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I read a book back in the 80's about an alien virus that jumps from person to person on a cruise ship (or may have been a luxury space ship). The book was really well written up until the last two chapters when it seems that the author either was replaced or lost their mind or something because the last two chapters completely STUNK.

If I remember the ending correctly, the alien was tricked into jumping into a goat or some other animal and sent into space. This was a teen novel (I got it from my high school library). Is there anyone that possibly would remember this book? Thanks!

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  • Does anyone else here 'Time... is on my side' echoing as they read this question? :)
    – K-H-W
    Commented Mar 7, 2013 at 22:38
  • "This was a teen novel (I got it from my high school library)." Hmmm...I first read Gateway out of my high school library, so I don't think that is a universal indicator.
    – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten
    Commented Mar 7, 2013 at 22:58
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    It is a slight indicator, though, as they often have [thankfully imperfect] censoring and filtering of works. So we can assume to a point that it's not that novel about a stranded woman becoming a space sex-slave, ohwait.
    – Solemnity
    Commented Mar 8, 2013 at 5:24

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Spaceship Medic by Harry Harrison? A meteor impact kills the crew of a cruise ship. The doctor takes command of the vessel but is then faced with a plague sweeping the ship.

Plague Ship by Andre Norton? The crew pick up what they think is a plague, resulting in the ship being declared outlaw, to be destroyed if it tries to enter a system. In the end, the crew find out that the disease symptoms are caused by pests they picked up, not by any communicable disease. Proving this, however, turns out to be difficult.

The first seems to fit your description a bit better but neither book have anything about sending the plague into space.

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