Friday, February 20, 2009

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.

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