McCaffrey's foray into mainstream fiction is a departure from her usual fantasy/science fiction worlds, but to a horse lover, it's every bit as successful. I've read my copy of this book so many times that the pages are literally falling out.

The Lady is set in Ireland in the early 1970s. It is the story of Michael Carradyne, owner of Cornanagh Stud trapped in a loveless marriage; his daughter Catriona, a girl on the edge of womanhood who must come to terms with her parents' conflicting plans for her future; and Selena Healy, a wealthy neighbor who has realized too late that her heart belongs to horses and to Cornanagh.

The Lady is a horse-lover's dream. When I miss my own horses, I open this book and feel a little less homesick. McCaffrey has created characters so real that I have to fight the urge to look for them when I visit Ireland.

If you're not a lover of horses, this book may not be for you, but if you are, I wholeheartedly recommend it

It seems almost silly to review a book I've read as many times as I've read The Lady; however, I find myself enjoying each new "read" as much, if not more than I did the very first time I discovered the book and thought I'd share my thoughts.

The cover (at least the American paperback version) does not do this book justice. The artwork gives the impression of a dated romance novel, which this book is not. There's romance yes, but beyond that is the rich beauty and history of Ireland, her people and their passion for horses.

From the very first words, as the reader follows her directions to Cornanagh, Ms. McCaffrey invites you into her world and makes you feel a part of the story. You almost expect to be asked to enjoy a cup of tea.

No character is introduced gratuitiously, each has a purpose and moves the action along. She introducecs a wide variety of flavors to add to the mix; tinkers, aristocrats, farmers and just plain old horsemen. Each have a texture all their own - you almost feel as if you know them.

My poor first copy is so badly worn that I've begun the search for another to replace it - until the much anticipated sequel is written. I recommend The Lady as a change from Ms. McCaffrey's usual genre and eagerly look forward to her next invitation to visit with the Carradynes.

Anne, Anne, when will you gift us with a sequel to this wonderful story? As a long time lover of and collector of horse stories, I was thrilled to discover this book. It has everything I enjoy in a story...horses, a young girl with big dreams, a couple of lovers with great obstacles to overcome, and a whole background of heartwarming characters, with a few bad guys thrown in to add spice. As I said, Anne, Anne, when can we have a sequel?

This is one of the few books by Anne McCaffery outside of the Pern series that I've read, and I like it the best. My fave character is Tirla, naturally. Her scruffy, capable attitude won me over right away. I didn't like Peter very much as the book progressed because he became really show-offy and arrogant. I hope Anne McCaffrey will write more books with heroines like Tirla (and Menolly) because they make for exciting and fun reading.

This, the second book in the Pegasus series, which predates (in timeline) the Rowan and its successors, is a good book an many levels. As pure, nail-biting adventure it rates highly in any genre. Add Anne McCaffrey's unique blend of the personal elements and the SF/Fantasy which she does so well and you get a real winner. It is, as the other reviewers here point out, about the "early history" of the Talented (i.e. people with telekinetic, telepathic and other realted abilities). I must say I found the first book in the series a little disappointing - I think because it was rather disjointed. However this one is much better and really whets one's appetite for more. Pegaus in Space comes next...

Pegasus In Flight does not focus on too many details about the theories behind paranormal activities like telepathy, but it paints a wonderful and convincing story about possibilities, with a subtle touch on basic human qualities such as kindness, commitment and fighting for what's right.

This book also empowers the reader to think of his own special talents and what contribution he makes with his own unigue gifts. It is really a wonderful blend of science fiction and the basic realities of life, that encourages the reader to fantisize about the possibilities. Exactly how all good science fiction should be!

Juliet Downes

This is an interesting group of four stories which explore the explosion of psychic "Talents" in a not-so-distant future Earth. Talents range from telepathy, telekinesis (moving objects with the mind), healing, clairvoyance, precognition, empathy, telempathy, and others. In a time when psychic phenomenon can be proven scientifically, Darrow must direct the course for the safety and use of these talents.

McCaffrey explores ideas such as: * How would "normal" humans act in a society where some people have more abilities than others? * How would society protect the Talented from wrongful legal suits? * Can the Talented police themselves?

While the stories were originally written as short stories and, as such, are somewhat disjointed, there is a logical progression with recurring characters propelling the Talented into the future.

An engrossing book, it is followed by Pegasus in Flight and Pegasus in Space. These novels are the bridge between modern Earth and the universe of "The Rowan" when the Talents help colonize space.

One of her good books but the plot sort of jumped around a little.

Every now and then you come across a book that you had to continue to read. That by the time you finished the book you were thanking the author for writing such a good book, yet cursing her for not writing a longer book. Well that is how it was for me; the problem being that I have neglected my homework over the past two days. If Anne McCaffrey's other series (Pern, etc') are like this, I will have to be careful that I have no essays due then. This novel deals with a group of people who have different telepathic 'Talents'. The strength of the book, besides the smooth writing style, is how the book was divided and the stories they told. The first story is more or less an introduction, then a generation later the other three stories tell us about Ruth and her latent but most interesting power, about the Maggie 'O tragedy and last about Amalda, a broadcasting empath. The only hitch to the book is that it was written in 1973 so for us who have been swamped be the 'X-Files', the lack of government conspiracy may not seem just right. Remember when you open the book to set aside a day or two.

At first glance Diversity looks like a children's book. It has the same glossy-cover appearance that dominates the juvenile section of bookstores. Inside, though, the text aims at an older audience. Anne McCaffrey's engaging story, which links together the information gleaned about various types of dragons, seems more suited for fans of her Pern series than for someone who really wants to learn things about dragons. The book suffers from enigmatic chapter titles that organize the material around when it is presented in the fictional story rather than around what types of dragons are being discussed. There are a few attempts at charts in the back, but there is no index, which would have aided a reader who wanted to locate information about specific dragon-types. While the coverage of dragons found in modern fantasy novels is excellent, information about ancient and medieval dragons is a bit lightweight. The emphasis is more on excerpting examples from famous stories rather than discussing the details about the dragons themselves. Sidebars, giving statistics and descriptions for each type, would have helped the reader separate the actual information about dragons from Ms. McCaffrey's storytelling. Discussions of the iconographic interpretation of the dragons for their original audience or the function of the various dragons within their historical or cultural context would have aided the reader's understanding of the material as well. Translations used to compile the work are a proverbial "mixed bag." The majority is neither the most authoritative nor the most current on the topic. The research is heavily weighted toward Celtic and modern dragon-types with some forays into Germanic and Christian traditions. Greeks, Persians, and a smattering of other types of dragons are touched upon. But the wealth of dragon material from Asia is scarcely mentioned, and other non-Indo-European cultures suffer a largely similar fate. John Howe's artwork, however, is the major reason dragonlovers will want to own this book. The images are stunning and well justify the oversized--and awkward to hold while reading--format of the book. Diversity is gorgeous and an entertaining way to spend an evening reading. But anyone who expects to use the text as a resource to learn about various types of dragons is in for something of a frustrating read.

I got this book because I was doing a report about Dragons indifferent mythologies, and because I'm a fan of McCaffrey's. My firstreaction was: "What a HUGE book!" They could have made asmaller edition of it so it would actually fit my bookshelf. The pictures were beautiful, although it was sometimes slightly hard to tell which picture went with which story. The plot was okay, since it obviously wasn't meant to be a very fascinating one, although the ending completely let me down. An index of the dragons and page number references would also have proved extremely helpful, since the mythical and new-age dragons were completely scattered together. The worst part of the book I think were the quotes. Some of them got me interested in the books and made me add them to my wishlist, but most were just utterly boring. Also, at the end where the dragons were listed in tables, I found them to be scattered around completely wrong. Somebody seemed to have messed up with their computer. The reason I'm still giving this book 4 stars is for the paintwork, though. If you like fantasy art, this book will be excellent for you.

I found this Anne McCaffrey book to be interesting, especially since I happened to read most of the books, or knew most of the storys referenced to in A Diversity of Dragons. The simple characters (including herself) were straightfoward, yet evasive, and the plot was complicated in its simplicity. The art work was extrordinary, and could only be displayed properly in the large book. Everytime I look at it I am amazed at the generous detail. All in all I believe that this book rates a five star for its simple honesty. Niether defending dragons or bashing them, but sharing their truths. This book is completely worth your time.

I was less than inspired by the first two Crystal Singer books. Killashandra was a fun heroine, but not too appealing, and her adventures were somewhat...silly. However, I hate leaving loose ends, so I started reading "Crystal Line"...and was quite pleasantly surprised! Oh, the adventures here are still rather irrelevant. Killa and Lars could have been doing anything, that's not really the point. The point is, in THIS book, the profession of Crystal Singing, the joys and triumphs it brings and the hazards of the job are finally explored, and it's...haunting. Lars is sweet, though he still doesn't do much for me. Killa, however, finally stops being the diva and faces the past she struggled for so long to suppress and has to find what her heart is searching for. Through the course of the book, several loose ends are tied up (it's recommended that the reader not wait too long between reading "Crystal Singer" and "Crystal Line"), and the ending is...perfect.

Killashandra, Crystal Singer, returns for a third novel in the Crystal Series. I recommend you read these in order as the events in the first two lead up to this novel.

Killashandra is now a mature Crystal Singer. She enjoys the benefits of life on Ballybran as one of the rare and valuable miners of Crystal. The career of a Singer brings wealth, long life and a certain cachet in the Galaxy. But it comes at a heavy price; loss of memory and thus an inability to maintain any meaningful relationships. Singers are encouraged to document their lives with a recorded journal so they can pick up the pieces of their personality and not become shallow and venal.

Killashandra and Lars Dahl, her new-found love from the previous novel, face new challenges for the Heptite Guild. But their relationship is threatened by forces behind the scenes. Is Lars working for or against Killashandra?

This is a fine conclusion to the two previous novels and one of my favorite series.

This book is probably the best of the Crystal Singer Trilogy. It is a really good book and a must read (although if you haven't read the previous books, it might be a little confusing).

This slim volume is nowhere near as fascinating as Anne McCaffrey's full length Pern novels. Its worth is that the 4 stories it contains serve to fill in gaps in the overall picture. The stories are short and somewhat simplistic but present a view of Pern not otherwise dwelt on - children hoping to impress dragons for example. Not quite a book to add to one's library but for all Pern fans, a nice set of glimpses. I only wish Anne had focused on some other Pernese professions - maybe the Healer Hall (2 of the 4 stories are dragon-rider oriented)?

Personally, I've never been that into short stories. Mainly because they're not long enough. It seems like in a lot of cases just when I'm getting really interested in the story, it ends. I'm the type of person who likes to read full sized or even larger than normal novels. And if the novel is part of a series then even better. That being said the short stories from this book are much more my style, since they are from a series (the Pern series to be exect). This book includes two short stories that have been published before in other books. One short story that is part of a larger story. And one new short story. If you are a fan of the Pern series this book is definately worth having.

I call the first story a classic because, well, in the McCaffrey Universe in my head it is. In fact, the Littlest Dragonboy was _the_ story that got me reading Pern in the first place. I adore this story for that reason and others. To me, it encompasses all that Pern represents, justice, kindness and simplicity. It is that simplicity that draws me back to this long lived series time and time again.

The second and third stories are beauties as well. The Girl Who Heard Dragons is one of my Mother's favorites. A sweet story with a predicitable, but still sweet ending. The Runner of Pern is wonderful because it explores a totally new aspect of our beloved Pern, with Ms. McCaffrey's characteristic, opposites- attract romance thrown in. A story that left me smiling like I had just seen an old friend.

Finally, the last story in the book did not sit well with me at all. It was just too cozy and sweet. This may sound hypocritical of me, after all, K'van's story is awfully sweet too, I just couldn't really believe this one. (I won't spoil it for you, but it's extremely predictable) Maybe the horrible event that I have been dreading has happened. Perhaps like so many fantasy readers before me I have become disillusioned with the Dragonlady. Everyone told be the day would come, but I swore it would not happen to me. Ah, who knows? All I can do is cling to my fondness of The White Dragon and hope that I can hold out a little longer.

Anyway, I say buy it, or at least check it out from the library and read the first three if you haven't already. As for the new one, which I am assuming most of you veterens of Pern are looking for in this book, I'd skip it and read any wannabe's story from one of the hundreds of fan weyrs on the web, it'll be the same thing.

This book is a quick read. The story is rather simple, but seems to be quite accurate with historical merit. She has avoided the cliche Arthurian stories providing a new view that I did find refreshing. Have no doubts - this story is FIRST a story about horses and quite a distant second it is a story about Arthur (Lord Artos). I wonder if she couldn't have told this tale in even fewer pages, but it did keep me interested enough to finish it quickly. If you have an interest in the farrier craft or the historical idea of bringing large horses into the service of early knights you will like this tale.

I give this book four stars for it's interest. The reason I read this book was for the Arthurian connections. If that's what you're looking for, it may or may not be what you'll find. For one thing, don't expect Lancelot or Guinvere to ever come into the story. Lord Artos -the legendary King Arthur- is a bachelor. I am not a huge horse fan, but I did enjoy the horse connections in this story. The conflict in "Black Horses" relates to the Saxon threat and to recent Irish raids. To prove his power and define his strength, Lord Artos acquires the enormous Libyan stallions. One problem- they're footsore, with problems like cracked hooves, growth rings etc, arising. That's when the "horse sandals" are made. "Black Horses" explores this knowledge and the devotion to Lord Artos through the eyes of Galwyn. It is a very good book, and I'd recommend it for a bit of light reading.

In a departure from her normal fare of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Anne McCaffrey gives us a hugely believable tale of King Arthur, and the true uniting of all the Britons. Told from the point of view of a young runaway, Galwyn Varianus, Black Horses traces Lord Artos', who is later thought to be King Arthur's, search for fast horses. These horses had to be big enough and strong enough for his knights to ride to give the Britons a fighting chance against the bigger armies of the Saxons.

Historically accurate, Black Horses is a fast read, and an emminetly exciting story. Despite the lack of the mystical turn of the normal King Arthur tale, or perhaps because of it, Black Horses for the King takes the reader into a realm of fantasy both thrilling and moving. A highly satisfying story aimed at the young adult, Black Horses is a treat for all readers, young and old alike. King Arthur fans will enjoy this unique look at their favorite hero, and those who like more realism in their stories will like this likely view of a piece of history.

This book is almost a extension of "Moreta Dragonlady of Pern".
In "Moreta Dragonlady of Pern" I first met Nerilka or Rill for short. "Nerilka's Story" is a slightly different novel, it is talks about a hold girl, a ordinary holder, not a dragonrider. Anne McCaffery really emphasize on how plain and physically unattractive Nerilka is. She never recieved many affections or attention. She decided to run away to start a new life. She ends up in Ruatha where she meets Lord Holder Alessan. As you might remember from the previous novel in the serious, Alessan is deeply in love with Moreta. This novel goes through the plague and how Alessan deals with Moreta's death.

I think that Alessan was really mean when he marries Nerilka when he doesn't realy love her. He says that as soon as Nerilka bears his child, he would kill himself. Nerilka is a really tough person because she goes through such a hard relationship with Alessan.

This novel is more of a subtle, not-so-moving plot. Yet it is a important part of the Pern series and it is worth reading. Think of it as a light read but it isn't a very romantic novel, so don't expect too much romantic parts.

I very much enjoyed this story. I've read all of Anne McCaffrey's stories of the Dragonriders of Pern and this is the first one I felt was a proper perspective of life during the great plague that nearly wiped out all of Pern. Nerilka was a very believable character and I feel very sympathetic toward her and her tragedy of losing her family, and her joy at finding love with the lord holder. However, the book was too short for me to enjoy fully. I would have liked to have seen more done with her.

With the publishing of Nerilka's Story, Anne McCaffrey took a bold and potentially dangerous step, leaving the proven success of concertrating on dragons and dragonriders to offer the reader a revealing and poignant insight into the equally dangerous but more mundane world of the common holder.

This book gives us a feel for what the average citizen of Pern must endure; privation, sickness, a medieval culture governed by far-from-enlightened nobles, and the desperation of facing endless drudgery with little hope of ever improving one's lot in life.

The entire Pernese series is greatly enriched by the grass roots knowledge revealed in this story. Nerilka faces daunting challenges from a variety of sources, eventually proving that both tragedy and triumph are the domain of all people, and that indomitable spirits are not limited to those whose lives are spent in the Weyrs.

Ms McCaffrey goes to great lengths, including illustrations, to emphasize how physically plain and unappealing Nerilka is. Regardless, nothing can keep the beauty of her spirit and personality from bursting through. She is as true a heroine as any who ever rode a dragon.

Nerilka's Story may be a saphire in a world of diamonds, but it is still a jewel in the crown of the Pernese Saga. Without this volume, the tale of the Dragonriders of Pern is incomplete.

Like many others, I was excited to see a new addition to the Dragonriders series and, unfortunately, like many of the readers here, I was horribly disappointed in the Skies of Pern. There were too many discrepencies to go into (other reviewers have done that) but what it means when you are reading is that instead of getting engaged with the plot(s), your mind says, 'hang on a minute...isn't Mirrim a GREEN rider?' then you re-read the passage about her gold dragon. Then you put the book down and hunt through several rooms to find one of the other books with the dragon/rider relationship handily printed in the back and confirm you are not crazy but rather, Ms McCaffrey and her crack team of editors completely screwed up. Repeatedly.

There are a multitude of plot lines that are not resolved, somewhat unusually for the Pern series. The writing is not crisp nor witty. And smart characters end up in the stupidest situations. The ending is totally fabricated (it didn't make me want to cry. Vomit, maybe, but not cry). It is painfully obvious there will be another book taking us to the end of Thread in the Ninth Pass, but the bigger question is how many of us faithful Pern fans will care enough to buy it!

I've been disappointed with most of the recent installments in the Pern series, largely because of the lack of depth to human-dragon interaction. The Skies of Pern, however, is a very welcome return to a relationship-centered Pern. F'lessan and Tai, the two central characters, are remarkably well-developed, and their dragons are even better! This novel explores the depth of the relationship between dragon and rider, and between Weyrmates, in a way that none of the previous Pern books really have. The buildup is gradual, the climax at once heartbreaking and triumphant. I sincerely hope that McCaffrey gives us more of F'lessan, Golanth, Tai, and Zaranth in the future, as I loved and cared immensely for all four of them... and definitely feel that the ending warranted a follow-up!

Mercifully, the accounts of Council meetings and politics among Lord Holders are limited to vital decisions which affect the main storyline. The side plot about the Abominators, however, didn't really feed into everything else. Maybe that will be wrapped up in a future installment.... But at least in this volume of the Pern saga, I found myself skimming those sections to get back to F'lessan and Tai.

Golanth and Zaranth are some of the best-written draconic characters that Pern has ever seen, and the only way that I will find their story disappointing is if there is no more of it!

It has been many years since Anne MacCaffrey came out with a forward-moving story for her Pern novels .... I really enjoyed this book, and had trouble putting it down.

The story focuses around F'lessan, bronze rider of Gollanth, and only son of the Benden Weyrleaders Lessa and F'lar. It also has the requsite unsure, talented, young girl (this time dragonrider of green Zaranth), who must learn to stand up for herself. And of course, all the political intrigue (new Lords Holder and Weyrleaders to replace retired/deceased older leaders, and as a new threat, The Abominators -- those who oppose AIVAS innovation as polluting Pern's "purity" of tradition) and powerplays (Southern's power-hungry Lord Holder, Toric). Yes, it's a familiar formula, but it at least moves the timeline forward a and answers the question of what Dragonriders will do when thread will no longer fall on Pern.

...the story moved back and forth in time didn't bother me... the dragons were, after all, "timing it" during that section of the story. And yes, the solution to Dragonriders' occupation after the Present Pass seems degrading by comparison to their present duties, but it does make sense. BTW, the book did have there is one scene that drew tears to my eyes... something I haven't done with the Pern series since Robinton and his fire lizard died in _All the Weyrs of Pern_.

My main complaint is that I expected this to be the last of the Pern novels. Instead, it has the ending leaves the door open for *many* new sequels. ....

Freedom's Landing is a workable SF/fantasy/survival book with interesting characters, a fairly decent plot, and a good SF environment. Whether this lasts into the rest of the 'Freedom' books is another question!

Since Ms. McCaffrey lost her editor (sometime around the nth Pern book), she seems to be doing her best writing when it's the first book in a series. This is an example of that. She has to introduce us to lots of characters, multiple alien races, an entire planet, and all kinds of technologies so she manages to avoid being as repetitious and tangential as she usually is nowadays. Her use of vernacular English is as usual laughable and the fact that she's been leaning more towards 'bodice ripper' romance than SF lately is pretty evident in the first chapter, but since I only paid [dollar amount] for it I can live with it. The rest of the books, however, I'm getting from the library as I refuse to pay list price for any McCaffrey book anymore. Too many disappointments!

Now, to qualify my review, I will first say that besides Crystal Singer (which I hated vehemently), this is the only other Anne McCaffrey book I've read. So, I'm not the zealous fan disappointed by a book lacking in customary quality, I'm more neutral - and in fact, I may be quite the opposite, having quite a negative opinion of McCaffrey's writing after reading Crystal Singer.
I picked up Freedom's Landing because the plot interested me. Humans shipped as slaves by an alien race, forced to colonize an unknown planet - that was the sort of sf I could stomach. The book's premise is interesting, but as others have commented, the plot in Freedom's Landing is lacking and inconsistent at times. The action was a bit trite and predictable, and didn't really draw you into what was going on. This is certainly not a book for those who read for an adventurous plot or action - this is definitely more character oriented. The focus in Freedom's Landing is not the advancement of a plot, but the introduction of the reader to important characters, the growth and romance of the main character, Kris. And that is where this book wins.
Kris is a strong character - a whole person and someone I found I could relate to and like. She is totally fleshed out in the book and you really enjoy following her journey in the book. Unlike many sf or fantasy books, her growing love of another character [sorry, won't spoil for others] is very believable and realistic. She's the sort of character that you can root for - and that's why this book is worth reading. The book is a great character novel - something unusual in the traditionally action/plot-oriented fantasy or sf,which is why many people may not like this book. But if you're interested in getting to know a bunch of interesting characters and follow their development, then this is the book for you.

I thought McCaffrey wrote a very well-told story in this book. It was especially interesting to me because it was taken straight from her short story "The Thorns of Barevi." I had read that story in Get Off the Unicorn (which has several other wonderful short stories), and it was a joy to me to see a full novel (now 2 novels!) based on that story.

The main character, Kristin, and her Catteni companion from the short story are also in the novel, although changed somewhat. The story becomes part of the first chapter of the novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed Freedom's Landing, and am waiting impatiently for the next novels in the series