A Providence, Rhode Island resident teams up with his beloved, antiquarian uncle in studying why a decrepit 18th century house has been left vacant for so long. It appears that anyone who lives in the house long enough goes crazy and/or wastes to death. Of course, our protagonists decide to spend an evening in the cellar of the house...
The story is described as a "duel of the cosmic magicians." It involves two witch doctors who conjure up ghosts and demons against each other and might appear to be fantasy. But Norton bases the wizards' magic on the use of mildly hallucinogenic drugs, psychological manipulation and latent telepathy, which place the story within the realm of science fiction.
The Planet Savers, introduces the reader to the now legendary world of Gotten IV., and it reveals the awesome and terrifying powers of the infamous Sharra Matrix.
Consider the plasmoids...Ancient living machines that after millennia of stillness suddenly begin to move under their own power, for reasons that remain a mystery to men. Holati Tate discovered them - then disappeared. Trigger Argee was his closet associate - she means to find him. She's brilliant, beautiful, and skilled in every known martial art. She's worth plenty - dead or alive - to more than one faction in this obscure battle.
The ability to read minds isn't an unmixed blessing, so learns George Hanlon, Secret Operative of the Inter-Stellar Corps. His unique gift helps him with his assignments, of course -- except that he has a lot of trouble with alien minds. He encounters a whole planet full of alien minds on Estrella when the semi-human inhabitants of this Earth-like world of another sun decide that they want nothing to do with the Federation Planets.
Kenneth j Malone of the FBI(that's right and from the queen's own FBI!) is back and late model red Cadillacs are being stolen, no suspects are ever seen and it's his job to figure out who, why and how.