Lee Douglas Brackett. Saga of Skate

Leigh Brackett's name is inscribed with a golden pen among the Great Masters of American Science Fiction. And one of the crowning achievements of this celebrated writer is undoubtedly her series of novels about Eric John Stark, an earthling from Mercury, an adventurer and a man of honor who knows how to stand up for himself and rescue a friend from trouble, no matter where fate takes him. In the heroic vein of world science fiction, the Stark series rightfully ranks among the best of the best.