Carter Horton was the last of his kind. His three companions died in hibernation during the thousand-year journey from Earth. But Horton's beautiful new home held all sorts of wonderful surprises.

There was an alien named Carnivore who claimed to have learned English from Shakespeare, a defective tunnel from the stars that allowed people- well, creatures- one-way access to the planet, a dragon in aspic... and a very odd, curved hill. And of course, there was the terror that froze all minds at regular intervals.