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I'm after the title of a book I read in the eighties, so it was first printed in the sixties or seventies.

I can't remember the title but it revolved about a guy trading in space, who encountered a jungle planet and fought a green furred ape-like creature. He also found a ring which gave him healing and longevity powers.

The space ship he travelled in required him going into a trance-like state and I recall a scene where spitting at the feet of another pilot was a compliment.

There was another big fight scene against armed troops.

It wasn't Dune.

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  • Welcome to the site. You have a good start here. If you could take a look at this guide to help jog your memory and edit in any more details, that would be great. Every little bit helps us.
    – amflare
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 0:29

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Could this be The Zero Stone by Andre Norton? This was published in 1968. The protagonist is Murdoc Jern, an apprentice gem trader who goes on the run with an ancient and mysterious stone after his master is killed. He teams up with a cat-like psychic alien. The latter part of the novel takes place on a jungle planet that is inhabited by hairy humanoid hunters -- these might be the ape-like creatures you remember. There is also a confrontation with space pirates on the same planet, so that might be the other fight scene.

I think the sequel, Uncharted Stars (1969), mentioned that people who weren't used to space travel had to lie down and take other precautions during space jumps.

I don't remember anything about spitting as a compliment, but it's a long time since I read them and I don't have copies handy.

The two books were also published in a single volume as Search for the Star Stones (Baen, 2008).

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