Crystal Singer Trilogy - Anne McCaffrey - Reread

The Crystal Singer Trilogy is comprised of Crystal Singer, Killashandra, and Crystal Line. While these aren't books that I read often, they are books that will never leave my personal library. I like knowing that they are there for me to turn to when I need that little something that my other "old reliables" can't give me. McCaffrey is a great storyteller, and I have enjoyed most of her books. Especially her earlier writings.

Crystal Singer

Synopsis

Her name was Killashandra Ree. And after ten grueling years of musical training, she was still without prospects. Until she heard of the mysterious Heptite Guild who could provide careers, security, and wealth beyond imagining. The problem was, few people who landed on Ballybran ever left. But to Killashandra the risks were acceptable....


Killashandra

Synopsis

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....

Publishers Weekly

This sequel to McCaffrey's Crystal Singer continues the story of Killashandra Ree, a failed musician whose perfect pitch has given her entree to the glamorous but dangerous profession of mining and cutting rare, valuable crystal. She is grateful for a new assignment that takes her off the oppressive crystal world of Ballybran, but when she arrives on Optheria to replace and tune the crystals of a famous organ, she steps into a new adventure. Abducted by the very subversives she had been trying to help, she eventually falls in love with one of her kidnappers and manages to uncover the Optherian Elders' subliminal brainwashing that had held the population captive and docile. Although the novel only comes alive during Killashandra's life in the islands, McCaffrey's many fans should enjoy this romantic adventure. Major ad/promo. December 2

School Library Journal

YA Crystal singer Killashandra Ree is desperate to get off the crystal-mining planet of Ballybran, so she takes what at first sounds like a routine assignment replacing a shattered crystal in the main Sensory Organ on planet Optheria. While she is there she is also to find out why Optherians never leave the planet. She is kidnapped and marooned on an isolated island, but escapes, only to encounter her handsome kidnapper Lars Dahl, with whom she eventually falls in love. From Lars she discovers that the Optherian Sensory Organ is not only a musical instrument, but that it also uses subliminal suggestion to keep Optherians from wanting to leave their planet or oppose the planet's rulers. Together they plan sabotage. In this sequel to Crystal Singer (Ballantine, 1982), McCaffrey returns to the more romantic vein of her dragon novels. Killashandra is bratty, feisty and independent. Lars is big and lovable, sometimes shrewd, sometimes simple. They make an unlikely and not always convincing pair. Otherwise, the book is a satisfying adventure for those who like their science fiction spiced with humor. Betsy Shorb, PGCMLS, Md.

Crystal Line

Synopsis

"A treat for long-time McCaffrey fans, a good read and a satisfying look at one of the most haunting facets of the crystal singers' profession."
LOCUS
When Killashandra Ree joined the mysterious Heptite Guild, she knew that she would be forever changed. Crystal singing brought ecstasy and pain, near-eternal life...and gradual loss of memory. What she hadn't counted on was the loneliness she felt when her heart still remembered what her mind had forgotten. Fortunately, someone still cared enough to try to salvage what was left of Killashandra's mind. But she would have to learn to open herself--to another person, and to all her unpleasant memories.

From the Publisher

When Killashandra Ree first joined the mysterious Heptite Guild to become a crystal singer, she knew that she would be forever tied to the planet Ballybran. She could leave ... but she would always have to come back, drawn like a magnet by the song of crystal that pulsed through her veins. Crystal singing brought ecstasy and pain, near-eternal life ... and an increasing loss of memory that bit by bit would erase the parts of that long, long life that lay behind her. Over the years, Killashandra had accumulated a multitude of painful memories she could easily afford to forget. She didn't even really mind the little annoyances, like forgetting the names and faces of her colleagues, or needing a locator to find her way back to her own apartment. But she hadn't counted on the loneliness and emptiness a person could feel when the heart could still remember what the mind had forgotten ... Fortunately for Killashandra, someone still cared enough to try to salvage what was left of her memory and her talents. And for the first time it had become possible to access the damaged minds of experienced crystal singers. But in order to avail herself of the new technique, Killashandra would have to learn to open herself up ... to another person, and to all the unpleasant memories she had so willingly relinquished. Killashandra Ree was trapped in the unceasing present of the crystal singer. Only by reclaiming her past could she step forward into the future. Crystal had destroyed her memory ... and only crystal could restore it ... if she dared!

BookList

Following "Crystal Singer" and "Killashandra" [O 15 85], this third novel in the series continues the saga of Killashandra Ree, long-time successful crystal singer and miner, a career with side effects that include not only near-eternal life but also increasing memory loss over the years. Here, Killashandra's memory has deteriorated to the point where she doesn't always remember the names of colleagues. But then, there's a lot that she doesn't really want to remember. The discovery of a planet with a new, sentient crystal, however, leads to a way to reclaim one's memory. So, does Killashandra want to remember everything? And can she, a private person, open herself up to another person? Once again, McCaffrey combines intriguing adventure and sf lore with well-developed characters who grow and change over the course of the story. For collections wherever the series has a following.

A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle - Reread

A Wrinkly in Time is one of those great books for anyone of any age! I love this book and try to read it as often as I can. DH got me a L'Engle box set for Valentine's Day and AWiT had a preface in it from Anna Quindlen. Reading it really got me to think about the story itself. I always read for pleasure and rarely try to find the deeper meaning in the things I read. But after reading the preface I was able to see the things she talked about much more clearly.

From the New Introduction
A Stardust Journey with A Wrinkle in Time
By Lisa Sonne

A Wrinkle in Time was written before any human had walked on the moon or sent rovers to Mars. It was a time before cell phones and personal computers, before digital cameras, CDs, and DVDs, before the fiction of Star Trek, Star Wars, and The Matrix, and before the realities of the space shuttle, the Mir space station, and the International Space Station. Science has changed dramatically as generations of children and adults have read the book since it was first published in 1962. Those scientific advances make Madeleine L’Engle’s story even more compelling.
The author of A Wrinkle in Time is a tall woman who sometimes wears a purple cape. She will tell you that she is completely made of stardust and always has been. No kidding. “You are made of stardust, too,” she will add with a twinkle in her eye.
This is not the wild imagination of a creative writer’s mind. We are all made of stardust. Our little molecules are the leftovers of big stars that exploded eons ago. Mrs. Whatsit may be a fanciful character who gave up her life as a star to fight the darkness, but we are real creatures who really are made of the cosmic dust of supernovas. When giant stars explode, they send their matter out into the universe and enrich all the yet-to-be-born stars and planets with the chemical ingredients that make up life as we know it. Astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson says, “It’s a profound, underappreciated truth.”
Stardust is just one way that Madeleine L’Engle mixes fact and fantasy toinspire you to want to know more about science. With knowledge come more questions. With imagination comes more curiosity. With searching comes more truth. That blend is a specialty of L’Engle’s.
Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin visit different planets outside our solar system. When A Wrinkle in Time was first printed in 1962, scientists could confirm the existence of only nine planets–all of them orbiting our sun. Since 1995, astronomers have been finding planets at an average rate of one a month–all outside our solar system.
Throughout A Wrinkle in Time, the universe is in a struggle with the Black Thing. L’Engle wrote of the Black Thing before astronomers found black holes, which suck up everything around them, and long before scientists announced that almost all of our universe is composed of invisible “dark matter” and “dark energy,” which science knows almost nothing about.
In the thin atmosphere of Uriel, Meg has to breathe from a flower to stay alive. In reality, we all breathe plants to stay alive. NASA conducts experiments to see how plants could help keep astronauts alive when they travel in space and live on other planets.
In A Wrinkle in Time, we meet thinking aliens in outer space, including Aunt Beast, the Man with Red Eyes, and Mrs. Who. Since 1962, explorers have gone to remote spots on our planet, studying “extremophile” life to learn more about what life out there in space might really be like.
Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin travel through multiple dimensions. When A Wrinkle in Time first appeared, science recognized only four dimensions–three of space and one of time. Now mathematicians claim that at least nine spatial dimensions are needed to explain our physical world–maybe ten. Maybe more.
Just looking at how technology and science have changed since Meg’s first adventure was printed is a kind of time travel in your mind that shows how much science and math have grown, and how much they still need to grow. When Meg’s father urges her to name the elements of the periodic table to escape the dark forces of IT, she begins reciting, “Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Beryllium, Boron, Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Fluorine . . .” and continues. Only 103 elements were known in 1962. In 2004, to finish reciting the elements on the periodic table, Meg would need to add more tongue-twisters, such as rutherfordium, meitnerium, darmstadtium, and roentgenium (element number 111). New elements are still being discovered, created, and debated.
Scientists and astronauts are delving further into the tiny world of microorganisms that Meg’s mother studied, and further into the giant realms that Meg’s father traveled in. Since 1962, scientists have discovered quarks and quasars, things smaller and bigger than ever known before–smaller than a proton in an atom and larger than a galaxy. What next?
“Students can get so bombarded in science classes and think that all is known. It’s not. A book like this can help them realize that we know some things, but really very, very little. And maybe a lot of what we know now is not right!” says Shannon Lucid, a science fiction reader and astronaut who has spent more time in space than any other woman. There are still big unanswered questions and great quests yet to begin.
For Madeleine L’Engle, every good story and every good life is a search for answers through fiction, fact, and spirit. The poet, the physicist, and the prophet are all searching to understand the dimensions we can’t see, whether gravity, time, or love. A Wrinkle in Time is a great journey through dimensions–a journey of exploration and discovery, curiosity and awe.

Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb - Reread

Assassin's Apprentice is the first book of Robin Hobb's that I ever read. I went looking for my copy the other day and couldn't find it. I couldn't find any in the Farseer trilogy. So, I went and bought a new copy. I can only think that I gave away my copies.

I enjoyed this trilogy as well as her Liveship books (which I still have). For some reason I haven't really read any more of her stuff. I think that is going to have to change, though. LOL

Synopsis

Young Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, raised in the shadow of the royal court by his father's gruff stableman. He is treated like an outcast by all the royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has him sectetly tutored in the arts of the assassin.

Publishers Weekly

The bastard sons of kings play a noble role in fantasy: not only were King Arthur and Modred by-blows, but it is often suggested that Merlin himself came to power from the ``wrong side of the bed.'' While Hobb's offering has a few too many illegitimate heirs backstabbing around, this is still a delightful take on the powers and politics behind the throne. Fitz, who is often called the ``Boy'' or the ``Bastard,'' was begotten by good Prince Chivalry upon some ``peasant'' woman. At age six, he is given over to the safekeeping of the prince's man, Burrich. Fitz's impolitic existence causes the prince to abdicate his claim to the throne, and he and his wife leave the court, and the boy, behind. Fitz has inherited the ``Skill,'' a mind-bending talent, and also has the ability to meld his thoughts with those of nonhuman creatures and to mentally ``repel'' physical advances. When Fitz finally comes to King Shrewd's attention, he is given over to the Royal Assassin's tutelage and trained to carry out the king's devious plans. The novel's conceit-that it offers Fitz's memoirs from childhood through adolescence-allows for several sequels. A gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies and Arthurian romances. (Apr.)

Library Journal

As a royal bastard in the household of King Shrewd, a boy called "Fitz" spends his early years in the king's stables. When the magic in his blood marks him for destiny, he begins receiving secret instruction, by order of the king, in the art of assassination, a calling that places him in the midst of a nest of intrigue and arcane maneuverings. Firmly grounded in the trappings of high fantasy, Hobb's first novel features a protagonist whose coming of age revolves around the discovery of the meaning of loyalty and trust. This gracefully written fantasy belongs in most libraries.

BookList

This well-executed though somewhat conventional fantasy novel reads like both a first effort and the first book in a multivolume work. Neither probability should make the prospective reader wince. The conventional plot concerns a royal bastard of the house of the Farseers, who is raised secretly to serve the house as an assassin. When a succession crisis looms, young Fitz is almost literally flung into a series of complex and deadly intrigues, some magical, some mundane, all unscrupulous. The action moves along briskly, which, in conjunction with Hobb's good world building and fairly original characterization, will keep readers turning pages. This may not be the indispensable fantasy debut of the year, but it will find readers if offered to them.

City of Ashes - Cassandra Clare

City of Ashes is book 2 in the Mortal Instruments series. It is a Young Adult series.

I am enjoying the series so far, but there are some parts that might throw people...like the possible incest going on. That might be a bit much for some of the younger readers of the book. I would definitely agree with the 9th grade recommendation from the School Library Journal unless you have an advanced child.

Synopsis

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up

In this sequel to City of Bones (S & S, 2007), the nonstop action continues. The Shadowhunters are battling a world of demons that few people can see. Guided by the laws of the Clave, these hunters balance fighting with the other more mundane aspects of life-love, betrayal, and confusion. Jace, the fiercest teenage Shadowhunter, seems determined to make everyone around him angry, and is looked upon with suspicion because his father, Valentine, is out to rule the world. Meanwhile, love triangles abound, vampires are reborn, and general teenage angst blossoms among a group of friends and siblings. Set in an alternative present-day Manhattan, the story comes complete with Britney Spears references and even, ironically, refers to the scientific CSI . Well written in both style and language, it compares favorably to others in this genre. The human characters are well developed and quite believable. The whole book is like watching a particularly good vampire/werewolf movie, and it leaves readers waiting for the next in the series. Watch this one fly off the shelves.-Jennifer-Lynn Draper, Children's Literature Consultant, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

Kirkus Reviews

In City of Bones (2007), normal teenager Clary discovered she was a Shadowhunter, long-lost daughter of murdering megalomaniac Valentine-and therefore the sister of her new boyfriend Jace. Now she's caught up in the dangerous politics of the Downworld, where Jace is suspected of treason, non-human kids are being ritually murdered and best friend Simon is transforming into a werewolf. Clary must protect Simon, save Jace from a vindictive Downworlder Inquisitor, prevent Valentine from building an unstoppable demon army and fight her undiminished passion for Jace. The prose is exceedingly purple: Eyes are always paint chips, black pits or jewels in a spider's web; ichor-leaking demons have voices like shattering glass; fairies have hair like autumn leaves or poison green skin. But this action-packed tale uses melodrama and florid descriptions to good effect, crafting emotional tension and heart-wrenching romantic dramas. Readers of urban fantasy will devour this deliciously overwrought adventure. Despite hints that Jace's parentage is in question, the incestuous overtones might be too disturbing for some. (Fantasy. YA)

The Sign of Sevens Trilogy - Nora Roberts

I read all three of the Nora's Sevens trilogy in one evening. LOL

We finally got power back after the ice storm and I just gobbled them right up! I hadn't had any serious reading in almost a week. I was going nuts!

The series contains the books Blood Brothers, The Hollow, and The Pagan Stone.

I really enjoy her books that have a touch (or more) of paranormal to them. I think it is because of my fantasy leanings.


Blood Brothers

Synopsis

In the small village of Hawkins Hollow, three best friends who share the same birthday sneak off into the woods for a sleepover the evening before turning 10. But a night of pre-pubescent celebration turns into a night of horror as their blood brother oath unleashes a three-hundred year curse.

Twenty-one years later, Cal Hawkins and his friends have seen their town plagued by a week of unexplainable evil events two more times - every seven years. With the clock winding down on the third set of seven years, someone else has taken an interest in the town's folklore. Quinn is a well known scholar of local legends, and despite Cal's protests, insists on delving in the mystery. But when the first signs of evil appear months early, it's not only the town Cal tries to protect, but also his heart.

Publishers Weekly

After three boys accidentally awaken an ancient evil near their small Maryland town, the tight-knit community finds itself lost to a Stephen King-style plague of madness and destruction for a week every seven years. Twenty-one years later, those three boys, now grown, are hoping to find a way to stop the evil before its third return, which may mean the end of the town; they don't know much about the "anomalies," but they do know that "[e]very time it gets stronger." This time, the town is graced by author Quinn Black, eager to document the paranormal mystery. When two more women arrive-one an associate of Quinn's, the other led to town by strange visions-the circle of six decide to face the oncoming apocalypse together. Hyperprolific bestseller Roberts frontloads her story with drama and endearing characters (especially in Quinn and bowling alley owner Caleb Hawkins), but an abundance of exposition and domestic concerns (protagonists decorate a house, trade banter and pair off predictably) slow the plot significantly. Though future volumes are sure to pick up, this trilogy kickoff suffers from a dearth of twists and little payoff; fans of the brisk, colorful Roberts style will enjoy the ride, though probably not as much as they'd expect. (Dec.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information


The Hollow

Synopsis

Book 2 of The Sign of Seven Trilogy

Otherworldly intrigue. Pulse-pounding suspense. Electrifying passion. It all adds up to the continuing Sign of Seven Trilogy.

In Book 2 of the trilogy, Roberts takes us back to Hawkins Hollow where the story began in Book 1 of the Sign of Seven Trilogy Blood Brothers. . . .

Hawkins Hollow, Maryland, an idyllic town where three boys share not only a birthday- July 7, 1977 - but an innocent ritual of friendship that changes the course of their lives and everything else in Hawkins Hollow. . . . Now those boys are men who must find a way to defeat the evil threatening all they know and love.

The Pagan Stone

Synopsis

Years ago, after their blood brother ritual, Gage, Fox, and Caleb emerged from the woods, each with a piece of bloodstone. Now, it will become their weapon in the final fight against the demon they awakened. Winner take all...

Shared nightmares, visions of blood and fire, and random violence begin to plague the longtime friends and Quinn, Layla, and Cybil, the women bound to them by fate. None of them can ignore the fact that, this year, the demon has grown stronger—feeding off of the terror it creates. But now, the three pieces of the bloodstone have been fused back together. If only they could figure out how to use it.

A gambling man like Gage has no trouble betting on his crew to find a way. And though he and Cybil share the gift of seeing the future, that's all they share. Were they to take their flirtation to the next level, it would be on their own terms, not because fate decreed it. But Gage knows that a woman like Cybil—with her brains and strength and devastating beauty—can only bring him luck. Good or bad has yet to be determined—and could mean the difference between absolute destruction or an end to the nightmare for Hawkins Hollow.

Kristin Ramsdell - Library Journal

Nearly 21 years ago, on the seventh day of the seventh month, three young boys swore a blood oath on top of the Pagan Stone in the woods near Hawkins Hollow and unwittingly unleashed an imprisoned demon that returns to wreak increasingly deadly havoc on the town every seven years. With the evil assault beginning once more, the time has come to end the carnage. Now, the three who started it all, linked by fate to a trio of exceptional women, are determined to defeat the demon once and for all. Each couple, sharing similar mental gifts, has had a part to play in the "Sign of Seven" trilogy (see also Blood Brothers; The Hollow), but in this final installment, it's up to gambler Gage Turner and free-spirited Cybil Kinski, who have the gift of precognition, to administer the death blow, even though it means someone else must die. Blood, fire, brutal violation, and possession are tempered by strength, self-sacrifice, and love in this chilling, passionate romance. It is reminiscent of Roberts's "Three Sisters Island" trilogy but more intensely evil and violent. Roberts does a good job of bringing readers up to speed and tying up loose ends, but readers will benefit from experiencing the stories in order. Roberts lives in Keedysville, MD.