Even more horrible

I've been reading books and not reviewing them. I'm up to 23 of 25 for the year. Some of what I've read include:

Moreta, Dragonlady of Pern by Anne McCaffrey. I totally wasn't expecting that ending.

The Omega Point by Whitley Schreiber. It was a giveaway from www.goodreads.com but I think it was the second in a series. I feel like there's a lot of backstory that I missed but, once the action started, it moved fairly quickly. I enjoyed it.

Frostbite and Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead. They are the second and third books respectively in the Vampire Academy series. I'm really enjoying them as I get further into it.

The Lion's Lady by Julie Garwood. I do love me a good historical romance and this one didn't disappoint. I've noticed that she tends to combine aspects of the American frontier times in some of her books. It's fun to read how she blends them together.

I'll start reviewing in full soon now that I'm actually reading more and concentrating on them.

Dragonsong - Anne McCaffrey

When I'm reading, I occasionally binge on an author and read as much as possible before I move onto someone else. I'm in one of those modes now with Anne McCaffrey. You see, I've never actually read the Pern books. As those are what she's most noted for, I'm rectifying the situation. I think I'm reading/listening to them in release order and not chronological order. I'm not 100% sure though.

In Dragonsong, we're introduced to Mennolly. She is from Half Circle Hold, which is very strict in its observance of the old ways. There, gender roles are traditionally defined and closely followed. No female has ever been a Harper (a role similar to the minstrels of medieval times) and they wouldn't let her pursue her passion. She was assigned to teach the children of the Hold the basic teaching ballads after the old harper passed on. But that was it. She was beaten if they discovered any clandestine activity with "tuning" as they called it. We might know it better as composing.

Her parents were so anxious about her abilities that, when she injured her hand, her mother let it heal wrong so that she would have limited usage of it. Mennolly eventually walked out of the Hold one day, never to return.

The books are so rich in detail that I can just picture the people milling around making salves, sharpening tools, and going about their days. If you enjoy books that are set in other worlds and other times, I believe you'll enjoy these.

The White Dragon - Anne McCaffrey

This is the third of the Pern series. Typically, Holders do not Impress dragons. Chances at impression are given to others. Jaxom is not your typical Holder though. He is both Lord Holder and Dragonrider, having impressed the white Ruth in the prior book.

They grow together and learn every aspect of each other's personalities. In this book, Jaxom finally comes into his own. He assists in locating a missing dragon egg without drawing attention to himself. He trains to become part of a flying wing. He learns the management side of the Hold from Lytol, who has raised him from the time he was a baby. (Both his parents have died.)

There are challenges along the way but I'm glad I got the chance to see him grow. It was fun.

OK, I know that this is really brief but I couldn't figure out a way to get it down in writing without giving too much away.

Pegasus in Space - Anne McCaffrey

It literally picks up where Pegasus in Flight leaves off. Peter is fully trained, more kinetically mobile, and raring to go. He is fascinated by a space base that is being built just outside the Earth's orbit. Man is also building another spaceport on the Moon as we are in our infancy of space travel.



Talent is still being deployed to help cope with disasters such as a tsunami in Bangladesh. An orphan is discovered after her scientist parents were killed so she's taken to a Catholic convent until she's either adopted or found. She's discovered after a traumatic experience with another little girl who destroys her vegetable garden.



She is able to reconnect nerves and such on a microkinetic level but is using it unconsciously for the first portion of her life. It's not discovered until later after she gives Peter several deep tissue massages and his nerves start to regenerate.



During this time, Peter is experimenting with gestalt, his range, and extending abilities all the while working in space. And FT&T is born. I don't want to give too much of the ending away but it truly is a wonderful look into what we can do if we only believe in ourselves.

Pegasus in Flight - Anne McCaffrey

It is a continuation of To Ride Pegasus. We are 50+ years on after the discovery of Talent as a science and helpmeet to the rest of the world. There are more centers all over the world, the Western US, Australia, Hong Kong, Southern Asia, etc. Society is more accepting of Talent as a whole.

While Rhyssa Owen (Director of Eastern Parapsychic Center and granddaughter to Daffyd op Owen who ran the center immediately after Henry Darrow and helped to pass protective legislation benefitting Talent) was asleep one night when a mind touched hers and jolted her out of a sound sleep. Normally a Talent's living quarters are shielded so they are not inundated with psychic noise the rest of us can't hear. It would take quite a bit of mental strength to achieve such a feat and Rhyssa is intrigued by the person who was able to do it. During the course of the story, she discovers Peter Reidinger.



He was paralyzed by a wall collapse and is confined to a bed. At night and unable to sleep, he "travels" to a serene place in his mind where trees and gardens grow. He thinks it's someplace he's been before. During these nighttime wanderings, he touches Rhyssa's mind. She discovers the strength of his Talent and encourages his family to entrust his care to the Eastern Parapsychic Center where she can personally direct his care and training.

As with all mentors, she is nervous that he will burn himself out and be unable to use his skills so she handles him with "kid gloves." As with all kids, he's impatient for more. He is able to use his kinetic skills to "move" his paralyzed body. But he goes beyond all expectations for he is able to tap into electrical sources to augment his power.

This is the jumping off point for the Tower & Hive series. Without Reidinger's discovery and ability to communicate telepathically and utilize telekinesis, there is no Rowan or anyone living amongst the stars.

To Ride Pegasus - Anne McCaffrey

I know I'm a little behind on my blogging so I'm going to try and get it all done today.

This book was originally a series of short stories for Science Fiction Magazine in the 60s but they made sense as a complete story.

In the late 1990s, people with advanced sensory skills like telepathy and telekinesis were ridiculed as being "quacks," charlatans who were just trying to make a quick buck off the unsuspecting. Henry Darrow was an astrologer with an amazing ability to "guess" right when it came to his clients. After a car accident put him in the hospital, a very sensitive EEG (electroencephalograph) was attached to his head to monitor the trauma to his brain. Standard procedure. While a nurse was checking on him, he had a precognitive experience and proof of ESP was captured.

Now there was scientific proof that ESP really did exist and Henry and Molly (the nurse in question above) set about to find as many Talents as possible. The idea was to train them to assist various company, goverments, officials, etc. with decisions that could save them money. Ingratiate themselves to the world and that world will become their oyster.

As any organization with growing pains will experience, there are obstacles and challenges that crop up in the line of duty. Do you predict the future in order to change it or live through the aftermath? If you do change the future, should you be held liable when the change may cost millions of dollars? These are some of the issues that the Eastern Parapsychic Center located in the Palisades section of NY have to deal with.

Legislation is created and battled against to protect the Talents from repercussions. It's a fascinating look into the struggles and foibles of Talent in preparation for their leap into space with the Tower & Hive series.

The Ship Who Sang - Anne McCaffrey

This is another compilation of stories which centers around a main character. In this case, the main character is the brain portion of a ship. The main character is also human. When human children have physical deformities that may end their lives if left to their own devices, their parents have the choice of allowing them to become "shell people." They will, in essence, become a ship and are heavily conditioned to avoid curiousity, regret, and other conditions which could adversely affect their mental well being.

Some of these shell people are installed into ships. Others are installed into cities and act as administrators. This particular story focuses around one particular person named Helva. She is installed as a BB ship and is assigned to Medical at human age 16. The term BB stands for brain/brawn. The brain is installed in the ship and has a mobile human partner or "brawn." Helva is unique for she figured out how to manipulate her diaphragm and amplify the sounds into singing, thereby earning the nickname "The Ship Who Sings." The stories deal with her falling in love for the first time with her very first brawn, helping in the aftermath of a planetwide plague, helping to restore a population to another ravaged planet, finding a rogue BB ship, and various other adventures.

The original stories were written as shorts for Science Fiction Magazine and turned into this book. It sparked a series of other stories written about BB ships. These partnerships also show up in various other series that Anne McCaffrey has written. Love.Them.

Crystal Singer - Anne McCaffrey

She's better known for her series on Pern but I like her non-Dragon series better. Anne McCaffrey was one of the first female sci-fi writers. This book is originally a series of stories from Science Fiction Magazine and published in the 1960s. Love. It.

In the future, humankind is scattered throughout galaxies after having figure out space travel. On one of the planets that they were hoping to transform into suitable living for people, they find a crystalline substance that will change virtually everything. It can be used for communication, data storage, transportation, and so much more. The shards and slivers can be used for artwork and jewelry as well. It is to this planet (named Ballybran) that Killashandra Ree comes looking for a fresh start and a new career.

She was in training to become an operatic singer. There were planets to explore, arias to sing, people to visit, and accolades to collect. It was all she had ever wanted from the time she was a little girl. However, her dreams were shattered when the judges noticed a slight flaw in her voice that hadn't been trained out. On the day she received the devastating blow, she met the man who would change her life.

He was a Crystal Singer and it seemed that everyone deferred to him, especially when he heard a shuttle at the spaceport that was ready to explode from improperly tuned crystal. Killashandra heard it too. They spent several months together until Carrick had to start back to the Heptite Guild. She wanted to go with him but never expected it to be by his bedside. As they were explaining to authorities that she was in her right mind and not been twisted by the Singer, a shuttle exploded. Carrick, having superhuman senses, was rendered unconscious in the blast and returned to Ballybran where he was in a coma for the rest of his days.

The rest of the story deals with Killashandra going through the training upon reaching Ballybran and the trials and tribulations of starting out in a career. There are secrets to be discovered in this first of the trilogy and Killa is one of my favorite characters. I go back again and again.