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A review by thestarman
Freedom's Ransom by Anne McCaffrey
3 WORD REVIEW: Robusta vs. Arabica
AWARD: Perhaps the only "SciFi" book showcasing --which apparently has not advanced at all in the future.
Yep, we have Faster-Than-Light (FTL) spaceships, and we have defeated superior aliens and their advanced weaponry ... but you still have to
PROS: The main characters seem like nice people, and they mostly all get along. Even the teenagers only barely misbehave (if eye rolling counts).
NEUTRALS: Certain Earth tech really dates this 2002 book--in sometimes mildly funny ways. The writing style is okay, though the pacing is tedious.
[ The following CONS & other details may contain minor spoilers, but there's not much to spoil here] :
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ALSO A PRO: No dragons. Nor people riding dragons bareback, and magically not falling off.
CONS: Everything else-- or rather, the lack of anything else.
PLOT: The "good" characters use their FTL spaceship go to a market on a distant planet (apparently instantly, as no time span is mentioned), drink coffee non-stop, and search for advanced technology windshield wipers and Toyota tires -- because apparently the survival of humanity hinges on such.
Also: alien chicken wings appear to be the preferred galactic currency. And coffee, of course.
Note to SF authors & screenwriters: The whole every-species-in-the-universe-loves-coffee was worn out decades ago. Or perhaps McCaffrey was one of the pioneers of this cliche? At any rate, let's please move on to something else--preferably involving some actual science fiction.
Surprisingly, duct tape only gets a brief mention.
It's also one of those books where the main alien basically looks human (aside from minor physical things such as eye color and hand size), and speaks like a human who's known English their entire life, and instantly picks up any new idioms. Suuuuure. Also, of course, he's married to a brilliant and attractive Earth woman--and their species are genetically compatible. Suuuuure.
Big *YAWN*
Not badly written, but not exciting in any way whatsoever. Only one or two very brief moments of personal danger in the entire book--and you knew no one would actually get hurt.
NOT SO FICTIONAL? Nokia mobile phones (yes, the pre-smartphone variety) are apparently valuable, and sought after. I assume to use as bricks in rebuilding Earth.
TRULY FICTION: Hewlett Packard (not "HP", but actually spelled-out "Hewlett Packard"!) printers are also lust-worthy. As is copy paper. (So much for that paperless future we've been promised since the 1980s.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
VERDICT/RATING: None, because I'm not sure what McCaffrey was trying to achieve here. If forced, I couldn't give it more than 2.3 stars, unless I needed a cure for insomnia.
AWARD: Perhaps the only "SciFi" book showcasing
Spoiler
dentistryYep, we have Faster-Than-Light (FTL) spaceships, and we have defeated superior aliens and their advanced weaponry ... but you still have to
Spoiler
brush & floss. And spit blood in a bowl when the dentist does their thing.PROS: The main characters seem like nice people, and they mostly all get along. Even the teenagers only barely misbehave (if eye rolling counts).
NEUTRALS: Certain Earth tech really dates this 2002 book--in sometimes mildly funny ways. The writing style is okay, though the pacing is tedious.
[ The following CONS & other details may contain minor spoilers, but there's not much to spoil here] :
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spoiler
ALSO A PRO: No dragons. Nor people riding dragons bareback, and magically not falling off.
CONS: Everything else-- or rather, the lack of anything else.
PLOT: The "good" characters use their FTL spaceship go to a market on a distant planet (apparently instantly, as no time span is mentioned), drink coffee non-stop, and search for
Also: alien chicken wings appear to be the preferred galactic currency. And coffee, of course.
Note to SF authors & screenwriters: The whole every-species-in-the-universe-loves-coffee was worn out decades ago. Or perhaps McCaffrey was one of the pioneers of this cliche? At any rate, let's please move on to something else--preferably involving some actual science fiction.
Surprisingly, duct tape only gets a brief mention.
It's also one of those books where the main alien basically looks human (aside from minor physical things such as eye color and hand size), and speaks like a human who's known English their entire life, and instantly picks up any new idioms. Suuuuure. Also, of course, he's married to a brilliant and attractive Earth woman--and their species are genetically compatible. Suuuuure.
Big *YAWN*
Not badly written, but not exciting in any way whatsoever. Only one or two very brief moments of personal danger in the entire book--and you knew no one would actually get hurt.
NOT SO FICTIONAL? Nokia mobile phones (yes, the pre-smartphone variety) are apparently valuable, and sought after. I assume to use as bricks in rebuilding Earth.
TRULY FICTION: Hewlett Packard (not "HP", but actually spelled-out "Hewlett Packard"!) printers are also lust-worthy. As is copy paper. (So much for that paperless future we've been promised since the 1980s.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
VERDICT/RATING: None, because I'm not sure what McCaffrey was trying to achieve here. If forced, I couldn't give it more than 2.3 stars, unless I needed a cure for insomnia.