Novel, main character ends up in slave mines, works/fights his way out, discovering an alien energy source (egg?)

[squirrelz]

Read this in my teens (mid '80s), it was a scifi novel.
Can't remember a huge amount about it, but the main character, something happens where he ends up thrown into a slave mine, and has to survive, build friendships, work his way up, and eventually discovers an alien artifact (the reason for the mines), which he smuggles out, and later discovers these artifacts are how all spaceships are secretly powered.

Written in English, but that's about all I can remember

Any help appreciated, thanks

 

[royheil]

It wouldn't happen to be Battlefield Earth, by L.Ron Hubbard, would it?

 

[monkeypooper]

It wouldn't happen to be Battlefield Earth, by L.Ron Hubbard, would it?

Its not that long since i read this and it doesnt match they found fighter planes and practised with them not secret fuel or engines

 

[Bren G]

Squrrelz,

Sounds like a great book! However, it doesn't ring a bell for me. In the case that's not Battlefield Earth, and if you aren't able to find it here, you might try the New York Public Library service that finds books lost to memory. They seem to have a good hit rate too! Here is the link.

https://www.nypl.org/blog/2017/11/22/finding-book-forgotten-title?page=4

Happy Hunting!

BG

 

[squirrelz]

Thanks for the replies, will check out that link Bren G, cheers

 

[Bick]

Aspects of this sound like Chthon, by Piers Antony.

 

[squirrelz]

Thanks for the suggestion Bick, I see what you mean, but I'm pretty sure it's not that one

 

[Danny McG]

It sounds (but I don't actually know if such a book exists!) like a novel based on the film "Starchaser; the legend of Orin"

If I've spelled it correctly

 

[squirrelz]

Haha dannymcg, definitely not that!