Martha E.
This is an entertaining, quick, vintage sci fi.
There are less than a handful of crew on the Solar Queen as it starts a demoted trek from trade to international a mail carrier. Before their route begins, they are visited by a chief ranger seeking help on his home planet Khatka. Khatka is a colony planet inhabited by descendants of people from Africa who escaped from Earth. The people have developed special skills and developed a combined clan effort to promote a successful luxury hunting vacation to the wealthy in the universe. But there appears to be a new problem with poachers and one of the clan families is becoming unstable.
Chief Ranger, Kort Asaki, asks the Captain to come with his Medic Tau to observe and, if needed, intervene to challenge an unstable ‘witch’ doctor. Dale, the Queen’s “general errand boy” is fortunate to get to travel on the unexpected safari.
The investigative team arrives at a game park to be greeted with a frightening display of a hypnotic dance that resembles voodoo rituals (thus the title Voodoo Planet). They set off on a journey over the mountains where teams have gone but never returned. Can they survive the natural dangers, the hallucinations and the threats of human enemies?
This read fine as a stand-alone although it is apparently a sequel. The story is told in third person with a good blend of dialogue and narrative. There is plenty of action and intrigue. I liked the ironic trick that was used to face the magic. I enjoy reading Andre Norton especially when I realize that she is a female author who wrote in 1950s.
Audio Notes: Mark Nelson does a nice job narrating this as a public domain work. Although he doesn't focus on voice characters, he still gives energy to the story. I am glad I listened to this on audio.
