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Searching... Willamina Public Library | FN MCCAFFREY | Searching... Unknown |
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Searching... Dayton Public Library | MCCAFFREY | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Independence Public Library | SCIENCE FICTION - MCCAFFREY | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | McCaffrey, A. | Searching... Unknown |
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Searching... Stayton Public Library | FN MCCAFFREY, ANNE | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Acorna the "unicorn girl" -- found as a baby years ago, abandoned and floating alone in an escape pod at the far end of the galaxy -- has made peace with her past, her Linyaari heritage, and with the powerful "differences" that set her apart from the loving humans who raised her. But only in the deep reaches of limitless space can she truly feel at home.
Now, aboard the interplanetary salvage vessel Condor, Acorna is free once more, traveling through space in the company of her good friend, ship's commander Captain Jonas Becker, his gargantuan feline "first mate" Roadkill, and Aari, a proud Linyaari survivor of torture at the hands of the savage, bug-like Khleevi. But the journey is interrupted when a transmitted distress call -- faint but undeniable -- draws Acorna and her companions down to the surface of a nearby planet.
What awaits them is a world of wonders, shrouded in an atmosphere of strange, intoxicating perfumes. Intelligent, sentiment plants help guide Acorna, Becker, Aari, and RK to the source of the SOS. But a broken, burned out -- alien ship is all they find, the pitiful remnants of a relentlessly brutal yet carefully coordinated assault. To Acorna, the signs are unmistakable.
This is the grim handiwork of the cold-blooded species that seeks the complete eradication of all human and Linyaari life from the galaxy...the Khleevi!
And suddenly all that Acrona holds dear is in grave peril. Because the devastation that was wrought here was no isolated occurence, but the opening move in a planned onslaught that will decimate the two races to whom Acorna is culturally, emotionally, and genetically tied. A worlds-shattering catastrophe is in the making -- unless one courageous and beautiful young woman with remarkable healing powers and her small, motley group of friends can go the unthinkable: discover the fearsome insectile enemy's greatest weakness...and strike first.
Author Notes
Anne McCaffrey was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on April 1, 1926. She received a degree in Slavonic languages from Radcliffe College. She worked in advertising for Helena Rubenstein from 1947 to 1952.
Her first publication was a short story in Science Fiction Magazine, and her first novel, Restoree, was published in 1967. She is a well-known author of over 100 books, mostly science fiction, including the Dragonriders of Pern series, the Crystal Singer series, Acorna's Children series, The Twins of Petaybee series, and Barque Cats series. She won numerous awards including the Hugo Award for Best Novella for the short story Weyr Search in 1968 and the Nebula Award for Best Novella for Dragonrider in 1969. In 2006, she was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. She has also written books under the pseudonym Jody Lynn. She died of a stroke on November 21, 2011 at the age of 85.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Gentle Unicorn Girl Acorna makes her fourth appearance in this galaxy-spanning successor to Acorna's Quest. Her shy, empathetic race, the pacific Linyaari, are still menaced by the horrid insectoid Khleevi, whose cannibalistic Young feast on their own elders as well as on other races they torture and destroy. Acorna, aboard the Condor, a spacegoing salvage ship captained by her friend Jonas Becker and accompanied by the vile-tempered Makahomian Temple Cat Road Kill and her Linyaari friend, Aari, who was previously maimed by the Khleevi, answers a distress call that leads her to a planet of sticky-veined sentient vines holding the secret to sapping the Khleevi and saving the Linyaari from extermination. Along the way, Acorna and Aari fall in love, a giant new Moon of Opportunity marketing venture (MOO) opens up for Acorna's adopted neo-Bedouin Uncle Hafiz, and the former slave children Acorna rescued earlier enjoy suitable education, gainful employment and a future of endless Happy Meals. Predictably strong on sweetness and light, noble self-sacrifice and plenty of teeny-bopper growing-up pangsÄthough correspondingly superficial in characterizations and future scientific wondersÄthis latest chapter in Acorna's adventures also offers (especially toward its close) some wry social commentary on capitalistic machinations and elder-eating younger generations: harmless good spacefaring fun. The novel includes a glossary of terms and proper names and "Brief Notes on the Linyaari Language." (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
McCaffrey continues the series (note the new collaborator: Acorna, 1997, was with Margaret Ball) about the telepathic human-alien unicorn, Acorna, a Linyaari whose horn can purify water and air and heal injuries. In this episode, Acorna's zooming around the galaxy in a spaceship with Captain Joh Becker, McKenZ the android, and Acorna's fellow-Linyaari, Aari. Aari is depressed and withdrawn after being captured, tortured, and de-horned by the enemies of all sentient life, the giant-insect Khleevi, a species with habits designed to elicit the exclamation ""Ew, gross!"" But when Acorna and friends discover a planet covered with sentient vegetation whose corrosive sap dissolves the tough Khleevi exoskeleton, they develop a plan to trick the Khleevi into landing their armies on the planet; the plants, who also loathe the voracious Khleevi, actively cooperate. So, while Acorna and Becker plot, and McKenZ and Aari learn the Khleevi clicking language, will Aari find healing, regrow his horn, rediscover his self-respect, and get together with Acorna? Cute and fluffy, not even remotely tense or gripping: a by-the-numbers, bash-the-nasty-aliens romp, breezy enough for uncritical fans of this popular duo (Power Play, 1995, etc.). Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In the fourth book about the unicorn girl Acorna, whose people were discovered in Acorna's People (1999), she finds herself unable to adjust to her native culture because of her upbringing by her human "uncles" and her involvement in so many space adventures. So she ships out with the salvager Becker; his ship's cat, Roadkill; and Aari, a young man of Acorna's race whose torture at the hands of the vicious, buglike aliens, the Khleevi, has left him hornless and vulnerable. The space opera aspects of the series continue in the ongoing battle against the Khleevi, but Aari's recovery of his courage, which makes him very useful in scoping out the Khleevi, and the growing love between him and Acorna add some dimension to the proceedings. Veteran fans will enjoy these further adventures, but this book isn't the place for newcomers to start with the series. --Sally Estes
Library Journal Review
Returning to deep space after coming to terms with her lost heritage, the unicorn-like woman known as Acorna answers a distress signal that leads her to a new planet threatened by an old and vicious enemy. The fourth installment in this popular adventure series (Acorna, Acorna's People) demonstrates the storytelling expertise of coauthors McCaffrey and Scarborough. Old and new characters, exotic alien races, and unique methods of problem-solving make this a good choice for sf collections. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.