Acorna [Paperback]

Taking refuge on the planet Kezdet, they make the acquaintance of a wealthy businessman of Chinese descent, who recognizes Acorna as the Kirin of ancient mythology. He is on a mission to end Kezdet's underground child slave trade, and when Acorna gets involved, she makes her most dangerous enemies yet.

I used to be a huge McCaffrey fan, and I've read a considerable portion of her work, including much of the Pern series, The Ireta Adventure, the Crystal Singer trilogy, and the original Ship and Pegasus novels. I've moved away from her work in recent years, but the beautiful cover on this one drew me in (Ignore the cheap CG background.) While not abysmal like Crystal Line was, Acorna is definitely one of her weaker efforts. The characters don't have much depth - the title character least of all - and any personality traits they are given are repeated to the point of cliché. (I lost count of how many times one character "blushed the color of his beard.") The story itself isn't particularly gripping. The confrontation with the book's chief villain towards the end is hugely anticlimactic. Even the reality of child slavery is watered down, though the thematic cries of "the children, the children!" did grow wearisome. This is safe SF, basically a comfort read. If you like a little edge in your reading, you may be bored, as I was at times. I didn't dislike it entirely, but it is highly unlikely that I will read the next book in the series. A mediocre effort from an author who is, perhaps, past her prime.

Note: While there is no cliffhanger ending, and while the major conflicts are resolved by the last page, there are several threads left open for exploration in the books that follow. I am content to depart from the series after this first installment, but be aware that the overall story is not truly complete.

This was a wonderful book, I couldn't stop reading to the very end.