Rating:  Summary: Excellent Series Review: I'll admit, I didn't notice the errors that the previous reviewer was irritated by, perhaps it only happened in the paperback edition? Never-the-less, this was a great read. Though best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series of books, I like Anne's work that is based in a world similar to ours. The Catteni Sequence delivers. What would happen if Earth were invaded, and humanity enslaved? If you enjoyed Independence Day, you'll like this series. I also highly recommend Susan Wright's SLAVE TRADE trilogy (don't be fooled by the provocative title--good for young adults too).
Rating:  Summary: Double Disappointment Review: As a longtime fan of Anne McCaffrey's Pern series, I was bitterly disappointed by Freedom's Landing. Despite a strong female protagonist and an intriging romantic interest, the book is mediocre. Worse than that, it's offensive. It's a mediocre example of science fiction because of the cardboard characterization of most of the cast, the predictability of the plot, and the total lack of originality of ideas. Nothing surprises, nothing intrigues, nothing challenges. In over 300 pages, the only "suspense" was wondering how long it would take the heroine to bed the hero. The book is also very offensive due to its racial and ethnic stereotyping. The Catteni have supposedly captured the inhabitants of cities all around Earth--yet all the captives turn out to be white folks (Australians, Norwegians, Russians, etc.). Oh, yes, one American is described as "dark-skinned"; he's a cook who says things like "I wouldn't stand on no ceremony was I you." (Gee, did a character from Amos & Andy wander by mistake into her book?) The white folks are also described in stereotypical ways, of course; the Australians are blunt & outdoorsy, the Norwegians blond & athletic, the Doyle brothers, "being Irish", "seemed to get along with anyone". And then there's the description of the "bad guy" conquerors, the Catteni: "brutish coarse features" and "thick blubbery lips"--except the single good Catteni, who of course has "a straight almost patrician nose" and "a wide well-shaped mouth". In other words, he looks like the white folks; no wonder our heroine falls in love with him! Anne McCaffrey has never written science fiction of the the highest quality, but she has sunk to a new low with this series.
Rating:  Summary: Another Great McCaffrey book! Review: This is the start of another great McCaffrey series. It has great characters and a great plot, with detailed landscapes. I enjoyed this book immensely and I think you will too! Read this book, it is a great book by Anne McCaffrey!
Rating:  Summary: Better than average for McCaffrey nowadays... Review: Freedom's Landing is a workable SF/fantasy/survival book with interesting characters, a fairly decent plot, and a good SF environment. Whether this lasts into the rest of the 'Freedom' books is another question!Since Ms. McCaffrey lost her editor (sometime around the nth Pern book), she seems to be doing her best writing when it's the first book in a series. This is an example of that. She has to introduce us to lots of characters, multiple alien races, an entire planet, and all kinds of technologies so she manages to avoid being as repetitious and tangential as she usually is nowadays. Her use of vernacular English is as usual laughable and the fact that she's been leaning more towards 'bodice ripper' romance than SF lately is pretty evident in the first chapter, but since I only paid [dollar amount] for it I can live with it. The rest of the books, however, I'm getting from the library as I refuse to pay list price for any McCaffrey book anymore. Too many disappointments!
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