Product Description
Beginning with the classic Dragonriders of Pern, Anne McCaffrey has created a complex, endlessly fascinating world uniting humans and great telepathic dragons. Millions of devoted readers have soared on the glittering wings of Anne’s imagination, following book by book the evolution of one of science fiction’s most beloved and honored series. Now, for the first time, Anne has invited another writer to join her in the skies of Pern, a writer with an intimate knowledge of Pern and its history: her son, Todd.

DRAGON’S KIN

Young Kindan has no expectations other than joining his father in the mines of Camp Natalon, a coal mining settlement struggling to turn a profit far from the great Holds where the presence of dragons and their riders means safety and civilization. Mining is fraught with danger. Fortunately, the camp has a watch-wher, a creature distantly related to dragons and uniquely suited to specialized work in the dark, cold mineshafts. Kindan’s father is the watch-wher’s handler, and his son sometimes helps him out. But even that important job promises no opportunity outside the mine.

Then disaster strikes. In one terrible instant, Kindan loses his family and the camp loses its watch-wher. Fathers are replaced by sons in the mine–except for Kindan, who is taken in by the camp’s new Harper. Grieving, Kindan finds a measure of solace in a burgeoning musical talent . . . and in a new friendship with Nuella, a mysterious girl no one seems to know exists. It is Nuella who assists Kindan when he is selected to hatch and train a new watch-wher, a job that forces him to give up his dream of becoming a Harper; and it is Nuella who helps him give new meaning to his life.

Meanwhile, sparked by the tragedy, long-simmering tensions are dividing the camp. Far below the surface, a group of resentful miners hides a deadly secret. As warring factions threaten to explode, Nuella and Kindan begin to discover unknown talents in the misunderstood watch-wher–talents that could very well save an entire Hold. During their time teaching the watch-wher, the two learn some things themselves: that even a seemingly impossible dream is never completely out of reach . . . and that light can be found even in darkness.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (84)

Dragon's Kin a Winner!
If you love the other Dragonriders of Pern books, this one will not disappoint. Todd adds a charm to his mother's creativity. I loved it, and you will too!!!

Dragon's Kin: A watchweyr story
This is a great follow on to Dragons Dawn which introduces the reader to a different "dragon" line. Even though its not technically a dragon tale, I loved this book. We start to see the lost of knowledge over time and it's impact on Pern's citizens. It's a reminder that not every man, woman, and child on Pern is a dragonrider. The people of Pern rely on miners, harpers, and crafters, just as much as they do the dragonriders. And since Lessa, WEYRWOMAN OF ALL WEYRWOMEN, was friends with a watchweyr, and hid in its den, I think people should take a second look. The watchweyrs are there for a reason, and there is a reason this book was written. After all, why did Wind Blossom create them in the first place, could she have foresaw the need in mining for coal & metals? Only Anne or Todd can say in future novels.

Glad to see that the son is keeping up the tration
have read almost all of the Pern books and this one and the others that I have bought recently carry on the tradition of good writing and story telling

ok
Anne McCaffrey is the quintessential writer of fantasy books pertaining to dragons.These books are always wonderful, well written, and perfectly characterized.All of her series are great but the ones that take place on Pern are the best of all.

Good book, but not on par
Dragon's Kin was an entertaining book.It was a quick and interesting read.Was it on par with Anne McCaffrey's work? NO.Yet the story and characters are solid and intriguing.It is obvious Todd McCaffrey can write, but it is yet to be seen if he can ever write up to his mother's legacy.

That being said, I enjoyed Dragon's Kin very much.I found the characters, the human ones at least, engaging.The plot was new, while still remaining ensconced in the world of Pern.I also appreciated the new focus on the importance of the watch whers and their development as more than a genetic mistake.There are inconsistencies, which is to be expected, but to a certain degree they make sense in filling in the blanks.

Some have mentioned watch whers do not fly.That may be so.But if I recall correctly, many times when Anne McCaffrey touched on them in previous books, there is mention that their wings had been clipped.Why would that be if they cannot fly?

Over all a solid book, which gives a good taste of Pern...though it may have a bit of a "tang" to it. ... Read more

Product Description
Afra has submerged his romantic feelings for the great telepath, Rowan, and has even dedicated his life to helping raise her family, but trouble brews for Afra when Rowan's talented daughter, Damia, begins to fall for him. Reprint. AB. PW. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

loved it
I like almost everything Ann does and this is no exception.This fleshes out a multi generational family so well it is hard to put down, and you feel you really know the characters.It also creates a rather unusual universe using her favorite tactic of mind powers, but in a different and more potent form than her popular dragon series.I bought this book from one of the Amazon used book merchants and got great service there, as well.

I love Damia and Afra
Great book from a great series by a great author.She writes in a clear style that draws you in with intriguing story lines and appealing characters.

A dynasty continues
Damia Raven is the third of the five immensely Talented children of Jeff Raven and the Rowan, and she may be the most gifted of them all, as becomes apparent to everyone on Callisto Station before she's three years old.The first 90-odd pages of the book retell the events of The Rowan from the viewpoint of Afra Lyon, who is ten years younger than the Rowan and 24 older than Damia, whom he helps to raise while her parents try to keep up with the demands of their duties in telekinetically flinging freight from the Sol system to its distant colonies.Worshipping the Rowan secretly yet knowing that he can never be what Jeff is to her, Afra resigns himself to a life of silent service as "l.p."--in loco parentis--to her children.And in fact he seems better able to control Damia than her parents are, instilling control and manners in her and keeping her from becoming the overbearing tyrant that an unchecked psychic could all too easily be.Yet even Afra can't keep her from the pains of emotional isolation that are her legacy from her mother.At barely 18 she's assigned to Iota Aurigae, the latest of Earth's colonies, when she receives a telepathic message from an entity calling itself Sodan.Against the advice of Afra and her beloved younger brother Larak, she seeks closer contact with it and suffers a devastating trauma when she learns the truth about the being she has almost fallen in love with.But it's an ill wind that blows no good, as both she and Afra discover in trying to console each other that they are as truly mind-mates as ever Jeff and the Rowan were.Then a series of strange dreams begin to trouble her nights, leading to a First Contact with yet another alien species which may prove to be valuable allies against the still-threatening Beetles.

McCaffrey's skilfull throwaway makes her future seem very real: though humanity has been in space probably no more than a couple of centuries, we learn early on (and very casually) that several of the colonies' environments have caused rather radical mutations in their people, as for example Afra's native Capella, where the people have a "slightly greenish" skin tone.She also has, as a mother, a good understanding of how children grow and develop, and has extrapolated from her own experience to paint a convincing picture of what a powerful telepath/teleport/telekinetic's infancy and childhood might be like.One thoroughly delightful aspect of the story are the "Coonies," favorite pets at the Towers, which are described as cats but share many traits with raccoons (the one on the front cover actually looks most like a red panda).Another thing I particularly like is the new first names she invents for many of her characters, keeping in mind that in the 23rd century there will certainly be many that are strange to us, just as we in the 20th and 21st centuries have many that were unknown in the 17th and 18th.Like the preceding volume, this one has elements of both romance and science fiction, but is sufficiently non-gooey to suit those who think the former is a waste of time.

A Serial Success!!!
No really!It's hard to find books where the sequel is better than the original but each book I pick up in this series is better than the last.

Only Anne McCaffrey could manage to make a princess into an underdog as sweetly as this story does.Damia is even deeper than her mother Rowan and even more trapped by her talents.Even with a strong mother, Damia has to struggle to find herself before she can become more than a liability to her talents.

A story where a mother does everything right and her daughter still has trouble because she's smarter and stronger than her peers.

Not Free SF Reader
Waste of time.Take The Rowan, and how ordinary that was, with all the young reader girlish elements, and others silliness, and make it worse.
Have mother and father from that spit out a kid who exacerbates the problems found in that other novel.

Definitely don't waste your time with this one unless some sort of hardcore McCaffrey nut.


... Read more

Product Description
Much had been done to limit and destroy the powers of the terrible Hivers, who had torn through space, annihilating every living thing that stood in their way. But still the Alliance had to discover the whereabouts of every last Hiver world and stop the Queens from further colonization.Amazon.com Review
Anne McCaffrey concludes the saga of Angharad Gwyn, the Rowan,her husband Jeff Raven, and their family of powerful telepathicallyand telekinetically Talented offspring with The Tower and theHive. ( The first four books in the series are: The Rowan, Damia, Damia's Children, andLyon's Pride.) As usual, McCaffrey delivers vividly real characters struggling withpersonal, political, and ethical issues and finding humanesolutions.

Federated Teleport and Telepath, dominated by theGwyn-Raven clan, provides interstellar shipping and communications forthe Star League of Humans and Mrdinis--weasel-like aliens. Infollowing the aggressive, ant-like Hivers, whose "spheres" haverepeatedly attacked League worlds, naval vessels have discovered manymore habitable planets, including some occupied by Hivers. Who willget to colonize these planets, Humans or Mrdinis? Should all Hivers bedestroyed, or is there some way to contain them? Where will moreTalents to staff the vital Towers come from? And how best to defeatthose whose resentment of the Gwyn-Raven family's powers andfriendship with Mrdinis could lead to violence?

McCaffrey'sprotagonists are four Gwyn-Raven grandchildren, now young adults whofind romance and mature while studying both alien races. Old and newfans alike can enjoy her masterful blending of scientificextrapolation and fantasy elements to produce a universe they'll leaveregretfully. --Nona Vero ... Read more

Customer Reviews (64)

What the hell?
What happened in this book? Did the author bothered to create and ending so horrible by chance? I'm a fan of the Rowan and the Pegasus Series, but Anne McCaffrey killed the story. The whole book did not make sense, the author totally shocked me, I do not recommend this book, cause it falls short.The stories before this book, were so rich and full of emotions,the characthers were well devolped and the story aimed at something.This book went on and on on tiresome reading and absurd story arc.If this is the ending of the Rowan series its very sad.I finished reading the book because I was loyal to the author and to the story but was a total lackluster book.

The book that went nowhere fast
I hate to say it, but this book did very little for me.I've been an Anne McCaffrey fan for years, but this book is a disappointing ending to a great series.I was surprised to find out that the plot went absolutely nowhere.There was some intrigue and political maneuverings, which I've enjoyed in many of McCaffrey's novels (Sassinak, Decision at Doona, Crysal Singer series just to name a few) but I was surprised when many of these plot twists and turns ended up as dead ends.

Perhaps, McCaffrey has become so enamoured with these characters, she couldn't bear to part with them.I'm not sure.To me, this seems like she was trying to just tie off loose ends with no real story behind the works.

Love it
Anne McCaffrey is a fantastic author. I'm glad she wrote another book for this series. It's worth buying.

Finding the key
The third time, we're told, is lucky, and in this book, the chronological eighth volume of McCaffrey's combined Pegasus/Rowan saga, the third generation of a family of powerful psychic talents finally proves to be lucky in its quest to contain the insectoid Hivers.

Thian and Rojer Lyon, the elder sons of Afra Lyon and Damia Raven, are on board the naval ship Washington, investigating failed Hiver colonies, when they discover, by an unexpected and fortuitous chance, that Hivers communicate by pheromones--which may also be the key to why one Hiver colony hasn't followed the common pattern of overpopulation and aggressive emigration.Meanwhile their sisters, going-on-17 Morag and slightly younger Kaltia, are sent to help eldest daughter Laria at Clarf Tower, where they not only originate a more efficient way of handling message tubes but prove to be indispensable after Laria and her second, Kincaid Dano, must hurry with their 'Dinis to Iota Aurgiae, where another sister, empathic healer Zara, has been attempting to help the Mrdini biologists discover a means of controlling their species' exploding population--something not previously needed, since so many died in the two-century war with the Hivers.And throughout the human League of colonies, a militant movement continues to press with growing fervor for the utter annihilation of the Hiver species, while another deplores the assignment of certain newly-discovered worlds to the Mrdini, not stopping to consider that that species prefers much hotter, brighter suns than humans generally do.Then the earliest-found Hiver colony abruptly explodes in warfare between various queens' groups.Should it be left alone so the Hivers can butcher one another and thereby reduce the threat?Or can the Talents' discoveries be used to control Hiver aggression and population?

Some gay readers may be mildly offended by Kincaid's liaison with Laria ("I love you...as much as it is possible for me to love a woman," he tells her upon learning that they've started a child together).And others may be disappointed at the denoument of rejected T-2 Vagrian Beliakin's resolve to avenge himself on Laria.McCaffrey also seems to have gotten a little confused as to whose 'Dinis are which: she locates Sim, Dar, Kev, and Su on Iota Aurigae after Morag and Kaltia have left, but 16 pages later describes them as belonging to the girls and accompanying them to Clarf.Her picture of future human society is intriguing in its choice of cultural survival: one new colony ship is named the "Asimov," and a low-grade Talent speaks of "an ancient comedian" who's clearly Jimmy Durante, yet nuns as a type are apparently so long vanished from the scene that even the word for them is half forgotten.In the end the quests of the Talents seem to be finally crowned with success, and a fourth generation is assured as Thian learns that he is about to become a father and Rojer finally makes it with his cousin Asia.Whether or not there will be any further volumes in this series remains to be seen, but at least the issues that have troubled the Rowan's line for three generations now seem to be resolved.

Is this Anne McCaffrey?
Who really wrote this book? I have to wonder if Todd McCaffrey didn't in fact write this.
That's the only explanation I can come up with for her having seemed to forget her characters so completely.
I just finished reading the whole Talent series back to back and the difference between those books and this is striking.
What happened? I have been wondering what the deal is with her allowing her son Todd to tinker with Pern, the results of which you can read about in other reviews here on this site. Suffice it to say, they have not been a roaring success.
I personally think he had a large hand in this one, even if he received no credit for it. Why?

After 5 years with no sequel, all of a sudden she decides to come back, like with Skies of Pern and just like that book, this one has some major problems. For example, the woodenness, the unfamiliarity of all the characters we have come to love from the last 4 books. The characters just feel all wrong, almost like in fanfic when someone tries hard to emulate the original, but is just too self aware.

What about the Rowan? She makes glorified cameos, along with Damia and Afra. And frankly, they were the only reasons I kept reading this book. But they don't appear all that much and the reader is left with the boring personalities of their cookie-cutter children.
The once interesting and vibrant characters in the first novels have been radically changed, as if McCaffrey did indeed forget them. In this book, Afra is described as being `methody' when in fact the entire background of the Damia novel was all about him NOT being methody, which was why he had to leave Capella. Jeff Raven is now a Peter Reidinger clone, shamelessly manipulating his horde of offspring and heavily pressuring them to accept outposts on planets light years away from family and friends. The Rowan is somewhere in the background there. She has one or two paragraphs, but not much else.What happened to the Jeff Raven who wanted to rebel? Or even the Rowan for that matter.

My other misgivings about this so-called `ending' are these:

1. The plot meanders all over the place.I mean, why is the Hiver Queen now into her third book of incarceration, and no one has a clue how to talk to her yet? Zara was supposed to be the liaison with godlike gifts of empathy, but she goes on to other things and never comes in contact with the Hiver Queen again. Later they attribute her understanding of the Queen's distress as having been just chance. Now, this is the first break with canon that got my attention and why I think someone other than McCaffrey had a hand in writing this thing. You may recall, that Zara felt the pain of the Queen from several light years away, and when she got close, she immediately understood that she was freezing to death. The continuity error here is a step beyond the shoddily written intro where Afra is listed as being Damia's brother, for Pete's sake. This is just a straight cop out, and if they didn't want to write any more, they would have been better off not bothering at all. Of course, there's no money in that, is there?

2.The other children and their significant others go from one planet to the other, hypothesizing and theorizing about Hiver biology, when what the reader wants to know is: What happened to so and so --? And it just goes on and on, along with the ridiculous subplot of developing birth control methods for the `Dinis. The final answer of how to talk with the Hivers is very contrived and
goes against earlier canon. Uh, why weren't the pheromones detected in Damia's Children when Zara pulled her `antic'? Why didn't the Queen react to Zara's pheromones? You might remember she stank so badly, she was rushed into the showers, and yet in the Tower and Hive, the mere hint of garlic caused a Hiver to react to cleanse the air. It's all just nonsense. Forget writing the
Biology textbook for the 24th century, this story was always about the PEOPLE and I think the communication thing with the Hivers could have been so much more interesting . . . as in, what if they are Telepathic in some new way?That would have explained why Zara could hear her all those light years away and the instantaneous communication from the Queen to her workers.
Pheromones take time, because they require air. And air, even in a hurricane, can only go so fast.

3. Damia's children. To the last man (or woman) they are absolutely perfect. They don't gripe about working full time jobs from the time they are 12 or so and don't seem to want to rebel against their grandfather's unceasing demands as well as his schemes to turn them all into baby factories. They don't seem to mind being bred like cattle. In addition, we are left at the end of the book knowing that they will all be searching for Hiver worlds forever on board navy vessels in order to drop the pheromones on them. For years and years and years. And I thought my job was bad.

4.No interesting characters. The one possibility, Vagrian, is given more time in the book than the Rowan or Damia but turned out to be a red herring. Why did they bring in this character? He adds nothing to the story and once he is mind-fixed, has no other purpose. Why did McCaffrey introduce us to him, if he doesn't do anything important? He doesn't even seduce one of her available daughters, so there's no reason for him to be in the story. You begin to wonder if there wasn't more planned for that character McCaffrey
(or Todd) just lost steam and tied it all up.

5. That's yet another problem. Too many pat answers, the most glaring of which is the Laria/Kincaid relationship. Now, why go to all the trouble to reinforce that the man is gay in the other books, and then just have him forget all that and become straight just for her.
Because he loves her? It doesn't work that way. So now, we are left with their very implausible relationship and of course her entry into the halls of baby making. How about a female Talent that -gasp!- chooses not to have ANY babies! Now that might be a good story.

So, we are finally left with an incomplete and hurried story, up to an including the Final Solution for the Buggers -I mean Hivers.
(Wouldn't want Orson Scott Card to get mad or anything.) What made these books so great was the concept of Talent combined with the interesting personalities. From Rhyssa Owen to Damia, even Jeff Raven before his character got ruined. It would have been better not to end it like this, but leave it with the open ended finale in Lyon's Pride.
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Product Description
Kristin Bjornsen's normal life is irrevocably changed by the arrival of Catteni slaving ships, and in the wake of her people's capture, she begins a desperate fight for freedom. Reprint. PW. AB. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (68)

Book Review: Freedom's Landing
It's a good book that fills in a boat load of gaps for someone who was forced to read book 3 (Freedom's Challenge) first and have to wait to buy the first two. I now know much more about the situation in book 3. Cant wait to finish reading Freedom's Choice (book 2).

New Planet, New Hope
In McCaffrey's Freedom's Landing, Earth has been conquered, subjugated by the Catteni, a race of aliens whose great physical strength stems from their own homeworld's intense gravity.Humans have been turned into slaves, forcibly performing whatever tasks their Catteni masters dictate to them.

Kris Bjornsen is a young woman who had the nerve to fight back, in her own small way, by stealing her Catteni master's personal transport.Living in hiding on the Catteni world of Barevi, Kris ultimately ends up meeting Zainal, a Catteni that winds up changing her life forever.

Now, because of a crime Zainal committed, both Kris and Zainal (along with many other humans, and several different species of aliens, too) wind up stranded on an uninhabited world.

Kris and Zainal, along with several hundred other humans and aliens, must go to great lengths to survive this hostile world.And they do, using this new world to build a colony free from the watchful eye of their harsh Catteni overlords.But this world they have been stranded on is not all it seems, and its secrets may lead to their burgeoning colony's survival, or its ultimate destruction.

Freedom's Landing was my first sortie into an Anne McCaffrey created Universe.Despite some flaws, I enjoyed the overall premise and its intermingling plots.

The idea of using slave labor to explore/colonize a planet was an interesting concept, however, I thought the author could have gone a bit more into the moral/ethical issues of such a policy, instead of just using it as a guiding framework for her story.

Kris and Zainal's blossoming romance was artfully done, with each character clearly growing into the role of being comfortable as the other's partner.Kris and Zainal's very different backgrounds provide for a very interesting friction on their romantic progress.

I also found other, more minor details, to be extremely believable.The idea of putting together this new colony is a lot of awful hard work, and the author notes this in the fact that she is constantly emphasizing how tired the characters are at the end of each of their arduous days.

Despite McCaffrey's well-crafted story, some of the prose was a bit clumsy and hard to get through at times.Especially when it came to each individual character's own unique speech patterns.I commend the author on attempting to enhance each of her characters by providing them with (all too realistic) varying ways of speaking based on their backgrounds.But McCaffrey does not pull this detail off well, and it, at times, makes getting through characters' dialogue a bit tedious.

Despite some minor drawbacks, McCaffrey's tale was engaging and moved along quite well.I look forward to delving into this story's subsequent tales.

a rousing ride that touches deeper social issues
I was hooked on the series as soon as I got started with the first book. Although skeptical of the content, being a Dragonriders fan, I also liked her Acorna series, so tried this one. The issues addressed here are touchy- Anne is moving into much more aggressive explorations of social problems and cultural values than in Dragonriders or her stand-alone works.

I think this is appropriate for teens and up, not younger kids, who may be unable to process the broader concepts, or just be scared by the content. World invasion and domination are scary. Add slavery and sexual exploitation. None of this was in the Pern series, so don't expect the same easy ride.

For example, the Zainal - Chris romance confronts us with racial taboos. Catteni are grey-skinned with yellow eyes, and bigger than average humans. Chris is a Scandinavian-type blonde woman. Then we are confronted with the realities of how people of different social or racial groups are treated as slaves. Slavery has persisted in human culture and touches a nerve in many of us, not just Blacks or exploited women. Anne pushes the issue by turning it into a "what-if". What if our whole species were treated as slaves? What if slavery were inter-galactic? Do the same mores apply?

Chuck and the para-military people become leaders on Botany, organizing others to be able to survive. This naturally happens in a crisis - the tough guy becomes "tribal" leader. Chuck is a realistic human, with doubts and fears, but sound thinking. He listens to Chris plead to spare Zainal's life at the landing, because he knows information they can use. Later, she grows to care for the big Catteni, never realizing how important he would be to them later, as an elite son of the Emassi caste.

Other issues: do we care for the mentally disabled among us? The physically disabled? Why or why not? Do we share social responsibility for one another? Is racism always wrong? What if it is inter-species racism? What defines a living being as a "person"? There are 5 or 6 species "dropped" on Botany. Are they all equal?

These issues make the book gripping, sometimes troubling, and a good source for classroom or family discussions. I think it is a great series for practicing active thinking, because it offers the chance to be entertained, yet to question our values and assumptions.

It is a rich book, and I did not find many editing errors. The last book has them, though, and is the weakest in the series. And no, there is no "bodice-ripping" here. There is some intense sexual encounter, but tastefully done - not on the order of an Anne Rice or Danielle Steele book. Events seem natural, not contrived.

This series is not for the faint hearted, or for strict adherents of fantasy or SF genre. They will be unhappy. Like all of Anne's books, this one focuses on people, and their emotional selves, more than gadgets or external sightseeing. Critics should remember that Anne has been frustrated by entrapment in the series of Pern too long, because that was what people pushed her to produce so much of. At over 80 y/o let her write the stories she wants to write, while we still have her - and yes, let's get her a good editor to keep them all tidy!

Old-fashioned SF adventure meets science fiction romance
Kris Bjornsen is a carefree student at Colorado University when the alien Catteni arrive on Earth. Then she becomes one of thousands kidnapped and transported to a Catteni planet, where she wakes from stasis to find herself a slave. Rebelling against her Catteni masters - something Terrans do a great deal more often than most enslaved species - earns her another trip aboard one of their ships, this time to a world that Catteni explorers have marked for eventual settlement. The Catteni method for confirming a new planet's suitability for colonization is both simple and brutal: they drop a substantial population of slaves there, with minimal supplies and survival gear, and then wait to see what happens.

The drop of Terrans and several other enslaved species on this planet also includes one Catteni, an aristocrat sentenced to exile. At first Kris, who already knows Zainal from encountering him while they were both fugitives from Catteni justice, is the only Terran not inclined to execute him as soon as the others discover his presence. But as the castaways struggle to stay alive on the world they decide to call Botany, they soon realize that Zainal's knowledge of this place - however sketchy, since he had no idea he'd wind up dropped there along with the slaves! - may well be all that makes their survival possible.

An old-fashioned yet decidedly romantic science fiction adventure that takes familiar themes and plot devices, and does such interesting things with them that I didn't mind its lack of originality one bit. I'm glad I've already got the next two books in this four-book series waiting on my "to be read" pile!

A good read
The first book of four and the best of the four.An engaging example of the Mistresse's hand.

The follow-on books complete the story, but are not as good as this "kickoff" book.Still worth reading however.I don't think McCaffrey can write a bad book. ... Read more

Product Description
Led by Masterharper Robinton and F'lar and Lessa, the people of Pern excavate the ancient remains of the planet's original settlement and uncover the colonists' voice-activated artificial intelligence system. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (73)

love it
Anne McCaffrey is the quintessential writer of fantasy books pertaining to dragons.These books are always wonderful, well written, and perfectly characterized.All of her series are great but the ones that take place on Pern are the best of all.

Good book in the PERN series
I've been a fan of the PERN universe for a long time, and recently picked up this book for myself, instead of borrowing it.Well worth the time and expense!Engaging characters, believable places and situations.Very entertaining read.The typeface used is a good size and easy on the eyes, especially in hardcover format.

Especially recommended for prior Pern readers
Mel Foster lends a fine acting expertise to his narration of another classic Pern story in Anne McCaffrey's ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN; this revolving around a long-held dream of totally eradicating Thread from the world of Pern. An ancient colonist's artificial intelligence system holds news and hope for the besieged peoples of Pern in this riveting fantasy novel, especially recommended for prior Pern readers.

Telepathic dragons and a millennia-old computer - this is the perfect capper to the Pern series...
With a respectful nod to all her brilliant other works, when I think of Anne McCaffrey, I always think of dragons first, and, specifically, the telepathic dragons of Pern and their bold riders. From Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern), the first published novel about Pern, all the way up to The Skies of Pern, I have so enjoyed the ride. The Chronicles of Pern (or maybe the Dragonriders of Pern) is a series of novels which I go back to every few years, and it always is as awesome a read as the first time. Anne McCaffrey is simply a timeless storyteller. My second thru fifth favorite Pern novels are, respectively, DRAGONFLIGHT, Dragonsinger (Harper Hall Trilogy, Volume 2), The White Dragon (Dragonriders of Pern Vol 3), and Dragonquest (Dragonriders of Pern). ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN trumps all of those.

This series won't elicit the same exact sense of excitement from new readers, I think, as opposed to those who've been following the Pern stories for decades. Me, when I first picked up this series, Dragonsdawn (Dragonriders of Pern Series) hadn't yet been published. Trust me, it's not the same if you haven't waited years for each book to come out, and then have McCaffrey kick you in the jaw with all the stunning revelations. Back then, far as I knew, even though the prior books had fleetingly mentioned a science-fictiony origin, the present backdrop was predominantly of a fantasy nature, dragons and fire lizards and harpers and such making their way in an agrarian society. Really great stuff. Then DRAGONSDAWN came out (in 1988) and blew my mind. It told the story of the colonists fleeing Earth and settling on Pern, and, over time, genetically creating the dragons of Pern. Then, shortly after came The Renegades of Pern: (#7) (Dragonriders of Pern), which ended with a passage establishing a solid, "living" connection between DRAGONSDAWN's very distant past and the present-day Pern. So now here's ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN (here, of course, meaning published back in 1991), which picks up on that connection and runs away with it.

That "connection" is the Artificial Intelligence Voice-Address System (or Aivas), dug up in the Southern continent by Piemur, Jancis, Jaxom, and his white dragon Ruth. Aivas dates back to the time of the original colonists and had languished under earth for over 2500 years, yet somehow was able to sustain itself on minimal power. Having now been reacquainted with man, Aivas promptly revolutionizes modern-day Pern, ushering in a new age, introducing new technologies and new ways of thinking, improving the quality of life, as well as establishing closer ties between the current Pernese and their ancestors. And there's one more thing. Aivas also means to complete the overriding project tasked him by the colonists, which is to rid Pern of Thread...

ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN is, hands down, my favorite Anne McCaffrey novel. It is the big mamajama. Other entries have followed (and they're pretty good), but ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN is the crowning touch to this series. I can't tell you how pumped up I was when I first read this book, as Anne McCaffrey, all of a sudden, shifted gears. This is a dazzling, sweeping epic, and more in the realm of science-fiction than the prior books (except for DRAGONSDAWN). If you haven't yet seen dragons freefalling in a spacecraft or engaging in EVAs, then you're in for a treat. And all the characters I've come to love are here... Life would never again be the same for the Weyrleaders F'lar and Lessa, Jaxom and Ruth, Piemur, Menolly, Masterharper Robinton, and the rest.

I wasn't messing around when I said "sweeping." This novel chronicles almost five years in the lives of the people of Pern. The massive undertaking, of destroying Thread forever, comes to involve the entire planet, from the Weyrs to the Holds to the Crafthalls. But, as ever, change doesn't suit everyone. Certain quarters soon begin rumbling, dubbing Aivas "the Abomination"; and the naysayers and traditionalists begin to get their hate on. And it's not too long before they decide to do something about it.

But, really, terrorist acts aside, ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN tells mainly of wonder and joy and of keeping faith. For F'lar, who was the first to galvanize the dragonriders into action and who years ago vowed to eradicate Thread, and for Aivas, who had patiently, steadfastly waited for thousands of years to continue his mission - for these two, especially, it's been a long time coming. To see F'lar and Lessa and the other characters run the gamut of emotions at each of Aivas's unveilings, to see them marvel at each new experience, to have them slowly realize that the threat of Thread could indeed end in their lifetimes, to see them strive and work and pull it off (yes, they pull it off)...well, if you're into being gratified thru reading, if you like being taken on flights of fancies, and maybe even crying a bit in the end, then this book doesn't disappoint. I cherish - cherish! - the hell out of this book. If you haven't yet read ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN, dammit, I envy you. But I do recommend that you read all the preceding novels first, and, I say, read them in the order they were published.

Lastly, does a computer have a soul? The way McCaffrey writes Aivas, I would have to say, "Yes."

Just Wonderful
This series of books has been my favorite for at least25 years.I never get tired of it and every few years have to read every book from the first to last.I have lost some in moves and am too lazy to sort through moving boxes so I am buying these to replace the few I cant find.You wont be disappointed, just a great read. ... Read more

Product Description
A thrilling novella of the early days on Pern, with illustrations and border decorations by Pat Morrissey. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Short Story
This is short story of the initial evacuation of Landing, passed off as a novel.It is not bad, but not worth the price of a book

Disappointing
Anne McCaffrey stumbles in this mini-story about dolphins helping evacuate the original landing site on Pern after the disastrous eruption of Mt. Garben.This is really a story-fragment, not a full-fledged novella.Unlike -Nerilka's Story-, which *was* a separate novel about the lady who sooths the heartbreak of Moreta's main squeeze, -The Dolphin's Bell- requires that 1 read -Dragondawn- to understand who each character is, & why we should give a damn.This is information that simply is *not* given - &, consequently, we don't.

Don't read this unless you've got -Dragonsdawn- & the time to check out who's who.

From the author of Tales of Ancient Xenar
I had listened to this story on audio and enjoyed it very much.It details a very long and hard fought journey undertaken by humans with the help of dolphins.This is one of the few McCaffrey stories I've read.Almosta year later after reading this story, I found a song that very well fits the theme of the story.The song is alled High water and its performed by ush.Its on their Hold your Fire CD.

The other side of the story!
Another side story well worth reading.This is the story of the second crossing, from the Southern Continent to the Northern Continent.Jim Tillek is in charge of moving all the equipment to the north.This gives more background on the part the dolphins played in Pern's History.

To get the sull feeling of this book, make sure that you have read Dragonsdawn, as the events go together.What is nice about this story, is that there is no need to feel in the background information, as that is what Dragonsdawn is for.The story starts right where it needs to and continues on.It is really nice that we get to know Jim Tillek more.Anne did a wonderful job and the story flows rather smoothly.

A must read for Pern fans, as this gives us all more detail and more background information.A nice short story, that is wonderfully written.

Read this book
This is a great book combining 2 of my favorite things dolphins and Pern. This is a very good book. I couldn't put it down. ... Read more

Product Description
As director of the Jerhattan Parapsychic Center, telepath Rhyssa Owen coordinated the job assignments for psychically gifted Talents. And though she had her hands full dealing with the unreasonable demand for kinetics to work on the space platform that would be humankind's stepping-stone to the stars, she was always ready to welcome new Talents to the Center.

Feisty and streetwise, twelve-year-old Tirla used her extraordinary knack for languages to eke out a living in the Linear developments, where the poor struggled to make ends meet and children were conscripted or sold into menial work programs. Young Peter, paralyzed in a freak accident, hoped someday to get into space where zero gravity would enable him to function more easily. Both desperately needed help only other Talents could provide.

With the appearance in her life of one extraordinary man with no measurable Talent at all, Rhyssa suddenly found herself questioning everything she thought she knew about her people. And when two Talented children were discovered to have some very unusual -- and unexpected -- abilities, she realized that she would have to reassess the potential of all Talentkind...


From the Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Improving
This is the second book in the series that began with TO RIDE PEGASUS and continues with PEGASUS IN FLIGHT from Anne McCaffrey, who is better known for her PERN series.

PEGASUS IN FLIGHT is set many years after the events of TO RIDE PEGASUS, the infant Dorethea who had been born during the first book is now an old woman. The community of Talented has now grown to worldwide proportions.Society in general has come to rely on the Talented, even if they are still regarded with suspicion.
The main characters of this one are two Talented children, one a boy whose Talents became apparent after a terrible accident that left him paralyzed, the other a young girl who was struggling for survival on the margins of society.McCaffrey's own style of storytelling is apparent in this one than the previous book but in many ways this one too still sounds like an echo of Heinlein with the secretive enclave of 'special' people (like his Howard Family) that struggles against a large, rather corrupt bureaucracy.Still this one is truly a novel, rather than a collection of magazine short stories and as such does move along in a smoother, more readable manner.

Fans of McCaffrey's PEGASUS and ROWAN series or those who wonder what she can do besides PERN will enjoy this one.

stuff duh
For those who have read To Ride Pegasus and the Talent series, Pegasus in Flight holds quite a few familiar surprises.
One curious oddity is the titling of the two Pegasus books. Oddly enough, Pegasus In Flight was published before To Ride Pegasus. Even more interesting are the characters. It is recommended that you don't read the two books in order of publishing-instead, start on To Ride Pegasus and then move on to this also fine novel.

The most interesting features of this novel are the appearances of familiar characters from other Talent Series books or their descendants or ancestors. We see Sascha Roznine, undoubtedly a relative of Vascha Roznine in TRP; we see Dorotea Horvarth and her son Miklos; Rhyssa Owen is undoubtedly the daughter of Daffy op Owen; and perhaps most heartening of all, we see the first Peter Reidinger. Later, in the Talent books, his descendant would become one of the best and most explosive personalities. This all is very good, as it binds the novel to others in the series.

Pegasus in Flight takes place one generation after To Ride Pegasus and centuries before the Rowan books. A call for Talents to work on the world-wide project of Padrugoi, which would be the stepping stone of mankind to the heavens, is led by the brutal Russian engineer Ludmilla Ivanova Barchenka, who will stop at nothing to strip Earth of its Talents. In the midst of this gigantic, frenetic circus of a project lies foul play-Rhyssa, her future love interest, and others uncover terrifying statistics of some "accidents" that have been occuring on Padrugoi.

In the meantime, Tirla is a scruffy girl living in the dark Linears of Jerhattan. Here she ekes out a living by helping alleyway mothers elude the illegal-peoples check as well as doing various other deeds. Her knack for languages makes her an important person in the Linear G-unknownst to her, this "knack" is actually a very strong Talent. In the meantime, Tirla struggles to elude the perverted Yassim, who deals in unsavory uses of children stolen from the Linea this book grs or sold by their parents.

Young Peter Reidinger was an ordinary boy until he was suddenly paralyzed. This paralysis forced his mind to transfer motor functions to another part of the brain-and gave him a powerful Talent.

Rhyssa, Sascha, Dave Lehardt and the other Talented strive to save the kidnapped Tirla and Peter whilst evading Ludmilla Barchenka's persistent assaults for kinetic Talents. And as they do, they meet danger, love, and dark plots and conspiracies head on.

Pegasus in Flight is rather disappointing when compared to its beautifully written followers. The plot was wonderfully done, only very often Anne would convolute or add some sort of detailing, or just something that would make it a little more "muddled". There are several very dry points, as in To Ride Pegasus, but there are some really wonderful scenes and pages and chapters that warrant reading over and over again.

Mostly Pegasus in Flight is a rather fine novel, but given a choice over this or the, say Rowan or Damia, the other Talentwould win. Series fans must read-as for others, it is a very good stepping stone into the Talent world, giving the reader a full immersion into this far-future series, but the Rowan serves the purpose just as well. Try it-you just might like it.

Wonderful Psychic Fantasy
This it a fantastic light sci-fi, dealing with the doings of Talents, psychically gifted people in not-so-distant future, when space travel is just begining to be explored. Even though I love this book, I wouldn't recommend the two "prequels" Wings of Pegasus and To Ride Pegasus.They don't involve the same characters, and Pegasus in Flight stands on its own.The sequel, Pegasus in Space, is also excellent, and is actually a continuation of this book.This is an excellent book for teens, and very similar to the X-men movies.

Getting better, an improvement on the last book
The writing here is tighter, and the plot is better. I liked the part about Tirla the best. I hope she has the best of luck!

The second part I liked was about Dortea playing the grandmother role. The funniest part was where she telepathically fusses at Sascha over the bill that Tirla has acquired over new clothing for herself. *grins*

Thumbs up for Daffyd. Who is better suited, ethically speaking, to the role as director for the parapsychic institute.

Not quite as good as the others, but better than TRP.

Book 2 in the Pegasus series
Anne McCaffrey is the greatest. This book continues the story of psychically Talented individuals in the near future. The characters are getting filled out more in this book. You have to read this one second. Don't try to read it before To Ride Pegasus. Actually they could have easily been combined into one book. They are available as a double set and that is how I bought my copies. This series is a wonderful look at "what if" in our own society. A great read!!! Definitly follow up on the story by reading Pegasus in Space. ... Read more

Product Description
When Meanne, a princess of the realm, runs away from her father's castle and an unwanted suitor, little does she realize the hardships and difficulties that lie ahead of her. Loneliness is the worst part - until she finds a fellow refugee, a boy named Wisp. Together they must make new lives for themselves. Yet they both have secrets - hidden pasts and magical powers that can tear them apart! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

A great rough first draft for a novella.
A princess named Anastasia runs away from home and fakes her death to escape a marriage that is about to be forced upon her by her father the king. She finds herself in a run down hut and woefully unprepared for the life of an independent with no servants to wait upon her or skill to make up the lack. That's when the boy Wisp stumbles into her life. A waif of a boy, he's a runaway too and the two soon help each other to survive in the backwoods alone. Until the secrets they have kept from each other plunge them into danger and risk tearing them apart.

An Exchange of Gifts had all the makings of a really great novella, in my opinion: there was a great set-up, interesting plot, a back-story about magical Gifts and traditions, and characters that were engaging and well rounded. Unfortunately this novel was never really finished in my opinion. The book in its current form would have made a great rough first draft of said novella, but to publish it as it is, I think, took away a lot of what this book could have become if it had been fleshed out a little more.

I actually wanted to care about the characters and have a little more danger and a little more romance thrown into the mix, but as it was with the book so short there just wasn't any time for any development whatsoever. The romance that did make an appearance in the book came very late and was very rushed to the point of being unbelievable as there was almost no lead up to it. This was also true of the plot point about Gifts, everything we learned about them we learned as we went along with no discussion of them beforehand. So the big denouement involved an event that we didn't even know to anticipate or look forward to.

So, while a fun book to read for the 15-20 minutes you'll be reading it, I had to give it a low two stars. It just wasn't a fleshed out or finished novella in my opinion, and that made it all the more disappointing as it seemed to me that it really could have been with such a great set-up as was already present. The publisher should definitely not have published what was so obviously a rough first draft.

An Exchange of Gift
This is a clever and lovely story ostensibly written for children, but personally I think it's as lovely for adults.

Short but delightful children's fantasy

The lady who taught ships to sing and dragons to fight thread turns to children's fantasy ...

This is a novella rather than a full length novel, the book only runs to 92 pages of which 84 tell the actual story. It has a beautiful cover illustration, and each page of the story is framed with an illustrative border showing drawings of scenes from the book.

"An Exchange of Gifts" is a romance set in a fantasy world not too dissimilar from our own feudal age except that many of the inhabitants have a special ability or "gift." The title refers to a phrase which has a special meaning in the local culture, which is revealed in the last paragraph of the book.

Princess Anastasia, who prefers to be called Meanne, runs away from her father's castle because her father the King intends to marry her to one Baron Estevan de Bolivarre, who she has never met. His portrait shows a handsome man, and he is supposedly a fine and generous man, but instinct tells her there is something wrong about the Baron.

Having run away to hide in a cottage in a nearby forest, making it look as though she has been murdered, Meanne finds a fellow-fugitive, a boy called Wisp, who from the stripes on his back appears to have run away from a cruel master.

Together they seek to make a living in the forest - until both their pasts come looking for them ...

A beautiful story for a child aged between about eight or twelve to read. Adults will also enjoy it but will not find it as challenging a read as most of the rest of Anne McCarreey's books. But it is beautifully told.

Pat Morrisey painted the beautiful cover of the book, and also drew a line drawing frontispiece illustration showing one of the most important scenes in the story, and the illustrated border.

Don't judge this book by the kind of story it is not meant to be. If you are looking for a full-length novel for adults, look elsewere. If you are looking looking for a delightful novella to introduce a young reader to romantic fantasy or provide half and hour's light diversion for a grown-up, this book works very well.

If I had only known ...
Very good book for kids - and quite pleasant for adults but If I had understood it was a kids book I might not have bought it.

another great
This is one of McCaffrey's shorter stories for juveniles.It is about a princess who runs away to avoid an arranged marriage with a much older man.The princess uses her knowledge of flora and fauna in order to escape and survive - but her knowledge is all gleaned from books, so it is more difficult than she believes.However, she perseveres, and she is joined by a waif of a boy who has been beaten and starved.They form a friendship that enables them to survive in the woods on their own - but without either knowing the other's past.I took this to be a story about trust, faith, and love. ... Read more

Product Description
Please enter a Synopsis. ... Read more

Product Description
Inheriting their family's paranormal powers that enable them to protect the peaceful people of their world, the children of Damia and Afra Lyon encounter a new enemy in the Hivers, an alien race that is bent on destruction. Reprint. AB. PW. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Unresolved to the max
Characters unresolved - plot threads hanging and 'talents' who behave like undisciplined children.Sorry to all those rave star reviews, but this book was virtually of no interest. If I wasn't an Anne McCaffrey fan, I would not have finished it, but silly me, I kept expecting something to resolve or evolve or....

good series
Great book from a great series by a great author.She writes in a clear style that draws you in with intriguing story lines and appealing characters.

Lyons Pride
very well written and read story

i was impressed with the shipping from amercica to new zealand took about 10 days

Carrying the war to the Hive
This is a direct sequel to Damia's Children (Rowan), beginning about two years later.The Raven-Lyon family is becoming ever more involved in the campaign to contain, communicate with, or, if necessary, destroy the insectoid Hivers: oldest daughter Laria is now Prime at the Tower on Clarf, homeworld of humanity's allies the Mrdini; oldest son Thian and his Mrdini pair are aboard the Mrdini ship KLTL, which is backtrailing a derelict Hiver sphere in an effort to learn whether the Hiver homeworld was destroyed by a nova; and second son Rojer has been assigned to the Naval craft Genesee, now watching a Hiver ship as it approaches a possible landing point, to expedite messages and cargo between her and the other elements of her group.When KLTL's captain suddenly becomes deranged, attacks Thian and kills his pair, the shock nearly destroys the young human, though the Mrdini themselves are quick to retaliate against the offender.After an interval of recovery and mourning at home on Iota Auriage, Thian is reassigned, with his younger brother Rojer, to the scientific task force studying the salvaged Hiver wreck, and the two of them, with the connivance of several Naval talents, originate a means of using the captive Hiver queen to learn more about how the ship's systems are supposed to work.Big sister Laria, meanwhile, is having the difficulties typical of Primes in finding people she can work with--until she's assigned Kincaid Dano, who's just off a long and emotionally exhausting Naval assignment with his 'Dini pair.His squadron has discovered three failed Hiver colonies, which causes the human/'Dini alliance much interest: *why* did they fail?Eventually Thian and Rojer are reassigned yet again, to a Hiver colony system in which another huge ship is under construction.And ultimately Thian, with his grief healed in a most unexpected way, also finds his "mind-mate," Naval officer Alison Anne Greevy.

In this volume of the series we begin to learn more about the Hivers--the specialization of their various types (one Naval officer describes theirs as "a stagnant culture determined to replicate itself ad infinitum"), their requirements with regard to colony worlds.In a long mental conversation between Laria and her father we see reflected the moral/ethical dilemmas faced by humanity with regard to the Hivers: having "grown beyond" war, many humans think it should never be resorted to again, even when the opposition totally ignores them and so can't be negotiated with.We learn that the construction of new and larger Navy ships, required by the push to learn enough about the Hivers to protect Earth and its colonies, has stirred up a dissident movement that has even attempted to resort to terroristic acts.We're given more details about Mrdini culture and biology.And we can see true progress being made in the campaign against the Hivers, even if humanity--and Mrdinihood--is to some extent divided over the best way to deal with them.

Though not as fast-moving as many sf novels, this is still a good solid story with plenty of intriguing throwaway about the possibilities inherent in the development of psychic power.And it leaves you, as a series book should, wanting to read the next volume and find out what will befall the characters in the months and years to come.

Boring
This books along with the latter talent books are so unrealistic as to be boring. The first talent books, Pegasus in Flight and Pegasus in Space were interesting and fun because we were reading about real characters.They had Talent, but they were still real people.The characters in the latter talent books are nothing less than gods, with an almost all-powerful Talent, and seemingly little or no personal problems or limitations (which makes th books dull). Also, what the books really portray, without actually saying it is basically a Talent autocracy. Non talented are inferior and unimportant, and the talented rule over everyone else with their powers. This reminds me of Star Trek, where everyone is law abiding, and the authority of the Federation is unquestioned.So what happens to those who question the authority of the Federation? They are automatically outlaws. Its really quite totalitarian.
Anyway, this book is boring and not worth the money. ... Read more

Product Description
Inheriting their family's paranormal powers that enable them to protect the peaceful people of their world, the children of Damia and Afra Lyon encounter a new enemy in the Hivers, an alien race that is bent on destruction. Reprint. AB. PW. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Unresolved to the max
Characters unresolved - plot threads hanging and 'talents' who behave like undisciplined children.Sorry to all those rave star reviews, but this book was virtually of no interest. If I wasn't an Anne McCaffrey fan, I would not have finished it, but silly me, I kept expecting something to resolve or evolve or....

good series
Great book from a great series by a great author.She writes in a clear style that draws you in with intriguing story lines and appealing characters.

Lyons Pride
very well written and read story

i was impressed with the shipping from amercica to new zealand took about 10 days

Carrying the war to the Hive
This is a direct sequel to Damia's Children (Rowan), beginning about two years later.The Raven-Lyon family is becoming ever more involved in the campaign to contain, communicate with, or, if necessary, destroy the insectoid Hivers: oldest daughter Laria is now Prime at the Tower on Clarf, homeworld of humanity's allies the Mrdini; oldest son Thian and his Mrdini pair are aboard the Mrdini ship KLTL, which is backtrailing a derelict Hiver sphere in an effort to learn whether the Hiver homeworld was destroyed by a nova; and second son Rojer has been assigned to the Naval craft Genesee, now watching a Hiver ship as it approaches a possible landing point, to expedite messages and cargo between her and the other elements of her group.When KLTL's captain suddenly becomes deranged, attacks Thian and kills his pair, the shock nearly destroys the young human, though the Mrdini themselves are quick to retaliate against the offender.After an interval of recovery and mourning at home on Iota Auriage, Thian is reassigned, with his younger brother Rojer, to the scientific task force studying the salvaged Hiver wreck, and the two of them, with the connivance of several Naval talents, originate a means of using the captive Hiver queen to learn more about how the ship's systems are supposed to work.Big sister Laria, meanwhile, is having the difficulties typical of Primes in finding people she can work with--until she's assigned Kincaid Dano, who's just off a long and emotionally exhausting Naval assignment with his 'Dini pair.His squadron has discovered three failed Hiver colonies, which causes the human/'Dini alliance much interest: *why* did they fail?Eventually Thian and Rojer are reassigned yet again, to a Hiver colony system in which another huge ship is under construction.And ultimately Thian, with his grief healed in a most unexpected way, also finds his "mind-mate," Naval officer Alison Anne Greevy.

In this volume of the series we begin to learn more about the Hivers--the specialization of their various types (one Naval officer describes theirs as "a stagnant culture determined to replicate itself ad infinitum"), their requirements with regard to colony worlds.In a long mental conversation between Laria and her father we see reflected the moral/ethical dilemmas faced by humanity with regard to the Hivers: having "grown beyond" war, many humans think it should never be resorted to again, even when the opposition totally ignores them and so can't be negotiated with.We learn that the construction of new and larger Navy ships, required by the push to learn enough about the Hivers to protect Earth and its colonies, has stirred up a dissident movement that has even attempted to resort to terroristic acts.We're given more details about Mrdini culture and biology.And we can see true progress being made in the campaign against the Hivers, even if humanity--and Mrdinihood--is to some extent divided over the best way to deal with them.

Though not as fast-moving as many sf novels, this is still a good solid story with plenty of intriguing throwaway about the possibilities inherent in the development of psychic power.And it leaves you, as a series book should, wanting to read the next volume and find out what will befall the characters in the months and years to come.

Boring
This books along with the latter talent books are so unrealistic as to be boring. The first talent books, Pegasus in Flight and Pegasus in Space were interesting and fun because we were reading about real characters.They had Talent, but they were still real people.The characters in the latter talent books are nothing less than gods, with an almost all-powerful Talent, and seemingly little or no personal problems or limitations (which makes th books dull). Also, what the books really portray, without actually saying it is basically a Talent autocracy. Non talented are inferior and unimportant, and the talented rule over everyone else with their powers. This reminds me of Star Trek, where everyone is law abiding, and the authority of the Federation is unquestioned.So what happens to those who question the authority of the Federation? They are automatically outlaws. Its really quite totalitarian.
Anyway, this book is boring and not worth the money. ... Read more

Product Description
The Rowan was one of the strongest Talents ever born, but she was also lonely and without family, friends --or love. Then a telepathic message came from a distant world facing an alien threat, a message sent by an unknown Talent named Jeff Raven, and be it power, danger, or love--the Rowan is about to meet her match. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (62)

great book
Great book from a great series by a great author.She writes in a clear style that draws you in with intriguing story lines and appealing characters.

Telepaths in love
This is the book-length version of Anne McCaffrey's first story about the "Talents," the "parapsychics" who play such an important part in making Earth's space program both possible and practical.Still in print after almost 20 years--an unusual thing in today's publishing world--it tells the story of the traumatically orphaned three-year-old girl who grows up to become "the Rowan" (named for the mining camp from which she came) and the Prime, or lead talent, of the transport station on Callisto, the primary facility in the Sol system.Fostered (and probably misraised) by Siglen, the Prime of her native colony on Altair, most of the Rowan's life is spent in emotional solitude, until, without warning, she receives a desperate psychic cry for help from a Capellan telepath named Jeff Raven whose colony is under attack by an unknown alien species.In helping him beat off the foe (known as "the Beetles"), she bonds with him psychically, and when he is injured she rushes to his side to help save his life.Thus is born a parapyschic dynasty that will play a pivotal role in the history of the Terran league of colonies.

McCaffrey has portrayed feelingly and believably the kind of apparently sudden, yet inevitably true, union that would take place between a pair of telepaths, and also contrives to show that even "mind-mates" don't find their union to be all smooth sailing.The story is probably set at least a century after the events of Pegasus in Space (Earth's Prime is Peter Reidinger III, who is 110 years old when the Rowan is 30 and pregnant with her second child).A prologue provides background for the series and helps the reader understand something of how the Talents arose.Though the book may be a bit too close to romance for some readers, it has a strong science-fictional slant that helps to balance the love story of Jeff and the Rowan, and while it may not be quite as satisfactory as the Pern, Doona, or Brainship series, it succeeds on its own terms and is a title I plan to keep on my shelves.

Talent is Everything
In a world where psychic ability is measurable, useful, and needed, the greatest talent is often overlooked until tragedy strikes.The Rowan is an orphan who finally yelled loud and long enough to be heard across a planet.

I really like books where talent is recognized and put to good use.Sure the Rowan is exploited, but really she's only gently used by those who learn to love her.It's one of those "Aw!" books that help me remember that there's hope.

Rowan, the series
If you like SiFi then you'll really like this series of books. I have the whole series and re-read them over and over.

The Rowan MP3 audiobook
I've enjoyed reading this book for years and loved to get my hands on the audiobook version.The MP3 audiobooks are great for long drives in the car since you don't have to switch discs as you're driving. The only thing I didn't like was how few bookmarks there were on the audiobook (only 4) rather than every 1/2 hour or hour like most audiobooks I've gotten before.I would definitely recommend this to any Anne McCaffrey fans. ... Read more

Product Description
Kindan is an apprentice harper at the Harper Hall but he is finding the lessons very difficult and although he has his friends, Nonala, Kelsa and Verilan, he also has enemies, such as the bully Vaxoram. Things begin to improve for Kindan when he beats Vaxoram in a duel and Vaxoram becomes first his servant and then gradually his trusted friend. Then Kindan impresses a fire-lizard and becomes the proud owner of the magnicent Valla. At the hatching, he meets Koriana, daughter of Lord Holder Bemin of Fort Hold. She also impresses and she and Kindan fall in love, but her parents disapprove and she has to return to Fort Hold. Then a plague begins to spread across Pern, killing nearly everyone infected. Kindan and his friends search the harper records to see if they can find a cure, but all they can find is mention of a similar plague over a hundred Turns past. As the plague gets worse Kindan and Vaxoram are sent to Fort Hold to help tend the sick. Kindan will be reunited with Koriana, but will she be free of the plague, and will he be able to find a cure before more people die? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

books bought
Very good and fast service. I knew what I wanted and they made it easy to find at a good price. ... Read more

Product Description
In Changelings, bestselling authors Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough returned to the sentient planet Petaybee with a story of growth and transformation in the face of deadly new threats. The telepathic, shapeshifting twins Murel and Ronan found that Petaybee had plans for them as well. Now those plans begin to bear fruit with fresh possibilities . . . and dangers.

MAELSTROM

Now that Petaybee is forming a new equatorial island, the planet has agreed to harbor a group of new refugees, workers indentured to the powerful InterGal Corporation. But the mission to collect the immigrants becomes a rescue operation when it is revealed that InterGal is doing nothing to help these survivors of a world devastated by a meteor shower. Murel and Ronan set out to persuade the frightened refugees to come out of hiding, leave their world, and bring along their sacred totem animals, the gifted sea turtles called the Honus. But the twins discover that they’ve taken on more than they expected: The Honus are not the only animals sacred to the refugees. There are also the Manos, intelligent sharks who have lost none of their predatory habits–and who cannot be left behind to die.

When the Manos are released into Petaybee’s waters, a tragic misunderstanding endangers the whole resettlement operation. At the same time, the mysterious sea otters who once rescued the twins’ father are suddenly revealed to be much more than they appear to be.

Now it is up to Ronan and Murel, with the intrepid assistance of their river otter friend Sky, to smooth the waters before a maelstrom of revenge destroys Petaybee’s harmonious way of life.

But even as the twins uncover startling new facts about Petaybee’s past that will change everything they thought they knew about the planet, the forces of InterGal are gathering, preparing to strike. . . .


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Malestrom, 2nd book about Petabee
Other reviews have described the plot of this book so I am not. Petabee is a sentient planet. Human and other species have inhabited the planet and can communicate with the planet. This book is the second in a series of three. What an interesting concept!
Petabee likes all of the life on her surface but there are rules. Some nasties show up and have evil plans for the planet.

There is dramatic conflict and the villans are really evil. How does this come out? Read the next book and find out.
I have read Ann McCaffrey for years ever since she started her Pern series. What a wonderful author! Her books are so enjoyable
that I spent one Christmas Day glued to the pages of the "White Dragon".

Sara Howard, Author of "Something Funny Happened on The Way to The Moon" and "The Biggest Explosions in the Universe".

maelstrom
i was happy with the book being in great shape,and everything they said it would be but, yes there is a big but.the book was not the original publication, the size of the book was made smaller and i wish they would have put it in bold letters that it was. i would not have purchased this book otherwise.

Good story
Good story.I always liked the "Petaybee" storyline.However, this is most definitely more geared towards a younger audience; age range would be more around 9 to 13.I appreciate Elizabeth Ann Scarborough's assistance to Ms. McCaffrey to keep this storyline alive.

I'm hoping that the next one of this series is more geared to a little older audience as the twins get older.

Worth having
This book is the 2nd in the Petaybee twins series. It is well worth having and be warned that you will probably want to have the next book (Deluge) nearby when you finish it.
It flows well from Changelings (the 1st book) and the characters are full and clear. As always Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough marry well in their writing and this series continues to be a very enjoyable read.

Maelstrom
The McCaffrey/Scarbourough partnership has produced another quick read in the Power That Be cycle of books with Maelstom, second in their new trilogy. If all you want is to continue reading of the adventures of the twins of Petaybee, revisting a familiar universe and no challenges, read this book. If you want to have your perceptions of the world shaken - go and find some harder sci-fi. What you have here is a cosy kitchen sink drama with little real danger. A fine tea/coffee break read. But not something that sticks in the mind long afterwards. ... Read more

Product Description
On a United States tour to promote her books, children's book author Dana Jane Lovell finds herself attracted to Dan Lowell, a fellow traveller stranded in a Denver blizzard, who is abruptly arrested for the brutal murder of his ex-wife. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

An engaging trip, a chance meeting
I read constantly and have always come back to this book.I read it every year and enjoy the unlikely occurrances that happen and how in the world could this happen.It's a taste of the unusual that we would like tohappen to us.How unlikely our travels would be but then we meet Dan. NowI have had my trip out-of-town and can adventure forth back to my everyday. I love the way she makes it all seem so possible. It's an easy read andthe best change-of-pace I have found.

An excellent read.
The charactorization in this book is excellent.The plot twists & turns and keeps you turning the pages, one right after another.I read this book in just five hours.The next thing I knew it was 4:30 am.Ipaid for it the next day but it was worth it.I hope that one day I meet aman like Dan-The-man.Thanks Anne.

A good read for a cold winter evening
This is a good read for a cold winter's evening
The characters are human and the heroine knits
That is definately a plus point in my book but then I'm biased, I knit as well
It is also nice to see a less likely heroine find the man of her dreams
Well done for creating such a personable set of characters

Is the heroine anything like Anne McCaffrey I sometimes ask. ... Read more

Product Description
Casting aside her duty as the heir to the Ambassador of her world, Lady Caissa refuses to marry a man she despises and flees into the Forbidden Zone, where she meets a handsome injured man and sets a world-changing series of events in motion. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Enjoyable
Short & sweet story that made for an enjoyable evening of reading. If you like McCaffrey, then you will enjoy this book, if you don't know the writer, then it is a nice introduction to her and her marvelous stories.

A waste of paper
Of all the McCaffrey novels I have read, this one is a total waste of time to read. This book is only worth anything to a compleatist fan who has to have every thing she's written.
I have 1000+ SF/Fantasy books in my personal library and only a rare few are of such dubious quality that I have re-sold them to a used book store or amazon.com's Marketplace.....this book is one of those rare few.
The plot is not well-developed, and quite contrived. It reads like something a grade school wannabee would turn into their teacher.....To me it seems that Kilgore Trout spent more time writing 'Venus On The Half Shell' (7 days BTW, and it's funny and good) than McCaffrey did on this piece of dreck.

lame
this book had some potential but it was a silly romance dressed up as a fantasy. And are you kidding me about the Coelura, fancy little creatures that create pretty clothes? come on, now. Anyway I was disappointed but i guess this was a quick right to publish something and the sequal "Nerilka's story" wasn't much better.

A Charming Little Tale By a Great Author!
Lady Caissa, heir to the Ambassador of the Federated Sentient Planets to the world Demeathorn, has had duty and loyalty drilled into her since she was a young girl.Her father expects her to follow his dictates unquestioningly, even though Caissa has long since passed her childhood and is now ready for her first marriage contract.For the first time, Caissa rebels against her father's wishes and refuses to marry the boorish Gustin, heir to the Cavernus fortune and a good political ally for her father.Caissa's father doesn't understand why she cannot just endure the year-long contract marriage, beget a child and be done with it, but Caissa's heart rebels at such a cold-blooded contract.Upset and unsure of what she will do, Caissa decides to take her cruiser for a spin and hopefully hunt off some of her frustration.

Before too long Caissa realizes that she foolishly forgot to check her cruiser's solar panels and that she will run out of power before she can return to the city.She intends to fly back as far as she can and then camp and wait for the sun's rise the next day when she picks up a weak distress signal coming from the forbidden zone.When she responds, she finds the most beautiful man she has ever seen.Murell doesn't trust her, but he is wounded and his antique flyer is beyond his repair skills.Despite some suspicion on both sides, they soon find that there is a strong, instantaneous attraction between them, but what kind of future can they have?Caissa dares to dream that somehow, someway they can be together for longer, but when Murell discovers who her father is, he leaves.For Murell knows that Caissa's father will do anything to capture one of the elusive, mythical coelura - the very creatures that he has sworn to protect...

The Coelura is a wonderful little story by a talented author.It is only 150 pages and the type is quite large, but I felt that I knew the characters quite well and the plot was simple enough that there were no loose ends left at the ending.However, I did feel that the story could have been fleshed out into a full-size novel and felt cheated at the brevity of the tale because I did like the characters and would have enjoyed learning more about the planet and its customs.Still, McCaffrey is a skillful author that I always enjoy reading and the book has several wonderful black and white drawings to go along with the text, which I really enjoyed.This book would be a good science fiction novel to start off teen readers or for older readers who are just looking for a short, simple tale to pass the time.

Wish it were longer
I wish this book had been a full length novel -- with sequels!!! The book "Coelura" was so good,I couldn't put it down.I only wish that there had been more of it and that Anne McCaffrey had decided to make it into a series! ... Read more

Product Description
The inhabitants of Pern face a titanic struggle for survival as violent storms and erupting volcanoes herald the coming of "Thread", a deadly power which could destroy them all. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Amazing
I love this series and was having trouble finding the books. This book arrived and wonderful conditon. Thanks for I am truly enjoying my Pern.

Dragonseye
It was published in US as Dragonseye.It's a good read.It feels you in on the whole story.

good book
Anne McCaffrey is the quintessential writer of fantasy books pertaining to dragons.These books are always wonderful, well written, and perfectly characterized.All of her series are great but the ones that take place on Pern are the best of all.

Review for Red Star Rising
Like all Anne Mccaffrey very readable. If you are a follower of the Pern books it ties up a lot of the un answered questions left hanging in the series. Very Good.

just FYI:
I love Anne McCaffrey's world of PERN but please be careful, this is the UK edition of Dragonseye!I found this information on Anne's site so I know it is true.

Happy Reading ... Read more

Product Description
Here there be dragons . . .

Since the first unforgettable appearance of Pern's remarkable dragons and their brave human riders in the novella Weyr Search, winner of a Hugo award in 1968, millions of readers the world over have thrilled to Anne McCaffrey's bestselling saga of men, women, and dragons united against the deadly fall of Thread. Thanks to McCaffrey's bold and generous imagination, we have known what it is to fly. We have touched the fiery hearts and minds of the great fighting dragons, witnessed their passionate loves and violent hates, and felt the deep, unbreakable bonds that join them to their riders. McCaffrey's creative magic has made Pern real--a home to hold in the heart. Its inhabitants are more than characters in a book. They are family.

Now a member of Anne McCaffrey's family--her son Todd--gives us a candid and inspiring glimpse into the mind and soul of one of the greatest science fiction and fantasy writers of all time--an extraordinary woman who has influenced a generation of writers and readers and left an indelible mark on the field.

From Anne's birth on April Fool's Day in 1926, her girlhood encounters with the strange power of second sight that gifts the McCaffreys, her trailblazing efforts to balance the roles of wife, mother, and writer in the turbulent sixties, through a painful divorce and the years of success and acclaim that followed, Dragonholder is a labor of love that will enrich every reader's appreciation of the world of Pern . . . and its equally unique creator.Amazon.com Review
In her brief note to the readers, Anne McCaffrey informs us that Dragonholder was written in response to countless requests to tell "how I spent my childhood, who my friends were, my pets, how I ever thought up Pern and its dragons--the whole nine unvarnished yards." Todd McCaffrey, her second son and a long-time science fiction (and McCaffrey) fan put together this album of family photographs and anecdotes, interspersed with behind-the-scenes stories about his mother's writing career.

The book includes everything from Anne's childhood pet--a Maine Coon cat named Thomas, who suffered her dressing him in doll clothes and wheeling him around in a stroller and whose best friend was the neighbor's collie--to tales of McCaffrey Second Sight (possessed by Anne's grandmother and mother, as well as herself) to how she came to write the stories that became Dragonflight, the first Pern novel. It covers her career from the early stories through her long struggle to make ends meet as a professional writer to her success in 1978, when The White Dragon became the first science fiction hardcover to reachThe New York Times bestseller list. McCaffrey fans won't want to miss this--it's the next best thing to having your own visit with her. --Nona Vero ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

Amazon scores again!
I looked for the same book on ebay and the seller wanted $56 for it!A book that would cost, perhaps $13 from SFBC.I certainly can't say the book was read before but it looks brand new for a fraction of the cost.

Great Book!
As a longtime fan of Anne, this was a great read for me, and a great addition to my collection of her works, even though it's not written by her. I did think it a bit odd that Todd refers to her as Anne in the writing of the book (she is his mother after all!) but otherwise it was a great glimpse into her life.
Overall-Excellent!
Joe

dragonholder
It wasn't quite what I expected with the title being dragonholder. the biography of Anne is okay but I expected a little more pertainig to her writings of Pern.

Dragon Holder
Haven't had time to read it, yet. Just glance thru it. I liked the way Todd writes about his Mother(Anne). Would recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about Anne McCaffrey's life. Catlya_191 in Columbus,MS

Wonderful- couldn't put it down.
Todd McCaffrey opens a window to the room that is the life of his Mother.We readers get an intimate view of her life, her works, her struggles and triumphs.
A must-read for any Anne McCaffrey fan, this book tells the story of a woman who has triumphed in a genre, and era where being a single mother was not common.We can feel the regard Todd has for his mum.Mr. McCaffrey does a fabulous job giving us an anthology of her life, while allowing her the privacy of the daily grind.
I adored the family anecdotes and the memories Todd shares of growing up.
I would have loved a reference time-line, Would love to see addition of others view of Anne.Alec, Gigi, Jan and so forth. ... Read more