Review: Pegasus in Space

Title: Pegasus in Space

Author: Anne McCaffrey

Published: December 2000

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adults

Stand Alone/Series: Book 3
Book 1: To Ride Pegasus
Book 2: Pegasus in Flight

From the Back Cover: For an overpopulated Earth, there is only one place to look for relief: straight up. With the completion of the Padrugoi Space Station, humanity has at last achieved its first large-scale permanent presence in space. But there are those who want Padrugoi to fail. Standing in their way are the Talented, men and women gifted with extraordinary mental powers that have made them as feared as they are respected - and utterly indispensable to the colonization effort. Now, as sabotage and attempted murder stike the Station, it's up to the Talented to save the day. Only who is going to save the Talented?

Review: This picks up the story from Pegasus in Flight and completes the building of the universe for the Rowan universe. The final chapter in the story of Peter Reidinger, first Tower Prime, and the beginning of the FT&T (Federated Telepath & Teleport). The world has become over-crowded, and the human need to explore, pushes exploration into space. First its the space station, Padrugoi, then the moon and Mars and beyond. It also provides Anne McCaffrey’s answers to the questions all space-exploring authors must face, how is space travel conducted and how do people stay in touch. Again Anne McCaffrey’s wonderful story-telling style keeps the reader turning those pages to see what happens next.

This book also points out the fact that the only place we have to go is up as we are faced with over-population and decreasing resources. Of course this means that people will have to work together and pool what resources we have, but it could be possible. Instead of wasting time and money on fighting, people should take a good look around. They would see that we are running out of space and resources. Sure conservation will help us but sooner of later we are going to have to face the fact that the planet as only so much space and resources.

Space the final frontier, to quote Star Trek. It really truly is the final frontier. This book always tends to bring out the little astronaut explorer in me (and not to mention the trekkie).

Keeper?: Yes

Recommendation: Yes, this story completes the world building for the Rowan universe.

Rating: 4 of 5

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