Product Description
For millions of readers the world over, the name Pern is magical, conjuring up grand vistas of a distant planet whose blue skies are patrolled by brave dragons and their noble riders, a paradise threatened by the periodic fall of deadly Thread. But not all dangers descend from the skies. Now, in their third collaboration, Anne McCaffrey and her son, Todd McCaffrey, spin a tale of a mysterious illness that may succeed in doing what centuries of Threadfall could not: kill every last human on Pern.

Life in the Harper Hall is busy for best friends Kindan, Nonala, and Kelsa. As the only female apprentices, Nonala and Kelsa are the butt of jokes and easy targets for the bully Vaxoram and his cronies. But when Kindan springs to Kelsa’s defense, he winds up in a fight for his life against the older, bigger Vaxoram–a fight that will lead to a surprising friendship.

Meanwhile, in nearby Fort Hold, a clutch of fire-lizard eggs is about to hatch, and Lord Bemin’s beautiful young daughter, Koriana, is determined to Impress one of the delightful creatures. At the hatching, Kindan Impresses a fire-lizard of his own . . . and wins the heart of Koriana. But Lord Bemin mistrusts harpers and will not hear of a match between his daughter and the low-born Kindan.

Then fate intervenes in the form of a virulent plague as fast-spreading as it is deadly. Arising suddenly, as if out of nowhere, the contagion decimates hold after hold, paying no heed to distinctions of birth. In this feverish crucible, friendship and love will be tested to the breaking point and beyond. For with Threadfall scant years away, the Dragonriders dare not expose themselves to infection, and it will fall to Kindan and his fellow apprentices to bravely search for a cure and save humanity.

The price of failure is unthinkable. But the price of success may be even harder to bear.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (54)

Gloomy
I've been reading the Pern series for about 30 years and this is probably my least favorite of the set.Nothing like plague to brighten your day, eh?I haven't felt this depressed reading since I gave up on the Deryni series due to genocide.I skipped through the last 1/4 of the book because characters kept dropping dead all over the place.People read for different reasons - for my part, it's to be entertained and I just didn't like the subject/plot.

The boy can't write
It's nice that McCaffrey wants to set up her son as a writer, but unfortunately, he can't write.Don't be confused -- this book (like several previous books) bear her name, but she didn't write them.Her son did and he's not anywhere as talented as his mother.Very disappointing.And annoying that they keep trying to pass this off as Anne's writing.Don't bother getting anything else that has her name on it.She's retired and her no-talent son actually writes these.Respectfully, he should find some other line of employment.This is not fair to his mother's fans.

not quite as good as Anne's books
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.

Both entertaining and frustrating, 3.5 stars
Dragon Harper demonstrates some level of improvement in Todd McCaffrey's writing, but it still isn't quite there.There were many moments, especially for the last third of the book, when I wanted nothing more than to keep reading and discover what was going to happen.But there were also times I just wanted to throw the book across the room.The biggest problem in Todd McCaffrey's books is that he seems to want to tell everything and then skimp on the true meat of the story.Too much time is spent on the buildup, the preparation and staging of the crisis.Granted, of all four of the books I've read that he's either written or coauthored, the climax and last portions of the books are always quite good.The problem is whether you'll be able to stick it out that long.

Dragon Harper chronicles Kindan's apprenticeship at the Harper Hall.Much of the first half of the book deals directly with his troubles there, dealing with a bully and the new female apprentices.Then there's the love affair between Kindan and Koriana, Lord Beman's daughter.Then the plague begins, but offstage, far away and very unthreatening.So then we get some digging in the Records...and blah blah blah.I'm not saying this was necessarily bad, but at times the tale is aimless and unfocused.With the final onset of the plague at Fort Hold, the story takes a definitive upswing and improves greatly.

If you liked Todd McCaffrey's other Pern books, you'll like this one as well.Its not a bad book, and can be very entertaining and suspenseful at times.

Character building is good, plot is OK but ...
I have noticed, having read almost all of Anne McCaffrey's books over the years, that her series tend to start off great, lots of fresh new ideas, great characters, great story lines - but then after so many books, they start to get sort of repetitive.I mean, the plague story has been done in Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern - and that one really wrung your heart.Of course, that was a different sort of infection pattern, but still.

Don't get me wrong - I'm a McCaffrey fan and I did enjoy this book - I liked the characters, and thought they were all really well done.I cared what happened to them and thought that the story rang really true.It was pretty brutal, really and I appreciated that Anne and Todd McCaffrey didn't hold back on us as far as that went.The Dragonriders of Pern books have maintained their appeal more than most of her series (the Planet Pirate series is another that remained fresh throughout) and I have read and re-read the earlier books, at least, probably dozens of times (why not the later ones?Well, I'm just so busy trying to get through my huge back-log of unread books right now that I haven't taken much time to re-read more recent books - but I plan to ... I hope ... before I die ... maybe ...).

If you are a fan of the Pern novels, a fan of McCaffrey's stuff - you will probably like this.If you are looking for a lot of action, however, you won't find it here.This is a slower moving story, based more on characterization and the interaction between the characters than on fast action.Which I'm all for, personally.It's a thumbs up from me. ... Read more

Product Description
Every two hundred years or so, shimmering Threads fall from space, raining death and black ruin on Pern. The great dragons of Pern hurl themselves through the beleagured skies, flaming tongues of fire to destroy deadly Thread and save the Planet. But it was not Threadfall that made young Menolly unhappy. It was her father who betrayed her ambition to be a Harper, who thwarted her love of music. Menolly had no choice but to run away. When, suddenly, she came upon a group of fire lizards, wild and smaller relatives of the fire-breathing dragons, she let her music swirl around them. She taught nine of them to sing. Suddenly Menolly was no longer alone -- she was Mistress of Music and Ward of the dazzling fire dragons. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (182)

fantasy classic
So many reviews for this book already, just want to add my rating to the overall score.

First read this in intermediate school and totally identified with Menolly's feelings of alienation and injustice (eh, teenagers.)Possibly not something I love as much now as I did then but it was the start of my Fantasy genre obsession and a classic.

great read
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.

great
this is a great book about a girl with passion for music. the story takes place in a fictional land called pern. mccaffrey has fully developed this world in a whole series of books, this is only one series of many that take place in this land, but a lot of them are adult novels as opposed to this one which is meant for kids. the book focuses on this girl named menolly who lives in a very conservative fishing village in a time before modern technology and in a world where dragons exist. menolly loves music, but it is frowned upon for women to participate in music in any significant way, aka singing in a chorus is ok, but it is unheard of for a woman to be a 'harper' which is a person treated almost like a scholar or a preist. men with talent go off to study in a harper school and to be a harper is a very prestigious position. every little town is sent their own harper to teach the children songs and to preside over the music at ceremonies and events.

so this girl menolly is very talented and loves music, but because of the society she lives in, she can't enjoy her gift. the old harper recognized her talent and fostered her gift, and because she was a child her parents allowed this, but as the story opens we find that this old harper is dead and the town (of which her father is the chief) has requested for a new harper. before the old harper died, he had sent off some songs menolly had written to the master harper and he really liked these and told the new harper to find this (thought to be male) prodigy. and this is sort of where we walk into the story.

menolly then goes through some trials, one of which is cutting her hand while gutting fish. this is particularly tragic because she is told that she can no longer play music. she already feels useless because she's taller and stronger than 'a girl should be' and she's has no interest in what she should be doing. her parents, especially her father are really against her playing music. her father even beats her when he finds her absent-mindedly strumming a guitar after he forbid her to make any music as he doesn't want her to shame their village when the new harper comes. because of this she makes herself scarce and eventually runs away to live on a cliff with these little dragons called fire lizards.

this is the first in a trilogy and is a great story for both budding fantasy lovers as well as for vetrans. it's a quick read but has memorable characters and a fast-paced plot. fun for all ages.

Anne McCaffrey
I have been reading Anne McCaffrey's novels for years. I have a copy of every one of them and I would recommend her works to anyone of all ages. She has created a fantasy world that you can fall into and lose yourself in. Her characters are the examples of the best and the worst of humanity. The novels are good reads with very little "lag" time throughout. Captivating story lines coupled with the characters she has created make this, and every other one of her books, a must-read.

might appeal to younger readers, but mostly unoriginal and dull
Menolly's dream is to be a singer and songwriter, but her Hold (and in particular her leader, and incidentally, father) forbids girls from so much as humming music. When Menolly is injured, it seems as though music is forever forbidden to her. Frustrated by her cruel and neglectful family, Menolly runs away from home. In a cave, she helps a fire lizard hatch her babies. Menolly is imprinted on the nine babies and teaches them to sing. A simple young adult tale that many young adolescent readers will enjoy and identify with, though the lack of deep characters, the slow pace and predictability, the unoriginality in the face of other superior novels of the genre, may hinder some enjoyment. Grade: C ... Read more

Product Description
At first Killashandra Ree's ambitions to become a Crystal Singer, get rich, and forget her past, were going just as she had hoped. But after she grew wealthy, a devastating storm turned her claim to useless rock. In short order she was broke, she had crystal sickness so bad she thought she was going to die, and the only way she could be true to the man she loved was to leave him....
... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

One of my favorite sci-fi series
I haven't read these in a few years but remember really enjoying them. All in all this has everything I look for in a series: imaginative scenes with understandable explanations and interesting, likeable characters who you care what happens to. Also, it has an end. There are so many authors who keep a series alive long after they should have wrapped it up. If you enjoy sci-fi or fantasy with female leads, then give this series a try.
The first book opens us to the lead character, Killishandra Ree, and the very imaginative and detailed world of crystal singers. Killishandra was studying to be a professional stage singer on one planet, but when that lifelong dream is blown, she meets a crystal singer and decides to try to become one herself. Broken down, singers are basically miners of crystals used all over the galaxy for numerous things such as inter-galactic communications. Why they're called singers is that they have to be able to sing in perfect pitch in order to "tune in" to the crystal frequency so that it can be cut properly. This job is fraught with danger, the first of which is surviving the organism that invades their bodies as they land on the planet where the crystals are to be cut. The organism allows them to live on the planet and allows them a long life with a much slower ageing process (hundreds of years). Unfortunately, it cannot protect them from the memory-loss that all crystal singers suffer due to crystal exposure. They do get paid a ton, but of course, like a mining community of old, the "Guild" charges singers for all their equipment and multiple fees, making it hard for them to earn enough credits to get off planet and far enough away from the crystals' negative effects. Also, different crystals are worth different prices, depending on their color, cut and potential usefulness.
*** SPOILER ALERT ***
In the second book, we find Killishandra, now an established "singer", sent to another planet to install some type of crystal for producing musical sound (an enormous concert organ which is used by the planet's government in a diabolical way to control the citizenry). She's kidnapped by rebels on the planet and meets Lars Dahl, the series' primary love interest. I really don't remember all the book specifics on this one, but I remember really enjoying the book as well as the developing romance.
*** MAJOR SPOILER ALERT ***
In the last book Killishandra and Lars have been cutting crytals together for years (as in hundreds, I think). He has kept an electronic journal which reminds him of things so he can minimize the memory damage of the crystal. She has not. You think, "OMG! How sad! Oh no!", quite a bit throughout this book. It can be hokey at times, but also beautiful. I warned of spoilers, but I will not give away the ending.

70% Romance Novel, 30% Sci-Fi
This story by Anne McCaffrey is part two of the Crystal Singer trilogy.I have to admit that I liked the first novel much better.The first novel was the story of how Killashandra Ree becomes a Crystal Singer, and took us along with her entry into an interesting world. In "Killashandra Ree," Killa continues her adventures, this time off Ballybran and on a foreign planet, Optheria.She is tasked with repairing their crystal-powered Organ.She has a set of adventures on a planet that I found fairly indistinguishable from our own.

Killashandra is a strong, interesting main character. I agree with Lars Dahl; I also fell for her "vibrant youth, charm, invulnerability, indefatigable energy, and resourcefulness."

In this novel, Anne McCaffrey returns to her roots as a romance writer.This story is 70% romance novel and 30% sci-fi.Great Sci-Fi makes its readers think about real issues that arise due to a setting that is different than our everyday reality of the present.In Crystal Singer, the issue McCaffrey deals with is memory - do we forget for a reason?Are some memories better off forgotten?If we don't remember events, is that the same as if they never actually happened?What is the impact of living much longer than our peers?

"Killashandra Ree" tackles no big issues.The story meanders, with a romance between Killa and Lars Dahl as the focal point.I struggled to finish this novel in the middle part, which is unusual for an Anne McCaffrey story. Only my love for the character Killashandra got me through these slow parts.

I am looking forward to the third novel of the trilogy - I hope McCaffrey soars back to her usual heights.

(This Kindle edition has numerous typos and spelling errors- the file was not transferred perfectly from the original document - but in most cases I knew the word they were trying to spell.)

killasandra
As with all Anne McAffrey books this is a fine work. The Crystal Singers are a breed apart, the planet on which they work the crystal from has a deadly secret. One which both lenghten's their lifespans and can destroy them if they stay away to long.....

Fly away with me
"Killashandra" is the exciting sequel to Anne McCaffrey's "Crystal Singer." Killashandra Ree,who has become a musical mistress on the dangerous planet Ballybran, must secure a powerful load of crystals. She's kidnapped... and finds a people enslaved. Of course,there's an obligatory romance between Killashandra and her kidnapper Lars Dahl. "Killashandra" is a fun,fast-paced read. It's not as good as its predecessor,but it doesn't fall into the Sequel Syndrome. Fly away!

Science Fantasy at its best
If you haven't read everything she's written, at least give it a try.....
I have..... ... Read more

Product Description
As long as the people of Pern could remember, the Holds had protected them from Thread, the deadly silver strands that fell from the sky and ravaged the land. In exchange for sanctuary in the huge stone fortresses, the people tithed to their Lord Holders, who in turn supported the Weyrs, whose dragons were Pern's greatest weapon against Thread.

But not everyone on Pern was part of that system of mutual care and protection, particularly those who had been rendered holdless as punishment for wrongdoing. And there were some, like Jayge's trader clan, who simply preferred the freedom of the roads to the security of a hold. Others, like Aramina's family, had lost their holds through injustice and cruelty. For all the holdless, life was a constant struggle for survival.

Then, from the ranks of the criminals and the disaffected, rose a band of renegades, led by the Lady Thella. No one was safe from Thella's depredations, and now her quarry was Aramina, reputed to have a telepathic link with dragons. But when Thella mistakenly vented her rage on Jayge's family, she made a dangerous mistake. For Jayge was bent on revenge . . . and he would never let her have the girl who heard dragons!


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

great 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.

A sequel to Piemur's book
This book has a full fledged female villain: Lady Thella
and her band of thieves. As Thred falls for the first time
in this era the displaced people have gathered around
a leader and begun to steal to stay alive.
Most of the last half of the book deals with the southern continent
which has the imaginative name : 'Southern'.
We get a parallel to the adventures of Piemur
and at last Archaeology of the first settlement
of the planet with a computer still active.
The result leaves things open for another sequel
to follow?
As I have read several in this sequence I think this
effort doesn't have the spirit of some of the original
work, but continues the development of the Pern
culture from another point of view.

The Renagades of Pern
What can I say???? I totally enjoyed this book, just as I have loved all the series! This one, more than any other, portrays life outside of the Dragon rider's wheyrs and out over Pern and it's common folk.

Anne McCaffery is a master in writing, a true Bard.
Her stories a full of humanity, wonderful bonds between man/dragon/and earth (Pern)...and so VERY, refreshingly different from the Tolkien-esque fantasies many writers emulate.

The continuing chronicles of Pern
This, the tenth novel in the popular series that about the people and dragons of Pern, takes place approximately concurrently with THE WHITE DRAGON and is largely centered on Jayge Lilcamp, a member of a family of traders who traveled across Pern bringing much needed goods.Jayge finds his life and that of the rest of Pern turned upside down when Thread, that horrendous menace that periodically attacked the planet returned.Many had believed that Thread would never again fall from Pern's skies, scoffing at those who insisted that all too soon they would once again have to deal with this age old enemy, when once again all of Pern would owe their existence to the brave dragons and riders.

Jayge found his very way of life changed, not so much by the Thread itself but by humans he had been brought into contact with, one a young woman who had the unique talent of hearing dragons, all dragons, speak to each other telepathically and another embittered young woman who was determined to control this talent.As major events of Pernese society take place around them these three battle for their own places in their world.

The author, Anne McCaffrey, places a request in each of her Pern stories that the reader read the stories in order for maximum enjoyment.Readers new to this series would absolutely not want to begin with this one, the story is quite dependent on earlier events.Those who have read the first four or five novels could follow and enjoy the story but the more familiar the reader is with the series the more they will enjoy this story.This novel takes place and refers to many of the same events as THE WHITE DRAGON, and the Harper Trilogy (DRAGONSONG, DRAGONSINGER and DRAGONDRUMS), relating the events from a slightly different point of view.ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN begins shortly after the end of this novel.

As with all the Pern novels this one is a fascinating depiction of a complex society that has adapted itself to the extraordinary conditions that have beset it.Once again McCaffery has taken characters that have dominated earlier novels, placed them into secondary roles and shifted focus to other characters who either had been mentioned in passing earlier or are new to this story.It is interesting to see how the various events or characters common to more than one novel are viewed differently by various individuals.The different storylines of this novel are all quite satisfactorily tied up but the ending involves such a surprising twist that the reader will probably want to immediately pick up the next novel in the series, ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN.

The Renegades of Pern
Very good. I knew I was hooked on the Pern stories when I started buying them in hardback instead of waiting 6-8 months for the paperback. ... Read more

Product Description
In the world of Pern, Harpers are regarded to be more powerful than kings, for the music they play can literally control the minds of others. For young Menolly, her dreams of becoming a Harper have nothing to do with power, but rather her love of music. Now she is finally living out her musical dreams as an apprentice Harper, but it's turning out to be more challenging than she thought.

Formerly forbidden to study music because of her gender, Menolly quickly encounters hostility from a number of her male peers and masters. But she is not alone in her struggles. With the help of new friends, teachers, and her nine fire lizards, Menolly finds that her musical talents may prove more powerful than anyone could imagine. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (85)

better than the first
So many reviews already, just wanted to add my rating to the overall score.

Second book in the series, this one was even better than the last since it was more upbeat, overall, as Menolly start to really find herself and grow in her music skills.

the best of the best
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.

Great Author and Great Book.
This is a great book to introduce a new reader to Anne McCaffrey and her world of Pern.This is a book I often pick every so often and re-read just to revisit the characters and the let story unfold all over again.

Great summer book.
Book arrived in a couple of days just as promised in great condition. It a great summer read.

Good, quick fantasy read
This is the second book in the Harper Hall trilogy. At the end of the first book, Menolly was discovered by Master Harper Robinton and taken to Harper Hall to study music. This book is about her first few days in Harper Hall. Anytime you get teenage girls together, especially if there is a reason to be envious of one of them, there will be drama. It's no different in the Harper Hall.

Overall, a good, quick read. This book lacks some of the excitement of the first book, but I liked it better. I felt I got to know more about Menolly and I really liked the characters of Piemur, Sebell, and the Master Harpers. I'm all about the characters, so I look forward to reading the final book in the trilogy. I may also explore some of the other Pern books in the future. ... Read more

Product Description
The crew of shipbred technicians sent to the planet Ireta were prepared for a routine mission to catalog flora and fauna and search for new energy sources. Kai and his beautiful coleader Varian, the best xenob-vet in the business, followed all the standard procedures, but the result of their investigations was totally unexpected.

When their rescue ship mysteriously disappears, they suddenly find themselves surrounded by giant swamp creatures, deadly predators, and terrifying dinosaurs. And a curious change begins to come over many of the crew members—a mutinous change that will lead all of them, in one way or another, into the primitive darkness of a future world that holds many mysteries yet to be revealed. . . .

So begins Anne McCaffrey’s exciting adventures Dinosaur Planet and Dinosaur Planet Survivors—together in one thrilling volume for the first time!
... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Mystery of Ireta Review
I enjoyed this book a great deal as the characters are well developed and I like having all the books together. I have been a fan of Anne McCaffrey for a number of years and have read and re-read most of her stories. I read the Dinosaur Planet years ago and now can have the whole series together and find out how it all ends.
I highly reccomend it for fantasy and Si-Fi readers!

More Planet Pirates
This is an expanded look at one episode in the Planet Pirates novel and is a bit much if one has read the other.

Dinosaur Planet and Dinosaur Planet Survivors
I had previously read both of these titles as individual books; however having them combined into one is nice.I really enjoyed this series which leads into the Planet Pirates, great writer, with a good way of weaving you into the story and keeping your attention.

Not PERN but Fun
This story may take place in the same universe as PERN but is as unaware of it as they would be of it. It may also be the future or alternate universe of Damia and the FT&T crowd, who knows if technology ever overtook ESP?

Primarily this is a space/planetary adventure complete with aliens and social commentary much like the original Star Trek (of which I am also a fan). If I tell you the plot I've said too much so trust this quick read to entertain and delight and it's a good read aloud story for the 7-13 crowd and a secret pleasure for the adults too.

dinosaur lady
i thoroughly enjoyed the book. there were a few oh-hums but even they had important info to read. this is a good book to read for any dinosaur fan. got out a dinosaur dictionary to look up the animals that exist on the planet and even that was interesting to do. then in the second book is TOR a rock animal who flies, facinating and the nasty heavy-worlders from first book. you wonder if what the book tells you on how the dinosaurs got there could be true. read the book and enjoy. ... Read more

Product Description
They are the Caradynes, who for over 200 years have bred and trained horses of the finest caliber on Coernanagh. But all is not idyllic at hearth and home. Catriona, the youngest child, longs to ride her family's big jumpers and show horses. Her father Michael, recognizes her gift, but her mother hates the very idea. All is in a stalemate until Lady Selina Healy enters their lives, and provides for Catriona and her father a stunning example of how the reins of power can be held by a glorious, fearless woman.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Buh-duhduh-dah... Buh-duhduh-dah... horse hooves...
A horse story set in 1970s Ireland. If it was a movie it might be rated R for some adult situations (a few sex scenes, not very detailed or especially exciting, and one of the characters has to deal with the aftermath of being raped). A light R rating. A little violence, any swearing seems to be done in a slang I am not familiar with.

I was disappointed when the mother died, it was fun see what she would try to do next to interfere. It happened too soon in the book.

I wish I had half as much confidence on a horse as the main child character and her friend Mary. I would have preferred to read more about the child, and less about the adults.

Characters seemed like they could be real people. I don't condone sleeping with someone who is not your spouse, but life happens and people find comfort where they can. The father would be a saint if he could go through years of marriage with a cold woman who was brought up to think of sex as only for procreation (never a pleasurable exercise) - and not stray. Honestly, what do you expect out of a person! There was no love and it was not a partnership, and they really had very little to tie them together. And within their religion, especially in their time period, divorce was not an option. And after that wife's death, can you really blame the guy for continuing on with life immediately? It was a loveless marriage and he had his living daughter's mental state to consider.

The novel is somewhat predictable, and maybe it could have been shorter. Not a life changing novel (although I think the author was trying to make a statement about the situation with battered wives). You could choose worse fare as light summer reading.

Predictable
I think this book was intended as a coming of age story of a girl who loved horses and the hardships she had to overcome.Yet the back cover describes a different story, that it's about a romance of a lady who comes to the Caradynes.The story unfolds slowly with lots of descriptions and explaining.After a couple chapters, the plot seems predictable and the characters stereotypical.

Perhaps when I was younger, a teenager or young adult, I would have enjoyed this book more.But I've read hundreds of books between now and then that this just seemed like another predictable book of its ilk.I ended up skimming through some of the descriptions, impatient for the story to start.Whenever it did start, it wasn't noticable.

McCaffrey is a little inconsistant in a writer.She writes some fantastic stories that you can't help but to read over and over.But she also has some clunkers as well.I think this one is in between.If you want to take a slow journey through a book and don't mind that the writing quality is less than her best, then by all means read this book.I'll be passing my copy along.

almost turned me Republican
Warning: This review contains spoilers.

When the horses and the minor characters are considerably more likeable than the main ones, there might be a problem. The three main ones are Michael Carradyne, described as "a very manly sort of man," the trainer/owner of the stable, who cheats on his wife not only during the marriage, but when she's in hospital and also right after she dies; Selina Healey, who like Michael has a monstrous spouse that she is unfaithful to; and Michael's daughter Catriona, who at least is too young to start copying the infidelity of her elders.

Oh, and all three are beautiful, well off and superb riders. With the child, we get hammered with her perfection page after page. About the only thing she does wrong is because a stablehand tells her to, and this is sort of laughed off when it's discovered, because well, she's perfect. She can ride better than anyone except the dead grandfather. Plus her mother was a horrible you-know-what when she was alive. Case closed.

The only character I felt sorry for was the soon-to-be dead wife of Michael. And I only felt sorry for her because all the other "good" "sympathetic" characters hated her, and her husband trots off to a horse show the moment her funeral is over.

Frankly, I was appalled at the behavior in this book. I don't think you can excuse someone's moral shortcomings by their superb riding ability. Not here anyway.

Who is the audience for this book?
Much of it seems to be a classic coming-of-age-ish book about girls and horses.From that perspective, the main character is endearing and the horsey life is reasonably well captured.But then there are these glimpses of complicated facets of adult life from inside those characters' heads in a way that seems inappropriate for a teen reader.From the adult side, there are many awkwardly written parts, with several characters and relationships given rather two-dimensional handling, stretches of events and/or character-development happening by way of a few quick sentences, and generally painfully predictable romantic arcs.

There's also a strange anachronistic feeling to the fact that it's occurring in the modern age (for some reason very specific about 1970) but the women are so pre-feminism that it can be difficult to watch their unreasoning deference to their husbands and guardians.Thus there are regular digressions into the way that Irish families don't talk about sex, divorce is illegal, there's little support for battered wives, it's crazy to think a girl can show horses, and so forth.The rest of the book is sufficiently time-independent (as opposed, say, to a medieval setting) as to make those things feel like interruptions to the flow, or stuck in for some ulterior purpose, which is also a distraction.

I am a long-time fan of McCaffrey, for all her different characters and worlds, but maybe she needs the scifi context to generate enough suspension of disbelief (and flights of empathetic imagination) to carry the reader through the interpersonal stuff -- without my going back and rereading a dragon book, say, (at ten years' remove) I can't really calibrate my current impatience against my previous complete enthusiasm.I did get pulled along by curiosity about a few things, but I ended up consigning this one to a local lending library out of embarrassment at having read it, even as "summer trash"...The cover is over the top, but only by a tiny percentage.

A nice way to get into a different kind of Anne McCaffrey...
The Lady was my first non-science fiction/fantasy Anne McCaffrey experience, and I was totally hooked! She is truly a great storyteller, and this book had me riveted from the get-go; I found myself rooting for the characters here just as much as any of her Pern or otherwise books. If you`re looking for a good read, pick up The Lady and enjoy Anne just as much as you always have in her other storylines. ... Read more

Product Description
The surviving colonists of the planet Botany have conquered the alien invaders who enslaved them. But their ravaged world needs technology. Planet Earth needs food. And now the survivors need to decide what kind of world they will become.Amazon.com Review
Freedom's Ransom is the fourth novel in Anne McCaffrey's Freedom series, also known as the Catteni Sequence. The sequel to Freedom's Landing, Freedom's Choice, and Freedom's Challenge, Freedom's Ransom will please some fans of this star-spanningscience fiction series, but others will find the book slow-paced, talky, and lacking in action. Freedom's Ransom ends conclusively, with no major unresolved plot lines, yet leaves space for at least one sequel.

The planet Botany was settled by a mixed group of humans andaliens, slaves of the alien Catteni and their alien masters, the Eosi. But one Catteni was dropped on Botany with the slaves: Zainal, who helped them win their independence. Now Botany must establish trade with other planets in order to survive. But the other worlds have been ravaged by the Catteni, and once-proud Earth has been reduced to primitive poverty, its technology stolen by corrupt Barevi merchants. To save Botany, Zainal and Kris Bjornsen, his human lover, must find a way to help all the worlds.

While the preface of Freedom's Ransom crisply summarizes the preceding books, this series has so many characters, races, and planets that newcomers should start with the first book, Freedom's Landing. Sophisticated SF readers aren't likely to enjoy the series, but it should hook young adults; if you're looking to broaden a child's reading beyond Harry Potter, try Anne McCaffrey's Freedom series and Dragonriders of Pern series. --Cynthia Ward ... Read more

Customer Reviews (46)

Can't believe that this was actually written by McCaffrey
I enjoyed the first three books, and the idea of this one was good, but who wrote it?!And who edited it?Not up to standard, that's for certain!

Another winner
Freedom's Ransom is another winner for author Anne McCaffrey.It answers many questions raised in the previous books, but leaves enough unanswered, and raises more for at least one more sequel. Well done!

Very good sequel.
Not quite as good as the other books in the series, but still very enjoyable.You could tell it was written much later than the previous ones.

How did the publisher let this one get to print?
The "Freedom" series kept my interest up through the third book. This fourth one falls off a cliff.Imagine a universe where a few tons of automotive supplies and food has a measurable impact on the reconstruction of a looted and devastated Earth. Imagine one where interstellar travel is so cheap that bird carcasses, bananas, and coffee beans are the prized trade items.Repetitious descriptions and dialog, boring 1-D characters, a chaotic plot, bad science and inconsistent technology, absurd scale effects, and a host of other flaws make this a painful book to push through to the end. You'll also find "exterior motives" and "one of the only".Sad. How did the publisher let this one get to print?

Book
Bought the book in cassette form to comlpete the series.Anne McCaffrey is an excellent writer. ... Read more

Product Description
In a time when the deadly scourge Thread has not fallen on Pern for centuries, a boy is born to Harper Hall. A musical prodigy who has the ability to speak with the dragons, he is called Robinton, and he is destined to be one of the most famous and beloved leaders Pern has ever known. In a climate of unrest, Robinton will come into his own. But despite the tragedies that beset his life, he continues to believe in music and in the dragons, and he is determined to save his beloved Pern from itself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (128)

One of her best Dragonriders books
I've read this book countless times, and I still cry and laugh every single time.Robinton is beloved by all who know him on Pern and on Earth.Great book...I'll read it again!

wonderful
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.

Engaging, but with timeline & consistency issues
I sort of enjoyed "Masterharper" but in the end its timeline and consistency issues took a big toll. In trying to wrap up storylines too tightly, McCaffrey writes scenes that are totally implausible, given what we know from books written earlier.

Masterharper asks way too much of a reader to suspend his or her sense of disbelief. To accept its narrative, one would have to completely discount the events as portrayed in her first -- and vastly superior -- book, Dragonflight. The two books just don't match.

Some slight timeline and consistencies would be acceptable, but big, huge, hairy ones are not. I've thought for a long time that McCaffrey's editors did her no favors by allowing a myriad of inconsistencies to appear in her books. Is anyone in charge of 'fact-checking' from book to book?

This book is cautiously recommended, but buyer beware. If you're at all familiar with the events as portrayed in Dragonflight, you're going to be mighty confused when you reach the conclusion.

Mediocre
"Dragonflight" is still one of my favorite books, and Pern one of my favorite places, but I agree with the reader who said the books went downhill after "Dragonsdawn."I stopped reading them after I read "The Dolphins of Pern" but recently picked up a pile again.

"Masterharper" isn't as bad as some, but considering we're returning to one of the best characters in the series, it wasn't as good as it should have been.The writing of the characters and settings was engaging, but I have to say that there wasn't much for Robinton to do. We see his life, which seems to be very good apart from the relationship with his father and his marriage.But just as he exits his youth and I thought it would start to get interesting, the book skims over years until bringing us back to what we already know.Those years should have shown the man Robinton was - as a youth he bounced around Pern, had one major hardship, and never had to deal with the demonized father figure - and when he settles into his work we should have seen all the things that made him a good man and good Harper.For such a weathered and interesting character, this is the background we get?

I wanted to see him have his own adventures, and build in character through them, but mostly Robinton just meets other characters and watches the degredation of Pern (which was suprisingly sudden, I felt) and the actions of Fax. He never actually took any action himself, and I felt he deserved better than that. I don't see why Robinton couldn't have had adventures of his own, rather than setting up for those that happen later.This period of Pern was dangerous and dark, there should have been plenty for him to do.
And for a major character I hoped to see him at work more.

The timeline was also shaky and stretched, it seemed to force in a mention of everyone we know at Harper Hall even if it didn't fit into the later books.

In my opinion, if you're a fan of Pern who has already read the other books, you could easily skip this one and not miss much (I walked away with few impressions about Robinton that I didn't already know).But if you're a fan, you'll probably want to read them all.If you're looking at the series for the first time, this is not the place to start - it's more of a filler than anything.

Not up to the standard of the dragonrider and dragonsinger series
It hurts to give this 2 stars given I'm a huge fan of the dragonrider and dragonsong series. It's almost hard to believe they were written by the same person. The main problem I have is with the narrative. Rather than immersing the reader in a compelling narrative as Mccaffrey's early dragonbooks do, this is written almost observationally rather than from within the story, as though you are hearing a description of events that happened rather than enjoying the narrative. The characters are rarely developed to a level where one feels a connection to them, leaving me caring little for their plights and adventures. There are no Lessas or F'lars in this book. Petiron in this book is presented as a completely different person than in the 'singer books and is so flawed that he never feels like a real person. The fact that his wife is so caring and sensitive and he is such a lout makes the whole relationship unbelievable and at times laughable. Many of the other characters are also overwrought; there are no lukewarm people in this book only saints and the wicked people they suffer. The bizarre attempt at Robinton dialoging in childish language seems very contrived.

I also find the blatant inconsistencies to the former books to be a major turn-off. Apparently Robinton can speak to dragons although the entire series prior to this book makes it very clear that he can NOT and was shocked on one occasion when a dragon spoke to him. As mentioned above, Petiron is transformed from a caring old man in the 'singer series to a despicable egomaniac in this book. There are many others. Does the author have the liberty of changing the facts as she writes? Sure, but it dilutes the storyline. These facts aren't evolved, they are completely changed.

Now some good things. The central world of Pern is there. Pern, thread, and it's dragonriders are one of the most engaging and brilliant creations in all of science fiction writing. This book is worth reading for that fact alone. It's just a letdown from the high entertainment of previous works. ... Read more

Product Description
Strange things were happening on the icy planet called Petaybee. Unauthorized genetically engineered species had been spotted, while some people were simply disappearing. None of the locals were talking to the company, so the company sent disabled combat veteran Yanaba Maddock to spy. But a strange thing happened. With her relocation to the arctic planet came a return of Yana's health and strength. And the more she got to know the people of Petaybee, the more determined she became to protect her new home....
... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

A fun sci-fi romp by two masters
An enjoyable romp through a fun world by two masters of sci-fi, Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Anne Scarborough.Well detailed and lovingly crafted world.An enjoyable protagonist.It has sequels, but stands well alone. Would be good for juvenile readers as well.

Adventure
I have been a fan of Anne McCaffery for a lot of years, she never disappoints. She has left me hanging on the edge of my seat wondering what was next!

4 stars for the idea...
The idea is beyond wonderful, I REALLY want to live on this planet McCaffrey and Scarborough have created. That being said I've worried about McCaffrey for some time as her books in recent years have... well... Let's just say she may feel in a hurry or something. Elizabeth has written other books alone, that I have found enjoyable, and own, so this can't be all or even mostly her fault. I do read this trilogy over and over, but a good bit of that time is spent with the book face down and me daydreaming. And oddly enough only those darn cats, the planet itself, and the large beaming medicine woman from the novels feature at all in my daydreams...

pitiful
Alas, Ms. McCaffrey strikes again. Throughout her writing, she is plagued by....bad writing.Her ideas are wonderful, and if only properly executed, could make up wonderful books.Too bad that she, and this book in particular (the early Pern books were not so bad) is predictable, inconsistant and sloppy.She might care to try reading her books and noticing the number of things that change from page to page.This is particularly infuriating, as it should not be so difficult to avoid.Unfortunately, she appears not to have made this one small effort.In this book, there was a) no character development worth speaking of, b) no surprises or involving moments, and c) much that rang false and superficial.Not worth reading, except on a desert island.

I like this book!
I liked this book, which was quite surprising since i never really likedscience fiction before. im eager to read the next 2 books. ... Read more

Product Description
Strange things were happening on the icy planet called Petaybee. Unauthorized genetically engineered species had been spotted, while some people were simply disappearing. None of the locals were talking to the company, so the company sent disabled combat veteran Yanaba Maddock to spy. But a strange thing happened. With her relocation to the arctic planet came a return of Yana's health and strength. And the more she got to know the people of Petaybee, the more determined she became to protect her new home....
... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

A fun sci-fi romp by two masters
An enjoyable romp through a fun world by two masters of sci-fi, Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Anne Scarborough.Well detailed and lovingly crafted world.An enjoyable protagonist.It has sequels, but stands well alone. Would be good for juvenile readers as well.

Adventure
I have been a fan of Anne McCaffery for a lot of years, she never disappoints. She has left me hanging on the edge of my seat wondering what was next!

4 stars for the idea...
The idea is beyond wonderful, I REALLY want to live on this planet McCaffrey and Scarborough have created. That being said I've worried about McCaffrey for some time as her books in recent years have... well... Let's just say she may feel in a hurry or something. Elizabeth has written other books alone, that I have found enjoyable, and own, so this can't be all or even mostly her fault. I do read this trilogy over and over, but a good bit of that time is spent with the book face down and me daydreaming. And oddly enough only those darn cats, the planet itself, and the large beaming medicine woman from the novels feature at all in my daydreams...

pitiful
Alas, Ms. McCaffrey strikes again. Throughout her writing, she is plagued by....bad writing.Her ideas are wonderful, and if only properly executed, could make up wonderful books.Too bad that she, and this book in particular (the early Pern books were not so bad) is predictable, inconsistant and sloppy.She might care to try reading her books and noticing the number of things that change from page to page.This is particularly infuriating, as it should not be so difficult to avoid.Unfortunately, she appears not to have made this one small effort.In this book, there was a) no character development worth speaking of, b) no surprises or involving moments, and c) much that rang false and superficial.Not worth reading, except on a desert island.

I like this book!
I liked this book, which was quite surprising since i never really likedscience fiction before. im eager to read the next 2 books. ... Read more

Product Description
The long-awaited new Dragonriders of Pern® novel
from bestselling author Anne McCaffrey

It is a time of hope and regret, of endings and beginnings. The Red Star, that celestial curse whose eccentric orbit was responsible for Thread, has been shifted to a harmless orbit, and the current Threadfall will be the last. Technological marvels are changing the face of life on Pern, and the dragonriders, led by F’lessan, son of F’lar and Lessa and rider of bronze Golanth, and Tia, rider of green Zaranth, must forge a new place for themselves in a world that may no longer need them.

But change is not easy for everyone. There are those who will stop at nothing to keep Pern and its people pure. And now a brand-new danger looms from the skies and threatens a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions. Once again, the world looks to the dragons and their riders to save the world. But now, as the friendship of F’lessan and Tia begins to bloom into something more, unforeseen tragedy strikes: a tragedy destined to forever change the future–not just of the two young lovers, but of every human and dragon on Pern . . .

“McCaffrey’s sexy and cunning dragons carry the day–and the novel–with impeccable, irresistible panache.”
–Publishers Weekly
Amazon.com Review
Anne McCaffrey's Pern series has been running successfully for so long that most of the Dragonriders' original problems have been solved. In TheSkies of Pern, she confronts her standard cast of characters with theconsequences of those solutions, consequences that are a whole new set ofproblems. Now that the Red Star has been pushed to another orbit, therewill only be a few more ravenous Threads descending from it for them andtheir dragons to fight--and what role will that leave for them? They havesuccessfully reclaimed Earth's lost technology--and suddenly everyone witha craft that might be outmoded, or who is phobic about surgery, is on therampage, sabotaging and smashing and making up rumors. These fundamentalistAbominators are sure that something terrible will happen if the old waysare not gone back to--and sure enough, fire descends, on cue, from theskies.

Anne McCaffrey's tales of genetically engineered dragons and a lost colony that has declined into feudalism are ultimately SF rather than fantasy because they are about finding solutions to problems, solutions that involve working with what you are given to start off with; The Skies of Pern is all about elegant solutions to credible problems. --Amazon.co.uk ... Read more

Customer Reviews (122)

The Skies of Pern
This book arrived in time for us to sit down & enjoy the dragons flying around in the wyrns & fighting the outbreaks of string.The Pern series are well written, with a continuing plot to keep one interested through all of them.I recommend this book to everyone.I plan on getting our grandchildren interested in reading them, as most of the children have already read them.

one of my favorites
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.

Unfinished
The Skies of Pern felt thrown together in the 2nd half of the book and left unexplored areas but I also understand Anne is getting on in years and it might have been hard for her to finish that book since it was one of her latest solo productions.
I'm a die hard fan of Anne McCaffrey and I wished that the book could have been wrapped up better like what was done about Toric etc though I hope I can become even half so creative now as she is in her maturity.

There were a lot of issues
I just read this as the cap of reading all the other Pern novels.

The writing at the start and end was as strong as it ever is, but in the middle it really mushed out into a stream of blah.

Others have commented about how now there is a postal service runner guild where one never existed before--and having such a service would have solved a lot of problems in prior books.

The world of Pern itself has always been very unfair to its lower classes, but here things just went nuts. I remember reading the White Dragon and thinking if I was a drudge slave Jaxom would be dead.

In this book, I am quite convinced that as a drudge I would be a member of the rebel group, but for the purpose of cleaning out the lords.

At what point will the people get real weapons? The level of tech would lead directly to firearms and to flamethrower type HNO3 anti- personal weapons.

As for the dragon riders getting choice holds, and the weyrs getting ready to disband or downsize, talk about trouble.

Your new neighbor has the only real weapon around, that weapon requires as much food in two weeks as your family eats in a year, and your new neighbor is only good at killing from the air. Yep, sounds like the dragonrider/farmer war is only a few years off. Good thing the farmers will have HNO3 sprayers.

And what happened to the swords and guards/soldiers in Dragonflight? Now all there is, is clubs and knives and bystanders. Still lots of drudge slaves getting shafted, though.

Pern again...it gets off the ground...
McCaffrey has churned out another book in her Dragonriders series (or Pern series, if you prefer). This one is placed towards the end of the time line of events in the Pern universe. Thread is falling for the last time due to action taken in the previous book by Aivas, the artificial intelligence which remained from the original settlers of Pern.

All that to say the book has quite a history in it's little world, which I think, in the end, works against the flow of the story. Even in the notes at the beginning McCaffrey admits that she tended to get caught up in the stories of various characters to the neglect of the overall story.

Overall the story was pretty good, but I think the inclusion of the Abominators (people that don't like the newer tech being developed and used) may have been overkill. I think she could have still 'covered' their assaults on various Halls and some of the intrigue from more of a distance, without having to narrate entire sections focused on the Abominators themselves. The true main characters were F'lessan and Tai, and when they (and their dragons) were the focus of the narration, the story really moved along.

Though I would not rate this as the best Dragonriders book, it was definitely a solid contribution to the seires. If you love th e Dragonrider books, feel free to grab yourself a copy, but if you haven't read any, don't really bother with this one - at least until you've read some of the others and are hooked into the series... ... Read more

Product Description
For more than thirty years, Pern has conjured visions of brave men and women mounted upon the backs of dragons. As anyone knows who has been touched by the storytelling magic of Anne McCaffrey, to read of the exotic world of Pern is to inhabit it—and to experience its extraordinary dragons is to soar aloft with them and share their dazzling adventures.

Now, A Gift of Dragons brings together three beloved stories and a thrilling new tale of Pern in a single volume illustrated with beautiful artwork by Tom Kidd. In “The Smallest Dragonboy,” Keevan is the youngest dragonrider candidate, determined to impress a dragon when the next clutch of eggs hatches. But what transpires will surprise everyone—Keevan most of all. In “The Girl Who Heard Dragons,” a young girl’s rare ability to communicate with dragons puts her family in danger and will bring her face to face with her greatest fears—and with her most secret desire. The “Runner of Pern” is a girl named Tenna, who follows family tradition by delivering messages—and who will find her destiny on the mossy traces that runners have used for centuries under the dragon-filled sky. And finally, a very special gift: an exciting new Pern adventure, published here for the first time, fresh from the imagination of Anne McCaffrey. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (44)

Love Ann McCaffrey!
Ann and her son Todd cannot write books fast enough for me and this little book is a real gem. Four short stories that fill in story lines between her longer works help flesh out story lines and people you have met in other books. The Twins will charm you, what if one impresses a dragon and one doesn't????
Can't wait until my copy of Dragon Girl, ships.
Carol

The Smallest Dragonboy
Before reading this short story in 7th grade English I despised reading. This story pulled me into an entirely new world. For the first time I enjoyed reading, nay I had an all consuming need to read. Within a month after reading this short story I had read the full Dragonriders of Pern series from Anne McCaffrey. From that time I haven't gone a day without reading something, be it a book, short stories, or fanfiction. This sudden change in my life opened me to how the littlest thing teachers have us do can cause such large changes, and because of this I found my love of teaching.

I can never express the magnitude of my gratefulness to Anne McCaffrey for not only helping my find my passion in life, but for also teaching me that I could find such utter joy in the act of reading.

good buy
Great series.I love this author but this was not my favorite in the series.

A Gift of Dragons
A Gift of Dragons is a light interesting read for a rainy day. Anne McCaffrey's Pern holds your interest from the first chapter to the last page. When you finish the first book in the Pern series you can't help but read them all. I can't wait to get the next one.

A Gift of Dragons
The book was a great collection of short stories from the world of Pern.I enjoyed the book so much that I had it finished in just a short time.As with any book from the Pern series it was hard to put down, you just want to see what happens next. ... Read more

Product Description
With three acclaimed novels–Powers That Be, Power Lines, and Power Play–bestselling authors Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough launched a vibrant new science-fiction saga that told the story of a sentient planet, Petaybee, and the humans who fought to protect it from the rapacious designs of an all-powerful interstellar corporation determined to exploit the icy world’s natural resources. Led by Yana Maddock and Sean Shongili, Petaybee’s protectors prevailed. But now Petaybee is changing in mysterious, unprecedented ways, and the return of off-world scientists threatens the amazing planet and its equally amazing inhabitants with new dangers.

CHANGELINGS

They are Ronan Born for Water Shongili and Murel Monster Slayer Shongili. Twin brother and sister. Children of Yana and Sean. Children of Petaybee. As such, theirs is a destiny deeply intertwined with the sentient planet that is their home. For Ronan and Murel are more than human. Like their father, each can transform into a seal and converse telepathically with the planet’s creatures–such as the friendly otter whose life they save one day from a pack of ravenous wolves.

But the twins’ bravery has unforeseen results when a visiting scientist witnesses their startling metamorphosis and becomes obsessed with their capture. To protect their children, Sean and Yana send them to stay with a powerful family friend on an orbiting space station. But no one realizes that Ronan and Murel hunger to discover the origins of their shape-shifting talent–and that their search for knowledge will place them squarely in the path of peril.

Meanwhile, Petaybee is changing–and much faster than an ordinary planet’s natural evolution. It appears that portions of the sea are heating up and a landmass is suddenly rising from the depths. To investigate the startling occurrence, Sean heads out to the open water in his seal form. But the newly unstable region holds untold mysteries–and the potential for disaster.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

Another great Anne McCaffrey adventure !
This story is really good. About twins that have exceptional powers in the future. First of three (3) stories.

I enjoyed the book.
I enjoyed reading the book, but do not feel that I must have the next one.

That we all could be changlings
My twin stepsons have the telepathy communication. I even know when one of them is needing to talk,but not the other. They are alike, yet different in that respect.
I would certainly want to be able to change into a 4 legged creature at times and experience new things. Maybe that's the child tucked away in this 54 year old woman.Who cares what age group a book is geared toward, if it's a good story. I hope my grandsons will enjoy some of the Kindle Books I download. They've read everything else in my house. I might have to buy them their own Kindles, I'm not wanting to share mine outside of this house.

It was OK
It was kind of... how do I say it, luke. Could have been a 6 stars out of 5 kind of book. If you know what I mean.

A good story
I'm a sucker for books by Anne McCaffrey ever since I read the Pern series.I enjoyed Changelings however it's not up to the quality I enjoyed in the early Pern books.The characters are a little too "plastic". Not enough character development for me to really get to know them.They seem to be just caricatures. And the story line was just a little too predictable.Of course the evil Dr. Mabo would wind up encountering the children. And of course, Sean was conveniently unavailable to warn them.And of course, the rescue arrives just in the nick of time. Ah well, I'll probably read the rest of the series anyways but I really do miss the quality of those early Pern books. ... Read more

Product Description
In Freedom's Landing, bestselling author Anne McCaffrey created a new world that human slaves were forced to colonize. In time, this new world became more thatn a home--it became something to fight for.

But now Kris Bjornsen and her comrades have found evidence of another race on thier planet. Are they ancients, long dead and gone? Or could they still exist...to join their fight? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

Some good ideas poorly executed
The whole concept of this series is exciting. What would it be like if humans were enslaved on another planet and had to start over with other races of aliens? It could have been an interesting book if it was better executed. Some readers like plot driven novels with excitement, mystery, and adventure. Some readers like novel that focus on the individual characters and their relationships. There is none of that in this book.

-"Look there is a windstorm!"
-"Yes, I see the storm."
-"Should we explore the caves now? We had better call a meeting about the storm."
-"Oh, I am pregnant and may have been raped."
-"Ok, what about the reflectors on the ship? When will the windstorm hit them?"
-"I don't know. I'm hungry"
-"Me too, let's eat then we can go to the windstorm meeting."
-"We are lovers. I think that is great. I will raise your baby"
-"Thanks. What are you going to have for lunch?"

Botany's Struggle
Humans and several species of alien have been stranded on the (colonist named) planet Botany for struggling against their alien conquerors, the Catteni.Along with a single Catteni sympathizer, the forced-colonists of the planet Botany have begun to fight back against the Catteni, and those that manipulate the Catteni, the unrepentantly malevolent Eosi.

Freedom's Choice is a solid continuation of McCaffrey's tale about how the colonists of Botany manage to survive on their new world and fight back against the Catteni and Eosi.Add into the mix an intriguing, if not altogether original, plotline about the ultra-advanced Farmers, and you've got a story that generally moves along quite nicely.

The main drawback to the tale is that McCaffrey seems to be attempting at times not to get mired down in the detail of events.Unfortunately, the attempt comes off, to the story's detriment, with whole subplots lacking critical structure, let alone depth.For instance, early on in the story the characters attempt to steal a ship from the Catteni after it lands on the planet...however, there is extraordinarily little detail into the actual events that transpired during the colonists attempt to rip off one of the bad guys vehicles.This kind of shallowness rears itself several times throughout the book.

McCaffrey does make up for any muddiness in the plot with her strong descriptions of everyday life; building the colony is hardwork and McCaffrey does a good job of describing everyone's perseverance and how it intertwines with the overall plot of the story.

Ultimately, Freedom's Choice is a fairly strong follow-up to the initial tale in the series, Freedom's Landing.Freedom's Choice is recommended to anyone who has previously read the prior tale.

As good a series as the dragon rider series
If you are familiar with the Dragon Rider series, then you will probably like this series too. This book is more in line with the stories written with Mercedies Lackey (Planet Pirates) and takes a look at an assortment of aliens and humans who are captured, dumped on a planet, and how they survive in a hostile universe. There is the underlying thread that no matter what happens, we will always survive which makes the series a riveting read, how do they get out of this next scrape.

What made this series compelling for me was that the Catteni are also slaves as much as anyone else is in the series. What do you do when your bad guys are a sympathetic group of folks. There is also the idea of change, that if you get thrown into change, over time you learn to cope with the situation and eventually learn to adapt to what is happening around you. The strong hero heroine team in the book, with Worry and others made this a very fun read.

No "mid-trilogy" fumbling here!
The middle volume of a trilogy often has problems. This one does not. That's high praise, indeed, for Anne McCaffrey's writing skill. (Yes, I know there's a fourth "Freedom" novel. But I'm told it's a sequel to the trilogy, not part of a four-book series as I first assumed, by other reviewers who ought to know.)

What are the problems of a trilogy, usually? Pacing can be a big one. None of that here; this story has its own beginning, middle, and ending, and it moves along at good clip even when it's not in the midst of an action sequence. Character develpment can lag, but there's none of that here,either. We learn a lot more about the Catteni "dropee" Zainal, including exactly why he actively embraces being dropped on Botany along with a load of slaves. It's not just for love of human Kris Bjornsen, although that relationship matures and deepens. Zainal has an excellent reason for his emphatic, "I dropped, I stay!" attitude, and it's a fascinating one. By the book's end, we know a great deal more about the mysterious "Farmers" who have tended this planet for centuries (unknown to the Catteni, who dropped their slaves there to test its suitability for colonization). We also know a great deal more about the Catteni, who are finding the native species of their latest conquered world - Terrans - a disruptive influence on their entire empire.

All in all, "Freedom's Choice" is another old-fashioned space adventure with McCaffrey's trademark brand of romance supplying integral plot elements. I was alarmed, though (as has all too often been the case for me in reading McCaffrey!), by the author's absolute inability to grasp what constitutes rape. I'm old enough myself to remember when women were expected to hold the views her characters do on that subject ("It was really my own fault," "He did it because loving me made him crazy," etc.), so I can accept that I'm reading an author who simply hasn't caught up with the times on this subject; but I do hope no other woman or girl comes away from this book with a lingering belief in those dangerous old stereotypes subtly reinforced.

Be prepared to read the book before and the book after...
It's not that Freedom's Choice is a "bad book"... it's just that, for this book to make sense, you really have to have read the prior book (Freedom's Landing), and, since the story continues, the book after.

I like stand-alone books.Freedom's Choice is not one.

In Freedom's Choice, the survivors/colonists dumped on the planet Botany by the Catteni work at developing a structured society, fight back against the Catteni (and their overlords, the Eosi), and try to uncover the identity of the "Farmers," who have "colonized" the planet with machines for harvesting grains and meats (it is a bad thing to be captured during these meat-hunting expeditions... you get turned into sausage).

Stll, Anne McCaffrey treats the reader to interesting social and personal dynamics.People are such entertaining creatures! ... Read more

Product Description
Bringing fresh wonders and dangers to light in the skies of Pern, Anne McCaffrey and her son, Todd, who demonstrated his writing talents in the bestselling novels Dragon’s Kin and Dragonsblood, return with their second collaboration: a thrilling adventure of discovery and fate.

Pellar is an orphan taken in by Masterharper Zist. Though born mute, Pellar is a gifted tracker, and when Zist sets off to take over as harper for Natalon’s coal-mining camp, Pellar–along with his fire-lizard, Chitter–joins him on a secret mission of his own: to find out if reported thefts of coal are the work of the Shunned, criminals condemned to a life of wandering and hardship.

Halla is one of the children of the Shunned. Though innocent of their parents’ crimes, these children have inherited their cruel punishment. Lack of food, shelter, and clothes is their lot; hope is unknown to them. And what future would they hope for? Without a hold to call their own, there will be no protection for them when the lethal Thread inevitably falls again. Life is even tougher for Halla. Her family gone, she must fend for herself. Yet despite the brutality of her surroundings, Halla is kind and gentle, devoted to those more helpless than she.

As depraved as Halla is good, Tenim is in league with Tarik, a crooked miner from Camp Natalon, who helps him steal coal in exchange for a cut of the profit. But Tenim soon realizes there is a lot more to be made from firestone, the volatile mineral that enables the dragons of Pern to burn Thread out of the sky. Tenim doesn’t care what he has to do, or whom he has to kill, in order to corner the market.

Cristov is Tarik’s son. Dishonored by his father’s greed and treachery, the boy must make amends somehow, even if it means risking his life by mining the volatile firestone, which detonates on contact with the slightest drop of moisture.

When the last remaining firestone mine explodes in flames, a desperate race begins to find a new deposit of the deadly but essential mineral, for without it there can be no defense against Thread. But Tenim has a murderous plan to turn tragedy to his own advantage, and only Pellar, Halla, and Cristov can stop him–and ensure that there will be a future for all on the world of the Dragonriders.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (61)

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.

A Clumsy Addition to Pern
Dragon's Fire was an interesting book to read.It has its moments and at times is entertaining, but it is also a mess.From the start, the book had me thinking "Can Todd McCaffrey not think of any new plots?!"The first half of the book is largely are rewrite of Dragon's Kin with a new cast.While it reveals a new depth of intrigue and purpose in the other book, I still found this somewhat troublesome.The second half, dealing with Cristov felt more genuine to me...but at the same time came out of left field.The plot and development of the story overall is very disjointed and meandering.Granted, I can understand why this may be so and how it could be used to develop characterization, but it ends up being too heavy handed.

Any fan of Pern can bemoan the fact that this is not the work of his mother, but if you can get past the book's many flaws there are some interesting ideas hidden in each of Todd McCaffrey's books.I just hope his writing improves...though after reading three of his books, I have serious doubts.

easier to swallow than a mouthful of firestone
A great plot revolving around the need to mine the dangerous firestone necessary to supply the dragons of Pern, with the means to destroy the parasitic thread which threatens all life on Pern. A richly detailed world.Dragon's fire focuses on four intriguing characters : Pellar (a mute harpist), Halla (a young girl of the Shunned) and Cristov the son of a disgraced miner, and the evil Tenim ( a thief and worse)...it s about the dangers of mining Firestone and what to do with the Shunned...
I will be looking out for other Pern novels...

good book
While Anne tries to teach Todd the ways of Pern he gets better with each try! I love the Pern series and hope he keeps it going for a very long time!

dragon's fire
I got addicted to ms mc caffrey eons ago, have most of the collection of pern, saw this book advertised at the end of another of her books, so immediately knew i did not have it, was pleased delighted and surprized to read and re read it, love her and her son, enjoyed yet another viewpoint on pern and it's dragons and the everyday life on pern in and out of the harper hall, can't wait to find another book on pern ... Read more

Product Description

"I must find my own kind!"

These storylines mix romance,light comedy, and some violent action, which is generally downplayedor dealt with offstage. Of course, the verminous villains findhumanity a tougher proposition than nice unicorn-folk and complainbitterly: "They are barbaric and vicious beyond belief; when attacked,they actually fight back!" Happy endings emerge, with room for moresequels. Overall, Acorna's Quest feels like a romping,uncomplicated SF adventure intended for younger readers and AnneMcCaffrey devotees. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

A slightly below average tale

I will try not to give out spoilers.

The characterization of Acornia's Quest improves from the first installment of this series, yet the language and dialogue feels forced. Interactions between characters don't seem to flow normally but lurch from line to line. Spontaneous reactions to certain events feel predetermined and faked. I can feel the weight of the author throughout the story thus, preventing me from truly falling into the spell of the words. This weight can be felt in the odd dialogue turns, the odd reasoning, and in certain resolution scenes at the end of the book.

An OK read
Acorna, a humanoid alien who bears a striking resemblance to Terra's legendary unicorn, has grown to womanhood in far fewer years than the three asteroid miners who found and adopted her expected. Who put her into that drifting life pod, and why? Where are her own people, the others of her species? In this middle book of a McCaffrey trilogy, the unicorn girl sets out on a quest to find those people. Her adopted human family, including the rich and powerful Delszaki Li, find themselves torn between wanting to help Acorna do what's clearly so important to her and wanting to keep their beloved child safe and close by. Acorna's ability to heal illness and injury has become public knowledge, and now far too many people want something from her. Which makes her family's desire to protect her even stronger, and - thanks to her innocent readiness to help anyone who asks - quite possibly necessary to her survival.

Calum, one of Acorna's trio of foster fathers, has a different attitude than the others. He offers to go with her, and helps her get their ship underway secretly when delay after delay frustrates them both into believing that's the only hope they have of ever beginning their journey. They discover too late that one vital preparation wasn't completed, and addressing the problem requires them to make an unplanned planetary stopover. That stopover lands them smack in the middle of a colony starship's mutiny, and of a planet-wide ecological disaster caused by weather control used as a weapon. While they're sorting all that out, Acorna's people show up at last. Not seeking their lost youngling, but instead bearing warning of a different, nightmare alien species that has driven them from their home-world and pursued them across the galaxy - and that's now heading rapidly toward human inhabited space.

For some reason Acorna didn't "work" for me as McCaffrey heroines usually do. Is she too good to be true, perhaps? Or is it something about the image of a beautiful young woman who looks, well, pretty much like a horse? Anyway, this is one of the few McCaffrey books I've had to slog through in places. Normally they're page turners for me. An OK read, but nothing that left me scrambling to get my hands on the trilogy's others volumes.

A Tale for Recess Reading
A science fiction novel must usually be critiqued using criteria substantially different from those upon which non-fiction works are judged.After all, we do not open a sci-fi novel expecting to learn anything new, to discover historical events that eluded us in school, or to perfect any skills that we may be learning.Sci-fi is escapist reading.It is the recess in the school day of "serious" reading, and, as with any other sort of recess activity, it is meant to be fun and relaxing.What, then, are our criteria for proclaiming such a book as "good, bad or indifferent"?

For me, a "good" sci-fi novel allows one to set aside reality, to become immersed in the story, and to believe in the reality of that story as it unfolds.Even though the events and the technology may be incredible in the light of the "real world" as it now exists, the story must have a verisimilitude about it, a sequence of events that, in some alternate universe perhaps, could believably happen.The characters must act and react in natural ways.Dialog must be natural and must fit with the mental image the reader creates for each character based upon description and action.Above all, the story line must develop smoothly with no miraculous fixes to rescue the characters from impossible situations and with no loose ends or needless "red herrings" thrown in to expand the page count.

I admit to coming to the Acorna series with some trepidation, for McCaffrey's Dragons of Pern series had been overextended, and the last couple of novels displayed disturbing weaknesses in both plot and character development.However, whether because the Acorna series was a new direction or, more likely in my opinion, the novels were primarily written by the co-authors, Margaret Ball in this case, the books do not display the disappointing problems that eventually infected the Pern series.ACORNA'S QUEST is fresh and entertaining, and it allows one to set aside disbelief and enjoy the story as though it were indeed happening somewhere else in time and space.

If there is a weakness in the story line, it is the ease with which the mercenary fleet of the Red Bracelets defeats the Khleevi.Throughout three-quarters of the novel, the reader is led to picture the Khleevi as ruthless and practically indestructible monsters.By the end, however, it seems as though they appeared to be indestructible merely because no other race that they encountered was sufficiently hostile to take them on.Of course, the author may have planned this intentionally as acomment on the barbarism and militancy of the human race; in fact, the highly civilized Linyaari even refer to humans as barbarians and wonder more than once whether or not they are more like the Khleevi than not.On yet another tack, one might interpret the Khleevi's destruction as a comment that pacifism results only in perpetual retreat and that militarism is a positive, saving trait among a people.Any part of a story line that permits as many as three different interpretations (plot weakness, humans as barbarians, or pacifism as a cultural failure) constitutes a serious weakness in the text.

Despite the ambiguous messages sent to the reader by the book's treatment of the Khleevi, the novel remains a fun read.The book does include a preface that summarizes the events in the preceding novel of the series, ACORNA; however, the reader will appreciate ACORNA'S QUEST more by reading the earlier novel first.Those who enjoy taking a recess from their studies with imaginative sci-fi novels will, I think, enjoy the Acorna series.

definately not one of her best
I read and loved Acorna and eagerly picked up the second book in the series and what happened? This grand search for her people fizzles and they just turn up, right on the doorstep of a planet where people know her. What a happy coincedence that out of all the planets in space, they just find the planet where Acorna had been living. I was expecting a nice quest to find her people and what did I get, plot devices and some daft sub-plot about these space faring criminals, I cared so little about their story and that Tirla-lite character, that I skipped vast sections of the book and gave up. Terrible, proof that McCaffrey has truly lost the plot.. Do not read.

A Wonderful Escape from Reality.
In the first book of the series, we meet Acorna and come to know both her and her situation, which began something like this...

When three asteroid miners were just beginning one of their long collection terms, they discovered an escape pod floating in space. Calum, Gill, and Rafik had no idea what lay inside, and were surprised to find a humanoid occupant. She wasn't human, though, the hooves, and single horn protruding from her forehead proved that. Acorna, as the miners took to calling their new ward, was a very special creature indeed.

The horn gave Acorna abilities that human mythology is fraught with. She could purify air, water, and even heal grievous wounds. She also grew from an infant to the equivalent of an adolescent girl in one year, with a maturity and intelligence that constantly surprised her guardians. These three gruff single men came to love Acorna as if she were their own, and together they saved the planet Kezdet from the mysterious "Piper," and set the enslaved children free.

In this second instalment, Acorna has been plagued with dreams of finding her own people, and quite understandably wants to know where she is from and what she was doing floating through space on her own as an infant.

Calum, Gill, and Rafik are torn between their desire to protect Acorna, and that of helping her to find her people. While Calum and Acorna plot out the most likely course and prepare themselves to journey off and find her people, everyone else is reluctant to allow them to leave. Delay after delay is keeping their space ship docked, and the pair have had enough - they leave as they are.

Naturally, as soon as the pair leave orbit a strange ship arrives. The occupants are the Linyaari, Acorna's people. They are traveling the galaxy warning other life forms of the deadly and violent Khleev who demolish everything they come across. Acorna cannot be reached, and the race to save humanity is joined by the need to find Acorna.

Acorna has her hands full trying to save a planet from a horrible wrongdoing, and a ship full of Starfarer's children who have been boarded and held hostage by some very devious criminals from another planet. Acorna has no idea that her dream of being reunited with her own kind could become a reality, and much sooner than she would have expected.

As in the first book of the series, this was a wonderful escape from reality, with enough fantasy elements blended with the science fiction to keep any reader content. The story is strong, the characters memorable and very appealing. I am looking forward to the next title in the series, and wondering what could possibly be facing Acorna this time.

Review Originally Posted at LinearReflections.com ... Read more

Product Description
Perfect for diehard fans as well as readers discovering McCaffrey for the first time, this dazzling new volume features three classic novels from the early years of Pern–Dragonsdawn, Dragonseye, and Moreta.

The spectacular planet Pern seems a paradise to its new colonists–until unimaginable terror turns it into hell. Suddenly deadly spores are falling like silver threads from the sky, destroying everyone and everything they touch. Pern is in mortal danger. The only thing that can stop the Thread is the fire from Pern’s flying dragons. Now, the colonists must join forces with the dragons to burn the Thread before the parasite devours any and all organic life–and turns lush Pern into a barren wasteland.

On Dragonwings traces the story of the early generations on Pern. From the colonists who first created the fire-breathing dragons for protection, through the rise of the dragonriders, these three novels set readers on a daring quest to protect a beautiful and extraordinary planet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Wonderful first purchase!
SFBC didn't have this book in print anymore!What was I to do?Amazon to the rescue!!It was in perfect shape and the price was fair.I will continue to shop Amazon!

great read
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.

Caution - read the book's description before buying
As other reviewers have written, its actually
a combination of three of her previous and
old books.

Expecting to reading a new book, I was surprised
to find out that I have already read and have
these books.

No one to blame but myself since I should have
read the description more carefully...

If your old copies are falling apart this is for you!
After 20 years of reading and re-reading my favorite Pern novels my books have become quite tattered and worn. They desperately need replacement so I came to Amazon. Having three books published together under one cover is great for me. The only thing I wish is that I could get them in hardcover.

Pern Fans
I could read that this was three books in one quite clearly. It's a very good idea for any old Dragonriders fan whose books are falling apart- or for anyone new to the series to get some background on the characters ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Get off the Unicorn
The book came within a week of ordering it. It was in very good shape. Thanks.

Required Reading
In 6th Grade English, one of the printed stories we had to analize was "The Littlest Dragonrider"At that time I had no Ideathat Pern was a larger word that that short story, When I found out years later,I serched everywhere to find a copy of that english book just soIcould have that story, then I found out she reprinted it in "Get off the Unicorn" and I was estatic,I also loved all of the other stories that came with it :)

Short gems from master storyteller!
Ms. McCaffrey's collection of short stories, Get Off the Unicorn, is a treasure trove of great little stories.Some of them, like Daughter,Dull Drums, and Finder's Keeper are great example of McCaffrey's skill at creating characters you love in just a handful of pages.One story that really hit home for me was called A Proper Santa Claus.It is about a very creative young boy who is very gently crushed by the adults about him into what they believe is a proper use of his talent.The end always makes me cry.I think all teachers and parents should be made to read this story!

But the coolest part of this excellent collection of short stories is that it is the source for several of her best series:
Apple -- The Talent Series
Thorns of Barevi -- The Freedom Series
Lady in the Tower -- The Rowan
A Meeting ofMinds --Damia

And there is even a Pern story, The Littlest Dragonboy and a Brainship story called Honeymoon about Helva and Niall Parollan. A great collection!

...
Yes, it's a collection of short stories...but it's the beginning of so many books by Anne McCaffrey that it's a fascinating look at how one short story can bloom into a series.This book includes short stories that she later developed into the "Rowan", "Pegasus", and "Freedom" series.It also includes stories about Halva (The Ship Who Sang), Keevan (The Dragonriders of Pern-he later becomes a Weyrleader), and many other characters that you normally wouldn't pay much attention to.All in all, an engaging read that shows you the beginning of a writing empire!

Somewhat of a disappointment...
I bought this book, hoping for dragons. Not neccessarily Pern, but something fantastic, like unicorns (as the title SUGGESTS) or goblins or even horses, like Ms. McCaffrey normally does. Something fun ^_^ Unfortunately, no such luck. While I highly admire Ms. McCaffrey's work, I will be blunt and say that perhaps it would be best if these short stories remained short stories. Forever. The main reason, however, that I gave the book three stars? For the only Pernese short story of the book, "The Littlest Dragon Boy", which I thought was the gem in the rough. It was sweet :) ... Read more

Product Description
CRYSTAL SINGER

Young and beautiful, Killashandra Ree was a trained musician with no prospects . . . until she heard of the mysterious Heptite Guild on the planet Ballybran, where the fabled Black Crystal was found. For those qualified, the Guild was said to provide careers, security, and the chance for unimaginable wealth. But once you'd sung crystal, there was no going back . . .

KILLASHANDRA

Killashandra's first season on Ballybran was everything she had hoped for: She had sung Black Crystal, grown wealthy, and met a man who could make her forget her own sorrowful past. But then, a year later, everything had changed. She was broke, she had crystal sickness so bad she thought she'd die, and the only way she could be true to the man she loved was to leave him. . . .

CRYSTAL LINE

Crystal singing changed the singer forever, bringing ecstasy and pain, near-eternal life . . . and gradual loss of memory. Killashandra had a lot of painful memories she could afford to lose. What she hadn't counted on was the loneliness she felt when her heart still remembered what her mind had forgotten. Then she found she might have a chance to salvage what was left of her mind. But to do that, she would have to learn to open herself--to another person, and to her own unhappy past . . .

THRILL TO THE SONG OF CRYSTAL ALONG WITH KILLASHANDRA REE!

AT LAST, ALL THREE CRYSTAL SINGER NOVELS COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME!

... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

One of my favorite sci-fi series
I haven't read these in a few years but remember really enjoying them.All in all this has everything I look for in a series: imaginative scenes with understandable explanations and interesting, likeable characters who you care what happens to.Also, it has an end.There are so many authors who keep a series alive long after they should have wrapped it up.If you enjoy sci-fi or fantasy with female leads, then give this series a try.
The first book opens us to the lead character, Killishandra Ree, and the very imaginative and detailed world of crystal singers.Killishandra was studying to be a professional stage singer on one planet, but when that lifelong dream is blown, she meets a crystal singer and decides to try to become one herself. Broken down, singers are basically miners of crystals used all over the galaxy for numerous things such as inter-galactic communications.Why they're called singers is that they have to be able to sing in perfect pitch in order to "tune in" to the crystal frequency so that it can be cut properly.This job is fraught with danger, the first of which is surviving the organism that invades their bodies as they land on the planet where the crystals are to be cut.The organism allows them to live on the planet and allows them a long life with a much slower ageing process (hundreds of years).Unfortunately, it cannot protect them from the memory-loss that all crystal singers suffer due to crystal exposure.They do get paid a ton, but of course, like a mining community of old, the "Guild" charges singers for all their equipment and multiple fees, making it hard for them to earn enough credits to get off planet and far enough away from the crystals' negative effects.Also, different crystals are worth different prices, depending on their color, cut and potential usefulness.
*** SPOILER ALERT ***
In the second book, we find Killishandra, now an established "singer", sent to another planet to install some type of crystal for producing musical sound (an enormous concert organ which is used by the planet's government in a diabolical way to control the citizenry).She's kidnapped by rebels on the planet and meets Lars Dahl, the series' primary love interest.I really don't remember all the book specifics on this one, but I remember really enjoying the book as well as the developing romance.
*** MAJOR SPOILER ALERT ***
In the last book Killishandra and Lars have been cutting crytals together for years (as in hundreds, I think).He has kept an electronic journal which reminds him of things so he can minimize the memory damage of the crystal.She has not.You think, "OMG!How sad!Oh no!", quite a bit throughout this book.It can be hokey at times, but also beautiful.I warned of spoilers, but I will not give away the ending.

CRYSTAL SINGER TRILOGY
I READ THIS AS THREE SEPARATE BOOKS THEY HELD YOUR ATTENTION AND MADE YOU WANT MORE. GRANTED THEY ARE A SIMPLE READ, BUT WELL WORTH THE TIME.

What Oprah should have picked instead of Anna K.
This is one of the best science fiction books i've read not just because of how realistic the characters are but because of the sexuality incorperated in this book. It's not the classic princess being chased by a knight but modern relationships built on lust and the need for companionship. Addmittedly, it is quite long but if you can get past the first 200 pages you'll love it. It took me about a week to get past 200 pages and then a day and night to finish it. The first book is the best while the second build on Killa's relationship with Lars. The last book doesn;t really continue the story but act more like an epilogue detailing Killa's loss of memory and the effects being a Crystal Singer has on her memory. It's quite sad at times but worth a read it you are in love with Killa as much as I am.

Pretty awful
There's a lot wrong with Crystal Line. Anne McCaffrey would have done better to have left the Crystal Singer series at two books and not written this at all.
I enjoyed the first two books in this series despite Killashandra, not because of her. She's her usual unpleasant self in this book, only more so. But the problems in this book go far beyond an unsympathetic heroine.
The plot is disjointed. Killashandra and her lover/professional partner Lars travel to an alien planet in a brain&brawn ship to investigate "jewel junk" - a substance that may or may not be a life-form, and may or may not be intelligent. Having successfully completed that assignment, Killashandra and Lars return to Ballybran to resume their crystal-cutting career. It is here that the plot takes a ninety-degree turn. On Ballybran, tragedy strikes when Lanzecki, Guildmaster of the Heptite Guild, dies. Lars takes over the position - and Killashandra can't handle the change in circumstances. The lovers split, both personally and professionally. Killashandra goes off on her own, while Lars struggles to turn around the stuggling Guild. Eventually, they are reconciled - and then help with the "jewel junk" is requested from them once more. Tragedy in a couple of different forms strikes, and then everything is resolved happily. By this time it is clear than the "jewel junk" storyline, which took up so much space initially and promised a different kind of book, is nothing more than a deus ex machina device to manipulate a happy ending.
Characterisation is also a problem. The supposed depth of the supposed love between Killashandra and Lars does not shine through; and given how unpleasant Killashandra is, it's hard to believe that she cares for Lars, or that he could care about her at all. There's no real depth to any of the characters, and the "crises" that each of them face do not come across to the reader with the force with which they are meant to have struck the suffering characters. Then there's McCaffrey's usual propensity for cheap titillation.
McCaffrey seems to have been struck with a disease that is becoming more and more common amongst authors: the desire to control your imaginary world from beginning to end. All the problems of Killashandra, Lars, and the Heptite Guild and all its members are solved by the end of this book, or as good as - no room for more stories, everything closed off with a happy-ever-after ending. If she felt it absolutely necessary to close out this series, rather than leave it open-ended, she could have given us something better than this contrived, shallow effort.
Crystal Line is not up to the standard of The Crystal Singer and Killashandra. Read them instead, and remember how much better this series used to be.

Will there ever be a sequel....?
I have read these 3 books many times over a span of several years, and I still enjoy them thoroughly. Killashandra is a strong character and the Crystal League provide the Sci'Fi part, but I must admit that there is a very strong romance line to the plots, so be ready to be swept away by morethan just a new and future "world". The stories are fun, the plotline thickens and the final solutions develop the stories in the mostconvincing terms.I want more... please Anne? Do some more on Killa! ... Read more