Tophero Son of Smilodon

"I felt a sense of familiarity with this creature in my racing heart. Suddenly, I felt myself a stranger in a foreign land, overtaken by troublesome thoughts: Why did I, the most fearsome cat of the jungle, look not so much like his brothers but like this outlandish two-legged creature with a bewildering fair golden mane? And those haunting emerald green eyes--why do they reflect the romantic mystery of a bottomless lake? Who am I?" Tutored by his sabertooth siblings, young Gora learns to master the prehistoric world of Opalon, with its smoldering volcanoes, dueling dinosaurs, and treacherous tar pits. But the discovery of a computer in a hidden cave changes Gora's world: he is able to teach himself English. Gradually, he internalizes the moral lessons to be found in the greatest literature and poetry of the planet Earth. He masters military strategy and trains himself in the martial arts. Upon realizing that he is a human being, he vows to uphold the highest values of humankind. He names himself Tophero (To'-Pha-raoh). His magnificent physique and sterling intelligence do not help to stave off loneliness; Tophero longs to meet others of his kind. But when they come, they bring love as well as destruction, and Tophero must use the primitive ways of the jungle to battle high-tech invaders. At stake: the survival of his home planet . . . the love of his life, an Earthling . . . and his very identity. The interstellar romance and Tophero's quest for his roots play out against Powlo-Varkiss, the Opalonian master sorcerer of prehistoric beasts, the evil agenda of billionaire Derek Cole, also aboard the expedition in search of Opalon's fabled diamond mines; the machinations of the enemies of Tophero's human parents; and the unexpected discovery of the besieged Opalonian…