robot. The Lucky Starr series was originally published under the pseudonym Paul French.

Lucky Starr's Ergometrics probed space with widely stretching fingers. It detected many ships, but Lucky watched only for the one which he would recognize with certainty the instant it appeared.

Nor did he fail. At a distance of twenty million miles, the first quiverings roused his suspicions. At one hundred thousand miles, his telescope showed it as a faint dot. At ten thousand, it had form and shape--it was the flagship of Anton, the pirate chieftain!

At a thousand miles, Lucky sent out his first message--a demand that Anton return to Earth. At one hundred miles, Lucky received his reply--a blast of energy that made his generators whine and rocked his ship as if he had collided with another.

Lucky's tired face took on a drawn look.

Anton's ship was heavily armed. It was not what Lucky had expected ...

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), one of the best-known and most successful authors to emerge from the golden age of science fiction, was born in the Soviet Union and came to the United States in 1923. He earned his PhD in chemistry in 1948, and in 1958 became a full-time writer. His writings include the Foundation series; I, Robot; Tomorrow's Children; and numerous works of nonfiction touching on a range of scientific topics. Among his accolades are six Hugo Awards, a SFWA Grand Master Award, and high praise from such luminaries as Kurt Vonnegut, Arthur C. Clarke, and Gene Roddenberry.