Xapz! Lion Loose by James H. Schmitz

Lion Loose

James H. Schmitz

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12

The most dangerous of animals is not the biggest and fiercest—but the one that's hardest to stop. Add intelligence to that ... and you may come to a wrong conclusion as to what the worst menace is....

Heslet Quillan is visiting the Seventh Star Hotel when he's contacted by the beautiful operative Reetal Destone. Reetal has discovered that a criminal gang plans to blow up the hotel, and she wants Quillan's help. To further complicate matters, the Seventh Star Hotel is an outpost in space, so there's nowhere to go to escape.

The short story "Lion Loose" introduces the character Heslet Quillan, who later plays a major role in Schmitz's novel Legacy

James H. Schmitz was a popular science fiction writer of the 1960s. Most of his work was originally published in science fiction magazines and later anthologized or expanded into novels. Schmitz is probably best known for his novel The Witches of Karres.

"Lion Loose" first appeared in Analog Science Fact & Fiction in October 1961. It was recently released by Baen Books as part of the anthology Trigger & Friends.

In the Trigger & Friends anthology, Heslet Quillan also appears in the short story "Forget It." However, this was a change made by editor Eric Flint. The story was originally entitled "Planet of Forgetting," and the central character was Major Wade Colgrave.

Click here to read "Lion Loose" online.