The Fog of the Moths (author's working title) was published in 1980 under the title of Space Slaves. The publisher, probably much better in tune with market forces and what turned readers on than I ever was, decided on the latter title.

By either title, the book is a story of interstellar pirates in the business of providing slaves to satisfy the erotic whims of overlords in far flung planetary systems. The slavers' operation on planet Earth begins with a series of dense local fogs in which black moth-like creatures seek out and brand beautiful women for capture and transport. Gail, the new bride of science fiction author John Norman, is a budding screen starlet, breath-takingly beautiful -- an ideal candidate for the slavers' purposes.

The "brands" are increasingly unsightly and increasingly hot to the touch; desperate for relief, the affected women respond eagerly when a new ad appears in the media promising to remove blemishes that sound like the brands. The treatment is advertised as being available only in certain secluded clinics, but by contacting representatives, patients can obtain limousine transportation to the sites.

Arriving by themselves at the "clinics," the women are placed in treatment cubicles, learning too late that they are prisoners intended for space shipment to their new masters.

Gail disappears early in the story, and as other famous and beautiful women also vanish, John and some of his friends go into action to find out how and where. The rest of the story describes their efforts and the ultimate defeat of the pirates and rescue of the women.

This book is out of print. I intend to publish individual sequential chapters on this site at intervals, but am thinking about going for a reissue. Chapter One has been posted at this time (October 1999) and subsequent chapters will be listed here when they are posted.