The Girl Who Heard Dragons [short story collection]

The collection displays McCaffrey's range and reach; however, she does not excel at this form. The ideas are clever and fun as ever, but the prose and style lack the conciseness and precision that is an absolute must in short fiction. Nevertheless, it is enjoyable and the concepts alone make it worth reading. ( )

I've been an Anne McCaffrey fan for ages but it's been a long time since I read her short stories. She is a very versatile writer and these stories demonstrate that. They range from pretty hard core science fiction to fantasy to light fiction with a touch of oddness. If you like her Pern books, then the title story will appeal to you. If you cried for the Ship Who Sang, then Duty Calls gives you another view of the brainship and brawn teamwork. McCaffrey's love of horses comes through in A Quiet One and Habit is an Old Horse. For any fan, the opening work "So, You're Anne McCaffrey" will be very interesting.

I had the honour of meeting Anne many years ago at the only Science Fiction Convention I have ever attended, right here in Winnipeg. She dished out ice cream at the opening, read from The Ship Who Sang, answered questions and signed books. It was such a thrill. ( )

An interesting mix of fifteen short stories for young adults. Seven are sci fi and set in a world where the Khalians are the enemy to the various races of good guys trying to make the universe safe. Five are fantasy stories about various subjects. Three are odd vignettes about different topics.
The most fascinating to me of these fifteen were the one about the first exogenetic birth in the 1950's, the one about the doctor who rebuilds a man's entire body because she finds his face the handsomest she's ever seen, the one about the slaves in the south who heal and protect with their strange powers, and the one told from the old horse's point of view as he realizes that his mistress has died. ( )

Whether writing fantasy, science fiction, or straight fiction, (This collection contails all three.) McCaffrey's characters are real people, and the background is never more important than how the people relate to each other. ( )

CHRONICLES OF PERN