Subject: KILLASHANDRA by Anne McCaffrey (mild spoiler)

From: [email-masked]
Date: 11 Jul 86 05:41:59 GMT

Time: medium-range future (some hundreds of years from now)

Place: planet Optheria, mainly.

Introduction: Killashandra is a crystal singer, a person with perfect
pitch, able and willing to seek much-needed crystal (of various kinds)
on planet Ballybran. It's a love-hate relationship though; singers
save enough money selling crystal to leave planet, but, for biological
reasons, they always have to return. Killashandra has just excavated
a decent load of crystal, not enough to get her very far off
planet, but at least enough to take her away from Ballybran. But
the head of her guild offers her a short-term job on planet Optheria,
a planet mainly noted for its crystal-based musical organs.
She's to take her load of crystals and install them in the main
organ; on the side she's to try and find out why no Optherian has
ever left the planet.

Main storylines: Killashandra's adventures on Optheria, her investigation,
and her relationship with a leading islander there.

SF elements: advanced technology, galactic and planetary politics,
minor biological changes in some humans (crystal singers).

Critique: This book might be called "The Further Adventures of
Killashandra Ree". It starts a few months after CRYSTAL SINGER
ends. Killashandra comes across as a believable person, and the
worlds seem quite real. The book is paced well enough. I had a bit
of trouble believing that Killashandra would strike up the romantic
relationship she did, but it's not that improbable, given the nature
of her character. I didn't find any particular fault with the book,
but I didn't find anything especially gripping or exciting either.
It's a pleasant, mildly interesting read. I give it 3.0 stars (good,
but I'll trade it in).
-- 

Duane Morse	...!noao!mot!anasazi!duane
(602) 870-3330