callistahogan: (Default)

I know, I know, two posts in a day spams the friend-lists, but I just finished the second book of the Planet Pirates trilogy, and I had to do a book review on it.

Book: Sassinak, Anne McCaffrey
Genre: Science fiction
Length: 280 pp., according to my version
Grade: B

Barnes and Noble Summary: Sassinak was 12 when the raiders came. That made her just the right age: old enough to be used, young enough to be broken. Or so the slavers thought. But Sassy turned out to be a little different . . . and bided her time to become the fleet captain of a pirate-chasing ship of her own. 

My Thoughts: I'm not sure what my opinion of this book is, frankly. It was written well enough, it had enough action, some suspense, some character development... but something was missing. I'm not sure what it was, but the book just didn't grab my attention the way it should. 

Sassinak was the only character that was really developed and, honestly, her character didn't appeal to me. She seemed a bit like a Mary-Sue, and her character development wasn't all that intriguing. The description in the book says that she was "different," but I didn't get that... different-ness in the book itself, if that makes sense. It was said, but it just didn't seem believable to me.

However, through all that, I enjoyed reading the book. I only had one favorite part that really made me want to read on, so I probably wouldn't reread this anytime soon. I'm still going to read Generation Warriors, but only because I don't want to leave the series when I've already read two of the three.

So, all in all, it was a fairly good book, and I might pick it up again sometime.

ETA: Finished Generation Warriors, but didn't think I should do another post just for that particular book.

Book: Generation Warriors, Anne McCaffrey
Genre: Science fiction
Length: 207 pp., in my version
Grade: C

Barnes and Noble Summary: Lunzie, fresh from her adventures in The Death of Sleep, has discovered that the one good heavyworlder she ever met isn't so good after all...

Fordeliton, sent off to investigate the connection between the super-rich and the planet pirates, is now dying of a mysterious slow poision. His aunt's spiritual advisor wants to give him her "special cure."

Dupaynil, having made the mistake of pushing Sassinak too far, has been exiled to Seti space aboard a tiny escort vessel--where he's discovered that the crew are in the pay of planet pirates...

Aygar, the idealistic young Iretan, is out to prove he has brains as well as heavyworlder brawn... but there are plenty who'd like to blow them out before he can learn to use them.

Then there's Sassinak, ordered to report to FedCentral for the trial of the mutineer Tanegli. She'd been told to disarm her ship when it enters restricted space; she'd been told her crew can't have liberty or leave; and she'd been told to follow all the rules. You remember Sassinak...the only person who might be able to stop the disaster ahead has never been one to follow the rules...

My Thoughts: I think my reaction of "FINALLY!" once I reached the last page says it all, really.

Don't get me wrong, the book was well-written, but it wasn't just for me. I found myself skimming past the last one hundred pages or so just to get done with it, and ended up yelling at the book because I wanted it to be over already. My favorite parts were with Fordeliton and Dupaynil, as well as some scenes with Lunzie. Sassinak gets on my nerves, even though I have no clue why, and I just... really didn't like the book.

However, that's a matter of personal taste--it's written well enough, but it definitely wasn't for me.

Next Up: Liberal Fascism, by Jonah Goldberg

callistahogan: (Default)

Title: Death of Sleep, Anne McCaffrey.
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 302 pp.
Rating: B+

Summary: YA-- Like Dan Davis in Heinlein's Door into Summer (Ballantine, 1986), Lunzie Mespil is a victim of cryogenic sleep and future shock. On three separate occasions following a deep-space disaster, she is placed in suspended animation totaling almost 90 years while awaiting rescue. Like Ripley in the film Aliens , she has lost not just her friends and loved ones, but everything familiar to her. Her story is a study of struggle against adversity as she tries to put her life back together. Because her medical knowledge is obsolete, Lunzie returns to school and becomes the medical officer on an exploratory vessel for the Federation of Sentient Planets. While routinely surveying the prehistoric life of the planet Ireta, she is caught in the middle of a violent racial mutiny. While not as strong a book as The Ship Who Sang (Ballantine, 1976) or most of the "Pern'' novels, McCaffrey has created a feisty, likable character in Lunzie Mespil. -- Barnes and Noble

My Thoughts: This is the first book in the Planet Pirates trilogy and, so far, it looks to be fairly promising. Since I probably won't read the Pern series, since [info]mercuryblue144 pointed out that it entails something that I don't agree with, I wanted to read something by Anne McCaffrey, and this caught my eye--probably because we're studying planets and such in my Science class.

This was fairly well-written, and I liked the character of Lunzie Mespil a lot. McCaffrey really made me feel for the character--I can't even imagine what it would be like if I was in her place. I certainly wouldn't be as strong as she was. She seemed like a real character despite her strongness, and she seems to have a presence in the book unlike any other character I've read, really. That's probably because it doesn't fall into the typical "you end up with the first person you're attracted to and grow dependent on them" nor does it have the stereotypical family-support system. She's essentially on her own, although she meets a lot of life forms on her journey (I can't say people, because most of them aren't human... at least in the traditional sense) and forms friendships with them.

The only flaw in this book is that it seemed to get into all the different technology that is around in the 2800s too much, but that's necessary or else we won't get the story. I'm reading this trilogy in one long three-in-one book, so I'll probably have another book review tomorrow (or even today). Like I said, this series looks promising, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

So, off to read Sassinak...

Profile

callistahogan: (Default)
callistahogan

March 2010

S M T W T F S
 12 345 6
78 910111213
1415 1617 1819 20
21222324252627
28293031   

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 12th, 2025 06:50 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios