Anne McCaffrey – Crystal Singer

Genre: Sci-Fi

Plot Outline: Music student Killashandra Ree had been told that she could never play an operatic lead. In protest, she walked away from ten gruelling years of tuition…straight into the Hepitite guild of Ballybran, the home of Crystal Singers. For the few who managed to pass the test, being a Crystal Singer brought career security, an extended life, and wealth. The downside was that no-one who joined the guild ever left. Killashandra decided to take that chance.

Characters: Anne McCaffrey has a fantastic talent for making her characters seem credible. Each character has flaws which only make them more realistic to the reader. I found at some points, even the main protagonist, Killashandra, was completely dislikeable. The character development which takes place is subtle, but marked out by important moments within the story. Whilst the main changes in the main character happen at such points, the reader is still able to see other instances where Killashandra has grown as a person. Indeed, Ms. McCaffrey allows us to look through Killa’s eyes nearer to the end of the novel, wherein she herself retrospectively looks back and acknowledges that she’s changed. As with most good novels, it is easy to find a character with which one can relate. This book is no exception. Anne spends a good deal of effort making her fore-characters accessible instead of two-dimensional.

Style: Regardless of the Sci-Fi element, I found that it was easy enough to take the book at face value and not dwell over terms or technological references. The style was fluent and flowing. This book did not tend to over-describe or allow stagnation at any given point, unlike books I have read by the author Nicholas Evans. I believe that there are also hidden tidbits for perhaps wider-read readers. At one point, Killashandra speaks a line from the poem ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’, a reference that would be lost to someone who had obviously never read it. It’s a very easy read, not too taxing on the mind unless you felt the urge to attempt to reason and examine the use of the technology within the text.

Opinions: I myself have very little criticism for this book. Some of the happenings seem a little too staged (If you will excuse the pun), and thus at some points making the protagonist seem to have had one too many good coincidences. The book raised a few issues. De-feminisation is a topic already mentioned, but it also brings up topics of fulfilled ambition, growth through experience, and acceptance into a different lifestyle. It’s definitely worth buying a reading copy of this book. My opinion is that it’s one that enriches itself more and more when read multiple times. It’s one of a series, but don’t let that put you off, it’s perfectly fine to read it as a stand-alone novel.

Audience: Young Teenagers +