The Catteni Sequence- Totally Brilliant!
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This was the first Anne Mccaffrey book I read. I was completely hooked and read the whole book in one sitting and was then gutted to find out that the sequel wasn't being published for another year - torture! Anne Mcaffrey really is an exceptionally skilled storyteller - there are no 1-dimensional charactors here and the storyline is captivating. There are no special powers or magical beasts just genuine strength and determination and it's refreshing to see this, even in a science fantasy novel. In my Anne Mccaffrey ranking (and I've read all her books) this compares favourably with the Pern novels i.e right at the top.
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Fantastic flotsam fable!
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Before reading this book I was daunted by the prospect of science fiction. Fantasy I've always found easy to get into, without being too demanding or intellectual, but I'd always expected sci-fi to be pure cerebral hell. This completely changed my expectations of the genre. You've got the Ray Mear's style of survival going on- only in an utterly alien landscape, a great central character in Kris who's never anything other than compelling and a very unique set-up for exploring the fraught relationships between strangers forced to depend on each other. This was also my first experience of this author and I couldn't help but be stunned by her remarkable ideas and by their execution- never have characters and a setting been so evocative, you can see it all in your mind as you read- very impressive. Anne McCaffrey has an excellent understanding of human nature and deftly manipulates her characters, so we as readers get to see the best and worst of all they can be. You don't need to be a fan of sci-fi, fantasy or any genre at all to appreciate 'Freedom's Landing', you just have to enjoy reading about people. There's no question you'll be devouring this and the following 3 books in the series in double-quick time in order to find out how these people get on, the only question is...how long you'll be able to wait between books.
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McCaffrey in a different vein
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Having been a Pern fan for many years, I found this a very different work. Though very much a space opera, I have bought the sequels as it is compulsive reading. However, great literature it isn't, and the inventiveness I much admired in McCaffrey's Dragon series is thin on the page.
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Harmless, safe, bland and unchallenging
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Although initially entertaining, it soon becomes dull. The story has no guts to it, it becomes as safe as a nursery ryhme. You are simply lead on a description of the constant successes that these reluctant colonists have in establishing themselves on a new world. Infact the world they settle on is as unchallenging as the book. I admit to buying all 3 books in the series at once, and I'm now ploughing through the last one. They don't get any better.
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Good plot, but not very well written.
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This book starts with a very dramatic and interesting beginning, but the rest is a disapointment. Good idea of earth inhabitants being abandoned on an unknown planet , but after the first few chapters nothing dramatic happens and the earthlings just wander round the planet. Some may enjoy this book, but I found it rather dull.
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