Anne McCaffrey – Restoree

Genre: Science Fiction

Basic Plot: Sara is walking home through Central park one evening when the stench of dead sea creatures hits her and she falls into an unconscious nightmare of phantom limbs and horrific pain. When she awakes, she finds that she has become a Restoree, and is now on an alien planet. She finds that she wants to help the humanoids get rid of the predator-like, flesh eating Mil once and for all, and embarks on an adventure that will test each fibre of her, both physically and mentally.

Characters: I often find that the main problem with SF and Fantasy writings is that the reader is expected to remember dozens of character names and detailed backgrounds. Restoree somehow managed to relay the important information about each character, without overload. This gave me time enough to concentrate on watching how the main characters developed throughout the book. The main character, Sara, is someone who the reader finds it incredibly easy to identify with. She’s very human, if that doesn’t sound too absurd. Indeed, at some points I found myself wishing that she was better at certain things. You find yourself rooting for her, which just goes to show how well written she is.

Style: This is a story that really manages to suck the reader in, allowing them to really see what’s happening, though without the usual added irritation of providing too much information and description. It flows nicely for the most part, though one or two parts of it do get a little dull, but such instances happen for perhaps two pages at most throughout the whole book, which are subsequently easily to skim-read over.

Opinions: This wasn’t my favourite book of all time, but I’m glad I read it. I found it almost a shame that this book was a one-off and not part of a series. If you’re interested in the development of females in SF going from screaming damsels to forefront characters, this book will certainly interest you. If not, then it’s worth picking up at the local library, at least.

Audience: Teenagers +

4 Responses to “Anne McCaffrey – Restoree”

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