If Wishes Were Horses

by Anne McCaffrey

Young Tizra and her twin brother Tracell find their world abruptly changed when their father is unexpectedly called to fight in a war which promises to last much longer than the usual three-day skirmish. Their mother -- the village healer -- enlists her children to assist her in caring for the many refugees left wounded and homeless by the conflict. Inspired by her mother, Tizra learns never to surrender hope even in a time of fear and uncertainty.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Short Stories, Science Fiction, War

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Anne 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.

Reviews

[J.S. Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

“If Wishes Were Horses” is a fun, short story with an impressively caring family. I love that the lord of the manse understands and appreciates his immensely talented, competent wife, Talarrie. She holds everything together beautifully during his long absence, fighting in a war to protect their country from invasion. She has the village grow extra crops, repurposes old stores of clothing, and provides for war refugees (humans and horses).

Talarrie has a healing touch and a knowing way with the many people who seek her help. “Much of the time they only need someone who listens, and they end up knowing their own solutions.” Wisdom indeed. There’s an emphasis on descriptions over plot. It’s sweet, short, and I love horses!

[Len Evans Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully coming of age in a time of war story featuring two twins about to turn 16. It was sweet, beautifully written and a joy to read. It is unmistakably stamped with Ms. McCaffrey's style and prose, with characters that you quickly come to love and root for as they face adversity. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and it has reminded me that there are still a few other gems of Ms. McCaffrey's that I need to read soon!

[Willow Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know what to expect - something of a woman on a magical adventure - but it isn't! In some respects, despite its light tone and VERY subtle hint of magic, it's a fairly serious story about a village caught up in war. The mother figure is the protagonist, really, from the perspective of her eldest daughter. And what a super woman her mother is! A nice story for a rainy afternoon.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a ripoff. I waited for years to read this, only to be seriously let down. Even Anne McCaffrey fans are bound to be disappointed.

[Olga Godim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not sure what it was about. Not much of a plot, the characters are blah, with no goals, no problems, and no solutions. Reads like a background noise. The only good thing to say about this novella is that it was short, or I'd have DNFed it.
I think it will be my last McCaffrey. I tried a few of her other stories, and I can't understand why she was so popular in her time. Doesn't work for me.

[Christoph Weber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short, not badly written... there was such a huge chance for a surprise and heartbreak and everything at the end... but it didn't get there. What was that?

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Library copy

[MRS S R BOSWELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping characters

As always In Anne's stories, strong female roles with humour and dedication. An enjoyable read as a stand alone story or could have been used as the start of a continued story.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short fantasy novel explores the power of hope and love, and that dreams really can come true.

Lady Talarrie Eircelly has a well-known gift for healing in their small country village. Whether the malady is physical or emotional, she is The Person To See. Her husband, Lord Emkay Eircelly, is known as a fair ruler of the village. They have several children, including teenage twins, Tirza and Tracell. Life is pretty good in the village, until a messenger arrives from the king with news of war.

Lord Emkay rides off to war, along with every able-bodied man in the village, leaving Lady Talarrie in charge. The entire village goes into crisis mode. Flowers are pulled up, and vegetables are planted. Hunters scour the forest for any old or lame animals that would have died during the upcoming winter, and cull them earlier than expected. Nothing is more important than getting ready for the upcoming winter.

The war comes to the village, destroying most of the houses. This forces the whole village to move into the manor house for the winter. It’s tight, but with lots of improvising, they survive the winter. When spring comes, the first priority is to start rebuilding the village. After a winter crammed into close quarters, people’s tempers are almost gone.

An important part of growing up is receiving a present from your parents on your 16th birthday. Tirza’s gift is all set, a special crystal from her mother to wear around her neck. Tracell, her brother, has always wanted a horse of his own; not just any horse, but a Cirgassian war horse. The war has not only taken all the able-bodied men, it has also taken all the able-bodied horses. Tracell’s gift is hardly a sure thing.

This story is less than 100 pages, but it’s pretty good. It’s a very quick read, and it’s worth the reader’s time.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 3 out of 5]

McCaffrey's Pern books are one of my favourite fantasy series. And when I found out that she was also a lover of horses, just like me, I just had to track down some of her equine fiction.

This short story is simple and fairly well told - I love the world she has created that wouldn't bog down a young reader with too much details and yet feels very real. It also covers a topic that I find fascinating - instead of following the men off to war, it focuses on how the women and children cope instead.

The horsey side is nicely done - the war horses are cared for and respected, while the ending when a few too many horses end up turning up, is quite amusing. The magic elements are subtle and not overdone, and I liked the way they were introduced.

Taking into account this is a book for younger readers, I did enjoy it and would love to see how she'd have written an adult story set in the same universe.

[Alyssa Acula · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 🌟 // Anne MaCaffrey is definitely a favorite author of mine as no matter what she writes, I enjoy it in some way.

If Wishes Were Horses is certainly a fascinating read, even more so if it was double in length. I find 94 pages extremely insufficient to set up a proper conflict, the tension was barely nonexistent, whuch shouldn't be as there is a war where the main protagonist's father was participating. The srory lacks emotional tension and character development.

Nevertheless, Anne MaCaffrey's vivid description of the characters' background, the setting I mean, is enough for me to appreciate this book. I'm all for worldbuilding still.

All in all, I honestly still want to read more about Tirza and Tracell, the rest of their family, and just the ir evryday life with harvest season and dealing with the folks in their principality, and celebrations with ballgowns and liveries.

[Hamad · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful little tale !

Extremely well told. Loved the crystals !

Were they actually magical or was it just the belief?

Feminism !!!
Shown in a great manner. The leadership quality shown by her mother were inspieational. Infact the character as whole was inspirational. Women make great leaders.

[Deborah Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gift from beyond!!

An excellent variation on the "what did you do during the war?" and coming of age story-types.
Add in how much I have missed Anne's work, and how much I've missed Anne, and this becomes a bit of an unexpected treasure.
Tho' I'm not sure which part is my favorite....the way Tracell rides his pony...or the fulfillment of Tirza's birthday wish for her twin!

[Timothy Skilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne McCaffery was a remarkable author. I don't know the origins of this little vignette, but what I do know is that this is a remarkable display of Ms. McCaffrey's ability to build a world into a complete story in a seamless fashion in just a few pages.

[C. E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story

of the effects of war on the civilian populace. It is probably good for tweens as well as young teens. The protagonist is female but the male point if view is also portrayed.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming short tale

Anne McCaffrey has such a way with words that to begin any of her tales is to be swept up into that realm. This was a delightful short tale with just a hint or two of magic.

[Andrea HumbirdStout · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many horses and a bit of magic

Anne McCaffrey has long been one of my most favorite storytellers. If you've never had the opportunity to read one, do so, you won't regret it.

[Margaret S. Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Left me smiling

As always in one of her stories, Anne McCaffrey had me smiling and loving the characters from the very beginning.

[Danielle R · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Those of us who can help should not deny it to others."

This was quite a quick read, compressing two years of life while a terrible war is going on, to mostly the bits where humanity pulls together to support each other. Lady Talarrie does most of the heavy lifting, whether she has magic crystals that help her read the future (plausible) or she's just really, really good at planning ahead and supporting people (also plausible). With her husband off at war, it's up to Talarrie and her many children to keep Mallafret up and running.

For the most part, things go well. Talarrie predicts a lot of shortages and plans for them so her people and children never starve. She plans to be attacked so that they're able to survive with very few casualties. She un-hoards her manor's attic and finds enough leftover clothing to clothe an entire town which starts a trend that ends with a costume ball for Tracell and Tirza's birthdays.

There's an undercurrent that all Tracell really wants for his birthday is a horse of his own, but horses keep being conscripted for the war and all he has to ride is a pony that's so small he can stand up and let it walk out from underneath him. Fortunately, when Lord Emkay returns triumphant, he brings his son the most beautiful horse anyone has ever seen. And (in what might be an over-granting of wishes or just dumb luck, both equally plausible) a bunch of horses escaping the enemy's war camps arrive at Mallafret. And they all lived happily ever after.

This little 80 page novella probably fits into Anne McCaffrey's overarching fantasy world somewhere, but it does stand nicely on its own. I enjoyed the Eircelly family. 3/5

"I must see what i can do about these."

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first story focuses on the fraternal twins, Jacelle (Jay) and Tizra, caught up in a war where the family is separated from their father, the lord of his area, who has been called to assist his prince. The women all have slight powers, and know that the war will not end in the father's death. Other things are a little vaguer. I was especially amused by the solution to the dilemma of a birthday gift for Jay, unable to be provided due to the war.

The second story focuses on a foundling, Ellie, who helps as she can around her family home, but is struggling to reconcile faint magic stirrings in her with the anti-magic sentiment of the town. Part of the problem with the family dynamic is that at nearly 25, Ellie is young to be unmarried, but she wants no part of the suitor her parents have selected. Enter the Fey, in the form of a powerful shape changer.

Although both stories were very well written they could have been improved by expanding them to full length novels. According to the frontispiece of my copy the first story was published in 1998, after the Pern mythology, so possibly it was just a little piece that was never filled out as it could have been. Still, a good read for a lazy afternoon.

[Douglas Milewski · Rating 3 out of 5]

If Wishes Were Horses (1998) is a YA fantasy story by Anne McCaffrey. In the story, the Lord goes to war, and the Lady is left managing the valiant home front that could in a circa-1800's feeling English country.

The tale is fairly short and barely rises to the term novella, even if it is a stand-alone book.

The story advances very simply, with the precognitive Lady having the intelligence and resources to see her village through hard times. Meanwhile, the villagers don't seem very capable of taking care of themselves, nor of organizing, which annoyed me to no end.

There's nothing wrong with the tale, but nothing noteworthy either. It's a safe read, if a bit shallow.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very nice coming of age story, where the main voice is the daughter of a very wise lady of the manor who, through good preplanning, and the work of her Gift, is able to keep the people of the manor, surrounding farms, and local village, who depend on them, safe from harm, as war touches their lives.

This was a sweetly gentle story, despite the war touching their lives and, once again, Anne showed her mastery over the written word, as she exposes the thoughts and feelings of everyone mentioned.

This is probably classed as a novella, or even short story but, what it loses in brevity, is more than made up in the content, as you'd expect from a McCaffrey book.

[J.A. Busick · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, Anne McCaffrey was ahead of her time -- this time, with what can really only be described as a "cozy" fantasy. In a village where the men are at war, can the women use their gentle magic to aid warriors and refugees, and create a life in the midst of hardship that is still full of joy and purpose? The answer, of course, is that that is pretty much what women have always done. I prefer McCaffrey's adventure stories, but this one was sweet and magical in its own way.

[Kristen (belles_bookshelves) · Rating 2 out of 5]

"It is true that the impossible takes longer, but the improbable is a force to be reckoned with."

Kids reading level book, easy to read if you've got an afternoon to kill (which is what I did). Not that interesting to be honest. Husband goes off to war, mother raises the children while he's gone. Lessons are learned and the like, but it's really basic stuff.

[Ann Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminder of who holds the family together during war.

Coming of age during hardship. Told through the eyes of a young girl. Ann McCaffrey. Has a always been one of my favorite story tellers. She has never disappointed. She tells of growing up and the love of a mother, wife and noble lady.

[Ronald Spitzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short fun story in an ornate edition with a fancy border. Anne McCaffrey, as always, is dependable for a quality story. This story is about the children, women and serfs left behind during a war. This story has its fantasy aspect, which makes the outcome really funny. If you want a quick short book to help you toward your reading goal for the year, this one gives you a good story!

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short novella is a coming-of-age story set in the midst of hardship. I loved the practicality of Lady Talarrie Eircelly, the twins' mother. This is my favorite quotation from the story: “Those of us who can help should not deny it to others.”

Highly recommended for people who enjoy reflective fantasy.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving these little books! Here are several stand alones and this one is so far my favorite. So few pages but so much action, emotion, and surprises as to keep anyone interested in the end, which came far too soon!

[Frances Koziar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprised such a short story was published separately - I think this is a novelette (between short story and novella); it was maybe a 1.5hr read.

Nice story, with surprisingly well-done characters. I really wanted to keep reading though; it was too short.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another short novel.
a quick and easy read.