Legacy
by James Schmitz

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 themthen disappeared. Trigger Argee was his closest associateshe means to find him. She's brilliant, beautiful, and skilled in every known martial art. She's worth plentydead or aliveto more than one faction in this obscure battle. And she's beginning to have a chilling notion that the long-vanished Masters of the Old Galaxy were wise when they exiled the plasmoids to the most distant and isolated world they knew.... (Summary from book jacket) Originally published in 1962 as "A Tale of Two Clocks"

Schmitz is best known as a writer of so-called "space opera", and for strong female characters (such as Telzey Amberdon and Trigger Argee) that didn't conform to the damsel in distress stereotype typical of science fiction during the time he was writing. His first published story was "Greenface", published in August 1943 in Unknown.
Most of his works are part of the "Hub" series, though his best known novel is The Witches of Karres, concerning juvenile "witches" with genuine psi-powers and their escape from slavery. Karres was nominated for a Hugo Award...wikipedia
Approx Running Time: 7 hours 45 mins

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