Catteni 004: Freedom's Ransom

Anne McCaffrey has held the esteem and affection of readers for many years, and shows no signs of losing the storytelling skills that are her particular speciality. She has always shown a remarkable consistency of inventiveness and achievement in her high-flying fantasy tales, incorporating genuine science in her lengthy series of books. Her Dragon books have built up a considerable following over many years, with their trademark marriage of SF and fantasy tropes, and the universes she creates are always plausible. The fresh levels of imagination on offer here show that McCaffrey is never happy to repeat herself. In this fourth part of the Catteni sequence, she shows again she can effortlessly conjure new universes and characters. This ambitious saga of interplanetary looting and a grim battle for the survival of a race builds on the momentum of its predecessors. The planet has been ransacked by the avaricious merchants of Barevi, who are claiming ransom before they will return all they have stolen. McCaffrey's hero Zainal (Catteni by race, but now leader of the polyglot domain of Botany) requires supplies for his desperate people, and initiates a dangerous strategy: to ransom the ransomers and steal back the items so urgently needed. As so often before, McCaffrey vividly evokes colourful alien settings, and the plotting is as sure-footed as ever. Another plus is the wealth of powerfully realized characters. Zainal is one of McCaffrey's most interesting heroes, and as we head for the final chapters, ever more rapid page-turning is guaranteed. (Kirkus UK)