Golden Age of Sci-fi book I read when younger.

[dannyd]

I am looking for a book that I read in the 7th or 8th grade. It was from the Golden age of Sci-fi. It was written long before the Heechee Saga, but had a similar theme. It was maybe 200 pages long. It was about a group of people that got into a spaceship that had been abandoned along with many others. They went to a predetermined destination, that was already programmed in. When they got to where the course sent them, the sun went out momentarily and a flood washed a bunch of spaceships out of a mountain. When the light returned, they saw all of the ships. I can't remember the name of the book, or the author. I had thought it was called Jem, or Under a Sea of Stars, but I find nothing named that in any search. Can anyone help me?

 

[PaulMmn]

Sounds like at least one of the novels of Andre Norton. I suggest you browse the list of her novels: Andre Norton bibliography - Wikipedia
I think you have combined at least 2 of her stories in your description. I think the 3 series below have the best chance of matching your memories!

Her novels include "The Beast Master." Other than the title, and the fact that the hero can telepathically link to his animals, this has nothing to do with the movie of the same name! As I understand it, 'they' bought the movie rights to the novel, kept the man and his animals, scrapped the space ships and the fact that Earth has been destroyed, and made their own movie.

I know at least one of these series includes the trip on a pre-programmed ship, but I don't recall which one!

Beast Master (Hosteen Storm)​

The story of ex-soldier Hosteen Storm and his companions, a group of genetically altered animals with whom he has a telepathic connection.

• The Beast Master (1959)
• Lord of Thunder (1962)
• Beast Master's Ark (2002), with Lyn McConchie
• Beast Master's Circus (2004), with Lyn McConchie
• Beast Master's Quest (2006), with Lyn McConchie

The Time Traders (Ross Murdock)​

Time agents Ross Murdock and Travis Fox travel through time and space to safeguard Earth.

• The Time Traders (1958)
• Galactic Derelict (1959)
• The Defiant Agents (1962)
• Key Out of Time (1963)
• Firehand (1994), with P. M. Griffin
• Echoes in Time (1999), with Sherwood Smith
• Atlantis Endgame (2002), with Sherwood Smith

Forerunner​

Featuring the Forerunners, an incomprehensible yet powerful vanished alien race whose artifacts survive them.

• Storm Over Warlock (1960)
• Ordeal in Otherwhere (1964)
• Forerunner Foray (1973)
• Forerunner (1981) – the first book published by Tom Doherty Associates under the Tor Books imprint[citation needed]
• Forerunner: The Second Venture (1985)