(Found) Sci Fi book - Young woman with wookie-like companion

[jadeBot]

Hello!

I am looking for a novel I read when I was a teen - so late 1990s- but I am pretty sure it was published earlier than that based on the cover art and the general age of books in my home.

It was a paper back with a cover that was kind of in the style of pulp sci fi and showed the main character (a woman with long hair, might be glowing?), and I think she was framed in an oval.

Here are plot points I remember:

• The woman had a companion who was a large furry creature kind of like a wookie. The creature had "human level" intelligence (so, NOT a pet, more of a friend).
• Set on an alien planet
• The woman is maybe the last of her kind? Or at least has no connection to others of her kind for some reason, so she does not understand everything about herself and her companion in the way she would if she was part of her society
• The woman has some type of telekenesis or ability to manipulate energy, I think?
• There is a scene in a gaming / gambling den involving a game of colored (holographic?) objects that she manipulates to win
• At the end they find more of the wookie/furry creatures

It definitely read like it was part of a series, but I can't say for sure because I only had the one book. I always wanted to find out what happened next, which is why I'm on the search for this book as an adult! So, possibly a series?

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

It doesn't fit perfectly, but if instead of a wookie she's accompanied by a large alien tiger, it could be part of the Telzey Amberdon series. She's a young girl, psychic, recruited in the fourth millennium by the psychology service to act as an agent because of her genius level intelligence and her psychic abilities. I remember in the books a scene in a casino like the one you described.

Alternatively, if your wookie is actually rather small, it could be part of the Little Fuzzy series.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[jadeBot]

Thank you for the suggestions! Unfortunately I don't think its either of these options. The "wookie" is definitely not small (I think its actually a bit larger than a human) and also I don't think the main character has any parents/family/other members of her species in the picture at any point

 

[ashewyntr]

Almost positive this is Ann Maxwell's Fire Dancer series.

 

[jadeBot]

YES!!! THAT IS IT thank you SO MUCH I've been trying to find this book on my own for literally years and you just solved this for me in less than a day.

 

[ashewyntr]

I loved the series in high school. Also look for Timeshadow Rider, set in the Za'rayn (sp?) Cycle.