SILENCE IS DEADLY

Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1977. First edition. A fine copy in a very good dust jacket with mild color fade and a few rub marks to the spine panel. (21691). Octavo, boards. A Jan Darzek novel. "This further chapter in the adventures of Jan Darzek and the Galactic Synthesis Council (see The Darkening Universe, 1975) also resurrects an idea treated by Biggle as a short story twenty years ago. The scene is the planet of Kamm, populated by a pre-industrial human civilization with two oddities: the natives are all stone-deaf, and they maintain a singularly cruel religion designed to propitiate a mythical ""Winged Beast"" of dreadful powers. There is indeed a Darwinian relationship between these two facts and the inexplicable rumors of the Kammians' possessing a death-ray weapon. If you don't immediately discern it, it's because Biggle has done a nice job of suspenseful camouflage; he also has a lot of fun setting up his silent planet from the point of view (or ear) of troubleshooter Darzek. Not really memorable, but ingenious and pleasant." - Kirkus Reviews, 18 November, 1977.