Review: Pegasus in Flight

Title: Pegasus in Flight

Author: Anne McCaffrey

Published: October 1990

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adults

Stand Alone/Series: Book 2
Book 1: To Ride Pegasus

From the Back Cover: As director of the Jerhattan Parapsychic Center, telepath Rhyssa Owen coordinated the job assignments for psychically gifted Talents. And though she had her hands full dealing with the unreasonable demand for kinetics to work on the space platform that would be humankind's stepping-stone to the stars, she was always ready to welcome new Talents to the Center.

Feisty and streetwise, twelve-year-old Tirla used her extraordinary knack for languages to eke out a living in the Linear developments, where the poor struggled to make ends meet and children were conscipted or sold into menial work programs. Young Peter, paralyzed in a freak accident, hoped someday to get into space where zero gravity would enable him t ofunction more easily. Both desparately needed help only other Talents could provide.

With the appearnce in her life of one extraordinary man with no measureable Talent at all, Rhyssa suddenly found herself questioning everythin she thought she knew about her people. And when two Talented children were discovered to have some very unusual - and unexpected - abilities, she realized that she would have to reassess the potential of all Talentkind...

Review: After reading some great new (to me) science fiction, I had a hankering to re-read one of my old favorites. And in science fiction, who hasn't read at least one Anne McCaffery.

This story is the middle part of the trilogy that precedes the Rowan series (Rowan, Damia, Children of Damia, Lyon's Pride, and The Tower and the Hive). The first book in the trilogy (To Ride Pegasus) didn't do much for me so I never kept it. Its series of short stories on the discovery of psychic abilities and the founding of the Parapsychic Center which is featured in the other two books of the series. Its very loosely tied into the rest of the trilogy and doesn't add much to the overall trilogy storyline was written nearly 20 years prior to the release of this book. This is really the story of Peter Reidinger and the beginning of the organization which will become the FT&T (Federated Telepath & Teleport).

As with most Anne McCaffery books, this is light reading with plenty of action to keep the story going. It takes a look at a society where the poor and unskilled live in underground dwellings and children are currency while the wealthy or skilled live in the sunlight and in luxury. Both side of this world are shown through the eyes of children. Tirla, whose birth was illegal (as the fourth child of a single mother), and Peter, who is paralyzed. Both have unusual skills and must find their place in the world.

Anne McCaffery is a wonderful story-teller and I love all the different world she’s created. This one is fascinating since it was one of first that I read that had people with paranormal powers set in modern day. Even though I’ve read this several times, it still keeps my interest.

Keeper?: Yes

Recommendation: Good for all ages. One of my oldies but goodies.

Rating: 4 of 5