Looking for sci fi book from the 80s: galactic university library, students getting 3 stories from attendant.

[akl888]

Two students go to the library looking for class materials. The librarian gives them a series of three books/stories. I think this was a young adult novel. I read it back in the 80s, I think.


Story 1: A young girl, newly declared adult, takes her father's spaceship for a joy ride. She encounters a derelict ship, with dead men on it and a strange life form that drives humans mad. Slowly, both she and the alien, realize that it can not control itself and will destroy all life it encounters. She and the alien hatch a plan to drive her ship into a star to save humanity, after sending a warning to her planet about the danger. She sacrifices herself.

Story 2: The Emperor's family have a strange relationship with a retainer family. The head of the retainer family is tasked, through the ages, to judge the suitability for rule of the Emperor's descendants. The Emperor's only son is sent to the retainer family's home planet, with no idea that this man has the power of life or death over him. The Emperor's son proves to be an unworthy candidate, and the retainer executes the Emperor's son. The Emperor accepts the retainer's judgement.

Don't remember the last story.

Anyone know this book?

 

[sueelleker]

Story 1 is "The Only Neat Thing To Do" by James Tiptree Junior.http://speculiction.blogspot.com/2013/10/review-of-only-neat-thing-to-do-by.html#:~:text=From%20the%20hopes%20and%20dreams,to%20meet%20a%20tragic%20end.
The book may be "The Starry Rift".

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Definitely The Starry Rift.

The Starry Rift (Tiptree book) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Starry Rift contains the following stories:

• "In the Great Central Library of Deneb University"
• "The Only Neat Thing to Do" (Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, October 1985)
• "Good Night, Sweethearts" (Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 1986)
• "Collision" (Originally published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, May 1986)

The first "story" is actually the framing device you mention.