Tight and almost square - hard to tell if this has been read or not. Age-tanning is mild and uniform; no stamps marks or writing. Back cover has some faint scuffing that probably won't show in the scan (one has to angle the book to catch the light just right to see them.) Left side of cover has a faint almost-scratch down left side, 1" away from spine - nothing very obvious, but enough to keep me from asking a premium price for what I feel is the nicest-looking edition of this book.

We Claim These Stars , a "Flandry" novel by Poul Anderson. Magazine version in Amazing June 1959 as "A Handful of Stars," first paperback was in 1959 as half of an Ace Double, (and later retitled "Hunters of the Sky Cave" when included in Agent of the Terran Empire.) In my opinion, Flandry is the most interesting character that Poul Anderson has come up with, and this is one of the best tales about him.

With the galaxy split in conflict between 2 implacable confederations (the Earth-based Imperium and the Mersian Empire), anything ought to go. But how do you plan the ambush and capture of a tremendously capable telepath? The intended victim (Aycharaych) - a weird genius from an uncharted world, and also the right arm of the Merseian general staff - could perceive not only everything thought close by, but was also able to read minds at a distance. So the problem posed to Dominic Flandry, Captain of Terran Intelligence, was a real killer. To make matters worse, the telepath in question was equally interested in putting Flandry out of commission, since the fate of a great number of planets might depend on which of these two won.