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Acorna #6
Acorna's Rebels
Acorna's people, the Linyaari, have begun reclaiming their homeworld from the ravages of the brutal Khleevi. But the first wave of explorers has unlocked a larger mystery about the origins of the Linyaari -- one that has led Aari, Acorna's beloved lifemate, on a dangerous journey from which he may never return. Setting off on a quest to find Aari, Acorna and her friends -- Captain Becker, Mac, Nadhari, and RK -- are forced to crash land on the beautiful and barbaric exotic jungle world of Makahomia, home of the mysterious Temple Cats. But an evil scheme threatens to destroy the sacred felines. To save the cats, Acorna will lead a band of rebels on a journey into Makahomia's temples and hidden sanctuaries. And there, within one sacred shrine, she will discover shocking information that could lead to Aari . . .or to disaster.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
83 people are currently reading
1615 people want to read
About the author
Anne McCaffrey
478 books7,755 followersAnne Inez McCaffrey was an American writer known for the Dragonriders of Pern science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction (Best Novella, Weyr Search, 1968) and the first to win a Nebula Award (Best Novella, Dragonrider, 1969). Her 1978 novel The White Dragon became one of the first science-fiction books to appear on the New York Times Best Seller list.
In 2005 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named McCaffrey its 22nd Grand Master, an annual award to living writers of fantasy and science fiction. She was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame on 17 June 2006. She also received the Robert A. Heinlein Award for her work in 2007.
In 2005 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named McCaffrey its 22nd Grand Master, an annual award to living writers of fantasy and science fiction. She was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame on 17 June 2006. She also received the Robert A. Heinlein Award for her work in 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
July 10, 2023
Not as good as the previous volumes; some inane plot threads messed this one up.
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November 15, 2022Not as good as the previous volumes; some inane plot threads messed this one up.
October 4, 2023
Another fun adventure. Temple cats. Need I say more?
Acorna's almost a diety? A lot of serious issues are happening on this planet.
Now that I'm borrowing these Acorna books from Libby in Kindle form, these series flows quickly. I'm onto the next book.
Acorna's almost a diety? A lot of serious issues are happening on this planet.
Now that I'm borrowing these Acorna books from Libby in Kindle form, these series flows quickly. I'm onto the next book.
May 14, 2017
This is, I think, one of my favorite books. Planet of people who revere cats, telepathically communicating with cats, shape-shifting between human and cat, and foiling the plot to kill cats.
Aari is still missing, and Acorna is persuaded to take a break and go with Becker as a crew member. RK, Becker's "first mate", has hit some buttons or pulled some levers leaving the ship in the swampland of the Makahomian training ground. A ship with the Captain MacDonald rescues them, but they need to stop on Makahomia which is Nadhari's original planet. Everyone is invited to a banquet, but Acorna is called upon to help the Makahomian Sacred Cats. They have come down with a mortal sickness. Acorna heals them, and then uncovers the dastardly plan of Nadhari's relation, Kendo. He is the high priest of one of the Makahomian temples. Side note: Makahomia is a warring planet. Technology from outside is not allowed per the Federation.
Kendo believes his plan for the future of his planet is the best one. He will kill the cats, with the help of the Federation's highest officer, and then the people will be united and then they can get technology and he can sell off the sacred cats-eye stones which are expensive elsewhere as they power some of the more advanced tech.
But Acorna's arrival, and that of Captain MacDonald, threatens, and eventually thwarts, his plans. Other Linyaari arrive on the planet to help with the clean-up of the main aquifer that Kendo had poisoned.
Acorna is surprised to learn that her arrival is prophetical.
Aari is still missing, and Acorna is persuaded to take a break and go with Becker as a crew member. RK, Becker's "first mate", has hit some buttons or pulled some levers leaving the ship in the swampland of the Makahomian training ground. A ship with the Captain MacDonald rescues them, but they need to stop on Makahomia which is Nadhari's original planet. Everyone is invited to a banquet, but Acorna is called upon to help the Makahomian Sacred Cats. They have come down with a mortal sickness. Acorna heals them, and then uncovers the dastardly plan of Nadhari's relation, Kendo. He is the high priest of one of the Makahomian temples. Side note: Makahomia is a warring planet. Technology from outside is not allowed per the Federation.
Kendo believes his plan for the future of his planet is the best one. He will kill the cats, with the help of the Federation's highest officer, and then the people will be united and then they can get technology and he can sell off the sacred cats-eye stones which are expensive elsewhere as they power some of the more advanced tech.
But Acorna's arrival, and that of Captain MacDonald, threatens, and eventually thwarts, his plans. Other Linyaari arrive on the planet to help with the clean-up of the main aquifer that Kendo had poisoned.
Acorna is surprised to learn that her arrival is prophetical.
reluctant-dnf
August 19, 2025It’s been almost two years since I picked up the last book in the series. Since then I’ve probably borrowed this book from the library 3 or 4 times and returned it unread. I think it’s time to admit to myself that I have lost interest in the series.
Never say never; I may come back to this but it’s unlikely …
Never say never; I may come back to this but it’s unlikely …
November 10, 2018
I suppose you can't expect high art from a book with the subtitle of "A new adventure for the Unicorn Girl" and, well, you don't get it. The Unicorn Girl in question is Acorna, a member of the Linyaari species -- descendants of unicorns who have evolved to look pretty much like humans, except with hooved feet and a horn in the forehead. Acorna and crew are on an interstellar voyage to deliver some time travelling prisoners somewhere or other, but a rebellious cat forces them to land on the planet of Makahomia for repairs. A religious leader of Makahomia is involved in a devious scheme to take over the rest of the planet by poisoning the sacred cats of the planet. Since Acorna and team are all telepathic (including the cat) uncovering this plot is straightforward, and they stop it without much difficulty because it's a harebrained scheme carried out in an incompetent fashion. To get an idea as to the level of incompetence, near the end the priest and an assistant unload volleys of laserfire into a room full of cats until they get overwhelmed by the felines, and in the process fail to kill a single cat.
So the plot is not stellar, but what really makes this book a chore to read is the writing style. The author(s) fell into the trap of falling in love with their setting so much they use every opportunity to remind the reader about it. For example, among the Linyaari a smile with the teeth bared signifies a challenge. Acorna smiles like this three times in the novel, and every time the text follows on with ", which was a symbol of a challenge among the Linyaari" or something similar, just in case the reader forgot. Whenever a horse-like creature is encountered the author reminds us that it looks like a hornless ancestor, because the ancestors were unicorns, remember? And, of course, the gold standard of insecure fantasy settings: there is a glossary at the back.
The dialogue of the characters also comes across as extremely stilted. Every character seems to have their own "thing", their own manner of speaking which they make sure to underline in every dialogue to remind the reader that they have a personality. This leads to utterances like: "Oh, honeybunny, we need to get you to Acorna right away, doll". This characters "thing" is that he likes to use diminutive nicknames for women, and fair enough, that's hardly uncommon. I might even allow that "honeybunny" might be something someone might say outside of a 50s sitcom. But two in the same sentence? To someone who was just flayed alive in a sandstorm? Just reading text like this is infuriating enough, and if Acorna and crew had to actually listen to it one wonders why the character in question was not pushed out of an airlock. Moreover, much of the dialogue is inappropriately placed and serves to sabotage whatever suspense the author may have been trying to build. This includes discussions on where to obtain cat food while being chased by the law.
But what do I know. This is the sixth book of ten in a series, so obviously someone somewhere really loves this shit.
So the plot is not stellar, but what really makes this book a chore to read is the writing style. The author(s) fell into the trap of falling in love with their setting so much they use every opportunity to remind the reader about it. For example, among the Linyaari a smile with the teeth bared signifies a challenge. Acorna smiles like this three times in the novel, and every time the text follows on with ", which was a symbol of a challenge among the Linyaari" or something similar, just in case the reader forgot. Whenever a horse-like creature is encountered the author reminds us that it looks like a hornless ancestor, because the ancestors were unicorns, remember? And, of course, the gold standard of insecure fantasy settings: there is a glossary at the back.
The dialogue of the characters also comes across as extremely stilted. Every character seems to have their own "thing", their own manner of speaking which they make sure to underline in every dialogue to remind the reader that they have a personality. This leads to utterances like: "Oh, honeybunny, we need to get you to Acorna right away, doll". This characters "thing" is that he likes to use diminutive nicknames for women, and fair enough, that's hardly uncommon. I might even allow that "honeybunny" might be something someone might say outside of a 50s sitcom. But two in the same sentence? To someone who was just flayed alive in a sandstorm? Just reading text like this is infuriating enough, and if Acorna and crew had to actually listen to it one wonders why the character in question was not pushed out of an airlock. Moreover, much of the dialogue is inappropriately placed and serves to sabotage whatever suspense the author may have been trying to build. This includes discussions on where to obtain cat food while being chased by the law.
But what do I know. This is the sixth book of ten in a series, so obviously someone somewhere really loves this shit.
August 23, 2021
Acorna is still searching for Aari in this book. While she is travelling on her search for him, something goes wrong with the spaceship, due to Becker's fixing it up with some Khlevii parts that he'd found.
Travelling with Becker and Acorna are Mac, Becker's robot crew, along with the other crew member, Road Kill, plus Nadhari Kendo, who is there to guard Acorna.
Because of the faulty part, they have to crash land on the nearest planet, which turns out to be a big mistake, as their spaceship starts to sink as soon as they land.
Fortunately, on sending out a Mayday, they are hailed by Captain Scaradine MacDonald, of the Arkansas Traveller, who was just passing on his way to somewhere else. He tells them that the nearest planet from their present one is Makahomia, the birthplace of Nadhari, and so that's where they go, so that Becker van fix his spaceship.
As they were going there, Acorna decides to search for a link between the missing Linyaari Pahaantiyirs, a type of cat, and the Makahomian Temple Cats that come from Nadhari's planet.
Once they reach there, they find that all is not well for the cats and other animals, as a plague is running rife throughout the planet, and there is a danger of all the Makahomian Temple Cats will die.
So Acorna and her friends do what they always do, and step in to help both cats, and people. Unfortunately, the head of the priests is Nadhari 's cousin, a man she despises, and it's soon obvious that he is the cause of the plague, and so, once again, Acorna has to forget her search for Aari, while she does her best to save innocent lives.
But there's a surprise in store for her, and it's something that will help in her search.
I really enjoyed this book, especially with so many cats involved! Lol
Travelling with Becker and Acorna are Mac, Becker's robot crew, along with the other crew member, Road Kill, plus Nadhari Kendo, who is there to guard Acorna.
Because of the faulty part, they have to crash land on the nearest planet, which turns out to be a big mistake, as their spaceship starts to sink as soon as they land.
Fortunately, on sending out a Mayday, they are hailed by Captain Scaradine MacDonald, of the Arkansas Traveller, who was just passing on his way to somewhere else. He tells them that the nearest planet from their present one is Makahomia, the birthplace of Nadhari, and so that's where they go, so that Becker van fix his spaceship.
As they were going there, Acorna decides to search for a link between the missing Linyaari Pahaantiyirs, a type of cat, and the Makahomian Temple Cats that come from Nadhari's planet.
Once they reach there, they find that all is not well for the cats and other animals, as a plague is running rife throughout the planet, and there is a danger of all the Makahomian Temple Cats will die.
So Acorna and her friends do what they always do, and step in to help both cats, and people. Unfortunately, the head of the priests is Nadhari 's cousin, a man she despises, and it's soon obvious that he is the cause of the plague, and so, once again, Acorna has to forget her search for Aari, while she does her best to save innocent lives.
But there's a surprise in store for her, and it's something that will help in her search.
I really enjoyed this book, especially with so many cats involved! Lol
August 28, 2021
Surprisingly, I enjoyed this one a lot. A new interesting setting, lots of backstory for Nadhari which only reinforces how awesome she is, and a whole lot of cats. Does it always make sense? No. Does it make sense for it to be called Acorna's Rebels? Not at all. Is it a good time? Yeah, actually, it is.
This one focuses on all of my favorite characters from the series (except Aari, unfortunately): Becker the space cowboy, RK the angry cat, Mac the quirky android, and Nadhari the deadly and mysterious bodyguard. Since I like all of them, there were very few sections of the book where I had to force myself to slog through it because of an uninteresting character, which happened frequently in previous books.
As usual, the conclusion is very quickly and conveniently wrapped up and leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Will they be answered in the next book? Probably not. Still, I find myself looking forward to it (rather than dreading)
This one focuses on all of my favorite characters from the series (except Aari, unfortunately): Becker the space cowboy, RK the angry cat, Mac the quirky android, and Nadhari the deadly and mysterious bodyguard. Since I like all of them, there were very few sections of the book where I had to force myself to slog through it because of an uninteresting character, which happened frequently in previous books.
As usual, the conclusion is very quickly and conveniently wrapped up and leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Will they be answered in the next book? Probably not. Still, I find myself looking forward to it (rather than dreading)
August 6, 2024
This seems to be a diversion from the main story, but I suspect I will find when I read "Acorna's Triumph" that it will all fit.
The story: Acorna is drawn away from the search for her beloved Aari. There is a plague on a different planet where people worship cats. Acorna can save the cats, but there is more going on than a simple disease. There is treachery.
Any problems with this story? The main problem is that I don't believe that Acorna could have been dragged away from her search for Aari. The story itself was actually pretty good.
Any modesty issues? It is implied that women were regularly sexually abused. A case of incest was also suggested.
I liked the ending although I did not understand how the "ending" was arranged. I suspect all will be explained in the final book.
The story: Acorna is drawn away from the search for her beloved Aari. There is a plague on a different planet where people worship cats. Acorna can save the cats, but there is more going on than a simple disease. There is treachery.
Any problems with this story? The main problem is that I don't believe that Acorna could have been dragged away from her search for Aari. The story itself was actually pretty good.
Any modesty issues? It is implied that women were regularly sexually abused. A case of incest was also suggested.
I liked the ending although I did not understand how the "ending" was arranged. I suspect all will be explained in the final book.
June 10, 2022
I think this has got to be my favourite book of the series so far. Who isn't going to like a story about sacred cat worshipers in deep, mysterious jungles and deserts? When RK hears the distressed sending's of his temple cat brethren, who are being poisoned by the supposed enlightened leader of their planet, he engineers an crash landing so that Acorna can come to the rescue. Which, of course, she does, with the help of Becker, Mac and a host of native 'rebels'.
It's nice to see a series where the bad buys are really bad and the heroes are almost too good to be true. I really enjoyed the adventure, although the whole link in with Aari's disappearance felt a bit odd. I will be interesting to see where the author's take it from here.
It's nice to see a series where the bad buys are really bad and the heroes are almost too good to be true. I really enjoyed the adventure, although the whole link in with Aari's disappearance felt a bit odd. I will be interesting to see where the author's take it from here.
February 3, 2021
Acorna’s Rebels
Acorna is still trying to find Aari when there is an emergency landing and Becker and Acorna has to be towed towards a nearby planet. Roadkill (RK), the second mate, a holy cat from the planet wants everyone to help save the poor kitties lives and leads Acorna and Becker into the city. Acorna finds out she was expected because Aari had been there in the past and created a prophecy about her helping the planet. She tried all she can to stop what is happening and comes across a message from Aari that helps her to find hope. Now if she could only find Aari.
Acorna is still trying to find Aari when there is an emergency landing and Becker and Acorna has to be towed towards a nearby planet. Roadkill (RK), the second mate, a holy cat from the planet wants everyone to help save the poor kitties lives and leads Acorna and Becker into the city. Acorna finds out she was expected because Aari had been there in the past and created a prophecy about her helping the planet. She tried all she can to stop what is happening and comes across a message from Aari that helps her to find hope. Now if she could only find Aari.
November 10, 2017
As a stand alone story, it was interesting. The plot and characters were engaging. It just didn't make any progress whatsoever toward resolving major ongoing plot arcs in the series.
Acorna's been without her life mate for a book and a half now. The sad situation for our heroine made this whole adventure feel superfluous and the adversity devices are becoming monotonous.
Acorna's been without her life mate for a book and a half now. The sad situation for our heroine made this whole adventure feel superfluous and the adversity devices are becoming monotonous.
January 26, 2024
The series has gone downhill where I feeling like the authors are trying to come up with new scenarios that need to be solved for the plot. The climax of the series sailed long ago. At this point there is only one book of the main series left so will finish that and perhaps for the sake of completeness read the following trilogy.
2/5 stars ⭐️
2/5 stars ⭐️
October 10, 2017
Another great addition to the series and one of my favorites.
April 26, 2021
Another excellent episode in the story of Acorna the unicorn girl. Fast-paced with believable science and characters. A definite must if you've read the other Acorna books.
August 18, 2025
"The changes you want are coming about because of you."
I ADORED getting to see more of where RK comes from and the lore of the Temple Cats.
I ADORED getting to see more of where RK comes from and the lore of the Temple Cats.
October 22, 2016
nice read in the series
January 9, 2011
I loved the Acorna series when it first came out. However, these last few books have been progressively tedious for me. While I learn more about the mysteries of the terrible bug aliens and how Acorna's people came into existence, it's missing a bit of what made Ms. McCaffrey so good. I think she should have stopped while she was ahead in this series. This latest one to save Acorna's lover with timestream slips was a fast read for me only because I wanted to see the ending. The journey was a bit boring. I still rated it a 3 because I do live Ms. McCaffrey's writing.
May 29, 2010
The series continues... this book was better than the previous one, which isn't saying much. The authors seem to assume that we've read the earliest books in the series, so they don't bother much with characterization. We are just dumped into the story.
The plot of this one is pretty good, Acorna and her friends foil a nefarious plot on RK's home world.
I'm going to finish the series, but anyone trying this should just read the first book and then quit.
The plot of this one is pretty good, Acorna and her friends foil a nefarious plot on RK's home world.
I'm going to finish the series, but anyone trying this should just read the first book and then quit.
December 16, 2011
Just finished this book! I loved the introduction and submersion into a whole other world completely! It was difficult to stop reading for any length of time. How intriguing to be shown RK and Nadhari's roots! This book intrigued and kept me interested throughout. And though it didn't have the complete resolution I was hoping for, it did have an explanation that produced hope for an eventual happy ending between Aari and Acorna. Cannot wait to read the next book!
July 6, 2015
I enjoyed the straightforward action in this book. Acorna accomplishes a lot using her abilities.
Acorns is still searching for her literate. She's traveling on the Condor when RK messes with the controls sending them to a planet where his fellow sacred cats live. The cats are suffering and dying until Acorns heals the few remaining ones. She realized the plague is being caused by the leader of the temple and thus begins her battle to stop him. Very exciting.
Acorns is still searching for her literate. She's traveling on the Condor when RK messes with the controls sending them to a planet where his fellow sacred cats live. The cats are suffering and dying until Acorns heals the few remaining ones. She realized the plague is being caused by the leader of the temple and thus begins her battle to stop him. Very exciting.
December 31, 2020
I love this book. Anything that is great from the previous books is there. the storytelling is great. It's brilliant plots are there, plus more telepathy. The cat becomes an interesting character - and uses telepathy. There are even parts of the book in his perspective. There is also great humor. The plots seem to get bigger and stronger with each book. Its just an great book.
May 8, 2021
I haven’t read any of this series and started with this one. I was enjoying it as a fun read until about half way then it just felt like a novel written by and for cat lovers, which I am. It became a little hard to swallow...maybe I formed a hairball reading it. Still, enough allusions to previous story lines were there that I might look at the first two in the series.
December 20, 2008
Unicorn girls, faraway planets, conspiracies, telepathic cat guardians, and other fun stuff. It's an Acorna book, so it's quick and fun and not particularly ground-breaking or memorable but a good waste of a few hours.
August 6, 2011
The heroic story of Acorna touched my heart. Her saga is a fantastic sci-fi journey in another galaxy, but the writing of the places and times makes them seem so real and even comfortable. Fantastic read for any sci-fi fan.
November 20, 2009
came in on the middle of the series, my fault not authors but there was little/no character development
October 10, 2024
I was somewhat disappointed when McCaffrey came out with several books in this series. This first installment contained some interesting elements, but the whole thing became extremely drawn out.
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January 13, 2010Read prior to 2010
February 16, 2010
Got to remember to get the previous two books. Can enjoy this one without that knowledge, but it would help round out understanding of the story. Enjoyable second read, but not her best work.
May 10, 2011
Awesome
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews