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The Tower and the Hive #4
Lyon's Pride
Anne McCaffrey's bestselling Rowan saga has been praised as "good reading" (Locus). It becomes "more convincing with each novel" (Booklist) and offers "winning, carefully developed characters" (Publishers Weekly). Now the story continues, as the passionate and talented children of Damia and Afra Lyon confront the alien threat first detected by their grandmother the Rowan. Laria, Isthian, Rojer, and Zara Lyon share aspects of the telepathic, empathic, and telekinetic powers that have marked their family for generations. But as the family expands, it is clear that not all talents are alike: each of the four young Lyons has a very personal kind of ability. When they join forces together, as will be required to destroy the deadly Hiver aliens, their powers and their deep family bond make them the most powerful fighting force the Human and Mrdini races can create. And the peaceful races of the universe need every ounce of power that the Lyon clan can muster. The Hivers' own world has been destroyed by a sun gone nova, which has left them in search of a new home. The Hivers are a logical race, and their approach to finding this home is straightforward: when they locate a world that seems suitable, they destroy all life on it in preparation for Hiver occupation. The Lyons have seen the devastation the Hivers are capable of causing, and they understand all too well that the time has come to move into space in pursuit of this deadly enemy. None of them welcomes war, but the blackened worlds the Hivers leave behind are a powerful statement of its necessity. When the time comes, they will be ready with the full force of their power.
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First published January 1, 1994
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About the author
Anne McCaffrey
478 books7,754 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 123 reviews
March 20, 2011
Things you find while cleaning out your closet. While I truly love the Talent series, the Tower books (taking place around 300 years after the end of the Talent series) are a dicier bet. "The Rowan" I'm still generally good with, but the quality slides after that, just recycling without end. "Lyon's Pride" is the fourth book in the series, and... yeagh.
Story-wise, this one's so-so. It's fractured into a few different storylines, but really the most effort is put into the who-will-end-up-with-who plotting. The hard sci fi stuff is dealt with in such a dry and clinical manner that it's almost in outline form, just pieces of plot that have to move the rest of the story forward so someone can marry someone else and start producing a crazy amount of children. There's a political subplot that doesn't go anywhere.
The one thing I will say about this book is that there's an event that happens in the first few chapters that I have never really forgotten from when I read it as a teenager. As storytelling goes, that was great. But one engrossing plot twist does not a book make, and certainly can't halt the series' downward slide.
McCaffrey's entire career supposedly started as a pushback against the ridiculous female sci-fi characters of the 50s, but when read today her female characters rub me the wrong way. They are very, very different from the male characters, which just seems odd. They're emotional and sometimes capricious and broody and... it bothers me, especially because almost ALL of them are like that. The men on the other hand are square-jawed charmers who are routinely in the middle of the action. Why? 300 years into the future, and we're still seeing the menfolk take over? At one point in this book, there's a team of three on a ship: two Lyons boys and another T-1 woman. Inexplicably, the Lyons are the ones taking a meeting with the admiral. The woman, who is otherwise no shrinking violet, has apparently stayed in their quarters because the admiral's tetchy about women. Hell no! What?! This is almost a throwaway element of the scene, but really snapped into sharp focus for me exactly how backseat the women in the Lyons family are to their male relations. And now it's apparently spreading to non-Lyons. Fantastic.
It's not as noticeable in small bits, but if you read too much McCaffrey in one go, you notice the pattern of these women and it's really very weird. The Rowan was largely under Reidinger III's thumb, until Raven showed up and now he bosses her around. Damia never had a chance with Afra. The girl Lyons all seem to pale next to the boy Lyons as well. Overall, you will constantly see men talking their women down from some sort of emotional/overreacting precipice, but that action is NEVER reciprocated - because the men are generally cast as solid, dependable, logical people who don't need a steadying hand, unlike these crazy wimmens.
Maybe McCaffrey wrenched female sci-fi characters out of their 1950s shell of total inaction, but she seems to have then mired her own characters in the 1980s. Permanently. (Which is possibly also the era where her view of homosexuality's hanging out.) Given that this book was written sometime in the late 80s, I guess that makes sense, but as a science fiction writer you'd think she'd be able to take a more futuristic view of gender relations.
Story-wise, this one's so-so. It's fractured into a few different storylines, but really the most effort is put into the who-will-end-up-with-who plotting. The hard sci fi stuff is dealt with in such a dry and clinical manner that it's almost in outline form, just pieces of plot that have to move the rest of the story forward so someone can marry someone else and start producing a crazy amount of children. There's a political subplot that doesn't go anywhere.
The one thing I will say about this book is that there's an event that happens in the first few chapters that I have never really forgotten from when I read it as a teenager. As storytelling goes, that was great. But one engrossing plot twist does not a book make, and certainly can't halt the series' downward slide.
McCaffrey's entire career supposedly started as a pushback against the ridiculous female sci-fi characters of the 50s, but when read today her female characters rub me the wrong way. They are very, very different from the male characters, which just seems odd. They're emotional and sometimes capricious and broody and... it bothers me, especially because almost ALL of them are like that. The men on the other hand are square-jawed charmers who are routinely in the middle of the action. Why? 300 years into the future, and we're still seeing the menfolk take over? At one point in this book, there's a team of three on a ship: two Lyons boys and another T-1 woman. Inexplicably, the Lyons are the ones taking a meeting with the admiral. The woman, who is otherwise no shrinking violet, has apparently stayed in their quarters because the admiral's tetchy about women. Hell no! What?! This is almost a throwaway element of the scene, but really snapped into sharp focus for me exactly how backseat the women in the Lyons family are to their male relations. And now it's apparently spreading to non-Lyons. Fantastic.
It's not as noticeable in small bits, but if you read too much McCaffrey in one go, you notice the pattern of these women and it's really very weird. The Rowan was largely under Reidinger III's thumb, until Raven showed up and now he bosses her around. Damia never had a chance with Afra. The girl Lyons all seem to pale next to the boy Lyons as well. Overall, you will constantly see men talking their women down from some sort of emotional/overreacting precipice, but that action is NEVER reciprocated - because the men are generally cast as solid, dependable, logical people who don't need a steadying hand, unlike these crazy wimmens.
Maybe McCaffrey wrenched female sci-fi characters out of their 1950s shell of total inaction, but she seems to have then mired her own characters in the 1980s. Permanently. (Which is possibly also the era where her view of homosexuality's hanging out.) Given that this book was written sometime in the late 80s, I guess that makes sense, but as a science fiction writer you'd think she'd be able to take a more futuristic view of gender relations.
November 28, 2019
Finally - we got more sci-fi and plot than ever before in the series. This book continues to follow a number of Damia’s children. Basically, this could be Damia’s Children Part 2 but Ms. McCaffrey decided to give the dad - Afra Lyon - some naming rights as well. And it’s a pride - like a Lion and before the parents are proud of their children. See what the author did! Isn’t it clear?! (Somewhat...). Chapters flip back and forth the children but this one feels less like a series of vignettes than the previous entry.
Anyway, this book follows the adventures of the Alliance of Humans and this alien race as they take the fight to the evil Hive. Or maybe the Hive is not really evil; maybe they are just misunderstood? Larger questions about morality and the nature of alien-ness are raised - ala Speaker for the Dead - but not really explored. This is typical McCaffrey so it’s not really a negative - it is just a feature of her writing.
As always the novel is addicting and trips along quickly. None of the characters are particularly deep and the plot complex but Ms. McCaffrey keeps the action ticking along. The multiple characters help as none of them overstay their welcome.
A pleasant read which I enjoyed. I would recommend this for younger readers who are looking to get into sci-fi or people looking for a quick read over the weekend with a cup of coffee and no real plans. There is still a lot of domestic focus on the family and their eventual paring off but a decent amount of action against the Hive. I would have preferred more focus on the latter which is why this book never climbs to a 4 star read for me. If I want to read romance novels I would just pick those up - benefit of being a omnivorous reader.
PS. The covers are still awful - the lady on the cover looks like she has a stomach ache.
Anyway, this book follows the adventures of the Alliance of Humans and this alien race as they take the fight to the evil Hive. Or maybe the Hive is not really evil; maybe they are just misunderstood? Larger questions about morality and the nature of alien-ness are raised - ala Speaker for the Dead - but not really explored. This is typical McCaffrey so it’s not really a negative - it is just a feature of her writing.
As always the novel is addicting and trips along quickly. None of the characters are particularly deep and the plot complex but Ms. McCaffrey keeps the action ticking along. The multiple characters help as none of them overstay their welcome.
A pleasant read which I enjoyed. I would recommend this for younger readers who are looking to get into sci-fi or people looking for a quick read over the weekend with a cup of coffee and no real plans. There is still a lot of domestic focus on the family and their eventual paring off but a decent amount of action against the Hive. I would have preferred more focus on the latter which is why this book never climbs to a 4 star read for me. If I want to read romance novels I would just pick those up - benefit of being a omnivorous reader.
PS. The covers are still awful - the lady on the cover looks like she has a stomach ache.
July 30, 2020
Better than the second volume, for sure...but still not all that impressive.
August 30, 2019
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81 points, 4 ¼ stars!
Quote:
Review:
Lyon's Pride is the continuation of the story from the previous book, Damia's Children. It picks up exactly where the last book left off. Probably because the previous book just arbitrarily ended when it got to the proper word count and left the rest for this book.
This just had an amazingly slow start. Honestly, not much of note happened in the first SIXTY PERCENT of the book. It felt like I was just spinning around, waiting for something to actually happen. We kept covering over old ground and posing as if it was new ground. I was bored. I want to love these kids so much, but I am just dreadfully bored by them.
Ostensibly this is supposed to be dealing with the Hive. The Humans and Dini have to find out more information about the Hive. And they have to figure out what they are going to do when they find it. Both races have tried to communicate with the Hive, but the Hive don't even appear to notice other beings exist.
What Lyon's Pride is really about is managing resources and personnel. So much talking about who goes where, who ships what, how to ship what. It's so boring. It is also about arranging love interests, which personally I find cute but am growing a bit tired of after the second book in a row of this. Also it is about giving the kids some time off. A lot of talking about the kids having vacation time. So much book time.
Also holy hell they're drafting like 12 year olds into work now. What the crap, man. I thought it was bad when before. The kids would hit 16 and FT&T is like "welp, guess you're an adult now, time to have a whole shitload of responsibility and almost no time off!" Nope. Twelve year olds now. This is crazy. How much younger are they going to force these kids to work in the future??
Lyon's Pride kind of turned into a military space opera by the end. Which I kind of liked. However, this also had the same problem as the previous book. The book just kind of ends at the appropriate word count. No resolutions, no climax. It just..stops.
81 points, 4 ¼ stars!
Quote:
“It must be an amazing mind-set, Afra thought, to consider one’s self the only being of worth in the galaxy. There had been Humans who had had such delusions. They had generally died because of them”
Review:
Lyon's Pride is the continuation of the story from the previous book, Damia's Children. It picks up exactly where the last book left off. Probably because the previous book just arbitrarily ended when it got to the proper word count and left the rest for this book.
This just had an amazingly slow start. Honestly, not much of note happened in the first SIXTY PERCENT of the book. It felt like I was just spinning around, waiting for something to actually happen. We kept covering over old ground and posing as if it was new ground. I was bored. I want to love these kids so much, but I am just dreadfully bored by them.
Ostensibly this is supposed to be dealing with the Hive. The Humans and Dini have to find out more information about the Hive. And they have to figure out what they are going to do when they find it. Both races have tried to communicate with the Hive, but the Hive don't even appear to notice other beings exist.
What Lyon's Pride is really about is managing resources and personnel. So much talking about who goes where, who ships what, how to ship what. It's so boring. It is also about arranging love interests, which personally I find cute but am growing a bit tired of after the second book in a row of this. Also it is about giving the kids some time off. A lot of talking about the kids having vacation time. So much book time.
Also holy hell they're drafting like 12 year olds into work now. What the crap, man. I thought it was bad when before. The kids would hit 16 and FT&T is like "welp, guess you're an adult now, time to have a whole shitload of responsibility and almost no time off!" Nope. Twelve year olds now. This is crazy. How much younger are they going to force these kids to work in the future??
Lyon's Pride kind of turned into a military space opera by the end. Which I kind of liked. However, this also had the same problem as the previous book. The book just kind of ends at the appropriate word count. No resolutions, no climax. It just..stops.
October 5, 2007
For some reason, the last couple of books in this series were difficult to follow and felt unfinished. I didn't really get much out of this one.
May 19, 2024
Damia's kids, Laria, Thian, and Rojer and Zara come of age and take their positions in the world. Laria gets posted as the Prime on Clarf, the planet. Thian and Rojer, as Primes, get posted to ships in outer space, hunting the Hive. Zara becomes a medical T-1 after her daring saving of the captured Hive queen.
August 20, 2013
*Book source ~ Home library.
Laria, Thian, Rojer and Zara continue growing, maturing and working for FT&T as the main focus is on finding the remaining Hive spheres and restricting those Hivers that had populated other worlds to those worlds. It’s during his time on the Genesee that Rojer suffers a catastrophic loss and withdraws into himself. This brings The Rowan and Afra, Rojer’s grandmother and father, to the Genesee to search of him demanding explanations. When Rojer is found and sent to Deneb to heal, Thian takes over his position. The Rowan and Thian perform what becomes known as the Genesee ploy when they steal a Hive sphere orbiting a Hive world. Everything escalates after this incident.
Once again, there is a lot going on in the Talent Universe as Laria, Thian, Rojer, Zara and everyone else works to find the Hive spheres and to find the system most compatible with the Hivers sun, so they have an idea where the Hivers are going. They need to plot the universe and identify the planets the Hivers have colonized, those they bypassed and those they abandoned. Planets that have been abandoned need to be explored to see if they can be salvaged and planets that have been colonized need to have the spheres in orbit taken out so the Hivers can’t leave and ruin other planets. The Talents are instrumental in the space fleet traveling so far away from their home worlds. Without their teleportation and telekinesis no one would have been able to survive so far from supplies and reinforcements.
After Rojer’s loss, we find out more about the Mrdini. Laria is having a hard time on Clarf only because she’s a bit lonely for a male companion. Having everyone come home for vacation was a nice scene and watching Jeff, as Earth Prime, deal with non-talented military idiots is a treat to behold. As the rest of the descendants of The Rowan and Jeff Raven grow and mature they begin finding their own mates. Exploring and protecting the universe is no small undertaking and they are going to need all of the Talent they can get if they are going to do everything they want to do. All-in-all a great epic sci-fi/fantasy, even if it is coming to an end.
Laria, Thian, Rojer and Zara continue growing, maturing and working for FT&T as the main focus is on finding the remaining Hive spheres and restricting those Hivers that had populated other worlds to those worlds. It’s during his time on the Genesee that Rojer suffers a catastrophic loss and withdraws into himself. This brings The Rowan and Afra, Rojer’s grandmother and father, to the Genesee to search of him demanding explanations. When Rojer is found and sent to Deneb to heal, Thian takes over his position. The Rowan and Thian perform what becomes known as the Genesee ploy when they steal a Hive sphere orbiting a Hive world. Everything escalates after this incident.
Once again, there is a lot going on in the Talent Universe as Laria, Thian, Rojer, Zara and everyone else works to find the Hive spheres and to find the system most compatible with the Hivers sun, so they have an idea where the Hivers are going. They need to plot the universe and identify the planets the Hivers have colonized, those they bypassed and those they abandoned. Planets that have been abandoned need to be explored to see if they can be salvaged and planets that have been colonized need to have the spheres in orbit taken out so the Hivers can’t leave and ruin other planets. The Talents are instrumental in the space fleet traveling so far away from their home worlds. Without their teleportation and telekinesis no one would have been able to survive so far from supplies and reinforcements.
After Rojer’s loss, we find out more about the Mrdini. Laria is having a hard time on Clarf only because she’s a bit lonely for a male companion. Having everyone come home for vacation was a nice scene and watching Jeff, as Earth Prime, deal with non-talented military idiots is a treat to behold. As the rest of the descendants of The Rowan and Jeff Raven grow and mature they begin finding their own mates. Exploring and protecting the universe is no small undertaking and they are going to need all of the Talent they can get if they are going to do everything they want to do. All-in-all a great epic sci-fi/fantasy, even if it is coming to an end.
January 20, 2020
This book felt like a filler installment. Sure some things happened, mostly in the research on Hivers, but otherwise progress was slow, and the end just dragged more and more.
The attempts at matchmaking throughout the book just feel so forced and gross.
The constant introduction of women focusing on their appearances are totally unnecessary given we don't usually get the same for men, and all characters' competencies speak for themselves.
There appear to be some discrepancies in continuity, unless my memory is going haywire. The first few books included coffee, but in this one suddenly the "stimulant" drinks of choice are peppers, which appear in other of McCaffrey's series. Zara's character bounces around confusingly from refusing to hunt animals for food in the previous book to discussing how she's been hunting since childhood in this one, and from feeling sympathy/nonviolence for Hivers on some pages to wanting to eradicate them all on other pages.
The series sees its first gay character in Kincaid, and while the characters are surface-level accepting, his treatment rings the warning bells of LGBT rep: a literal quote about him doing whatever he wants in his "private life" since he's so good at his job it "doesn't matter" (an odd assessment given how much straight relationships are focused on without connecting them to their work productivity); the only character to have experienced relationship trauma that he continually struggles to heal from; and the only character to have been in a poly relationship (which was, of course, the toxic one). His character isn't at the forefront of the overall story, but his treatment is so problematic.
The attempts at matchmaking throughout the book just feel so forced and gross.
The constant introduction of women focusing on their appearances are totally unnecessary given we don't usually get the same for men, and all characters' competencies speak for themselves.
There appear to be some discrepancies in continuity, unless my memory is going haywire. The first few books included coffee, but in this one suddenly the "stimulant" drinks of choice are peppers, which appear in other of McCaffrey's series. Zara's character bounces around confusingly from refusing to hunt animals for food in the previous book to discussing how she's been hunting since childhood in this one, and from feeling sympathy/nonviolence for Hivers on some pages to wanting to eradicate them all on other pages.
The series sees its first gay character in Kincaid, and while the characters are surface-level accepting, his treatment rings the warning bells of LGBT rep: a literal quote about him doing whatever he wants in his "private life" since he's so good at his job it "doesn't matter" (an odd assessment given how much straight relationships are focused on without connecting them to their work productivity); the only character to have experienced relationship trauma that he continually struggles to heal from; and the only character to have been in a poly relationship (which was, of course, the toxic one). His character isn't at the forefront of the overall story, but his treatment is so problematic.
May 22, 2012
Okay. This is going to sound weird, but I first read this series before I ever read Ender's Game. So for me this is the archetypal representation of kids fighting alien bugs. Admittedly these kids are all older — 16 or so before they're pressed into active service using their psionic abilities to support the war effort. So we get a bunch of naval war-fighting type stuff (really palls by comparison to David Weber's Honor Harrington books, or even McCaffrey's collaboration with Elizabeth Moon, Sassinak) that feels rather like Star Trek: The Next Generation, and then suddenly at the end McCaffrey remembers that this is a series with a lot of romantic content and she needs to supply some, and also realizes that the book needs to end, lest it be doorstop-sized. This is definitely not a complete story, really it's more a part of a longer book, which continues in The Tower And The Hive.
Forgot to mention, there are a couple of tedious exposition sections, despite the book having an explanatory prologue which they could have been condensed for.
Forgot to mention, there are a couple of tedious exposition sections, despite the book having an explanatory prologue which they could have been condensed for.
May 26, 2017
Lyon's Pride (1994) by Anne McCaffrey, disappointed me on every level. It's like a pretty new car that's a lemon under the hood. It's like one of those post-war British films with slow pacing and no soundtrack. You see everything getting discussed and decided, whether it helps the story or now. There was literally nothing happening across most of the chapters, no real feeling of beginning, no real feeling of uncertainty, and an even vaguer feeling of the end.
I skimmed for chapters at a time, spending seconds per page, without missing any single plot point. 90% of this book was padding. This book wasted my time. The only reason that I kept reading it is because I'm conducting a project of reading McCaffrey's non-Pern material.
This book has characters. I don't really care who they are. Their personalities really don't matter, which is good because they don't seem to have any. I frequently mix them up at this point and it doesn't matter.
There's some interesting bits when the Lyons are actually learning about the Hive. Unfortunately, not only do those bits not last very long, they seemed like asides.
What I can't figure is whether this book is supposed to be a YA book or a SF-romance. McCaffrey just can't decide.
If you liked the previous books in this series, you'll get more of what you expect, so read on. If you don't like the series, then you won't like this.
I skimmed for chapters at a time, spending seconds per page, without missing any single plot point. 90% of this book was padding. This book wasted my time. The only reason that I kept reading it is because I'm conducting a project of reading McCaffrey's non-Pern material.
This book has characters. I don't really care who they are. Their personalities really don't matter, which is good because they don't seem to have any. I frequently mix them up at this point and it doesn't matter.
There's some interesting bits when the Lyons are actually learning about the Hive. Unfortunately, not only do those bits not last very long, they seemed like asides.
What I can't figure is whether this book is supposed to be a YA book or a SF-romance. McCaffrey just can't decide.
If you liked the previous books in this series, you'll get more of what you expect, so read on. If you don't like the series, then you won't like this.
January 28, 2016
The Talent & The Hive series is one of my favorites and one I read time and time again, and Lyon's Pride may be one of my favorites within the group. This book continues to follow the adventures of Damia and Afra's three eldest children. Laria is now situated as Prime on Clarf, while her brothers are searching the galaxy for answers to the Hive problem. They all have some ups and downs as the story continues, especially Rojer who is threatened when he doesn't want to send bombs to a hive ship.
I find it hard to review simply because I love the series so much.
The only major problem I have with the book is McCaffrey's treatment of Kincaid Dano, the sole homosexual character in the series. While most of the concerning treatment happens in the next book, they do make more of a deal about his sexuality then I would expect giving that this takes place in the far future.
Also I wish there had been more of Zara's story. She is far more in the background in this story then she was in the last one, though she is more confident and secure in herself and her profession.
I find it hard to review simply because I love the series so much.
The only major problem I have with the book is McCaffrey's treatment of Kincaid Dano, the sole homosexual character in the series. While most of the concerning treatment happens in the next book, they do make more of a deal about his sexuality then I would expect giving that this takes place in the far future.
Also I wish there had been more of Zara's story. She is far more in the background in this story then she was in the last one, though she is more confident and secure in herself and her profession.
July 29, 2017
Review
Best one yet. Can't wait to start #5. Would like to see thus series just keep going on forever. 5 stars
Best one yet. Can't wait to start #5. Would like to see thus series just keep going on forever. 5 stars
September 19, 2017
Good Book
This was as usual a really good read. But I've enjoyed ever one of Anne McCaffrey's. Books that I've read. And highly recommend it.
This was as usual a really good read. But I've enjoyed ever one of Anne McCaffrey's. Books that I've read. And highly recommend it.
December 23, 2025
This is such a wonderful series!
I have loved getting to know all of the Gwyn-Ravyn-Lyons and their extended family of cousins, wishing the entire time that I had some form of "talent".
I have loved getting to know all of the Gwyn-Ravyn-Lyons and their extended family of cousins, wishing the entire time that I had some form of "talent".
July 13, 2022
Book four! I'm almost in the clear. I'm almost done. I can almost rest my weary brain!
As with the previous book, this one gets TWO stars just because it's not as awfully terribly bad and dull as the first two which each got one. At least there's some nice sci-fi nonsense in here to be vaguely intertained with, rather than a bunch of bitches throwing tantrums and changing personalities chapter to chapter.
As before, random irritations:
Zara had also chosen a rifle but she went after the scurriers, which broke cover when Kincaid's shots startled them.
Zara the firmly established vegetarian? Who never kills or eats flesh? Is this a new thing, her slaughtering and eating meat now?
Zara laughed. "I come from Aurigae, Major. I've been hunting small game all my life."
Oh, nope, she's been doing it all her life now. Just retconning cuz you don't remember whose thing is what, okay.
"You'd have to be an acrobat to service this bloody affair," said a propulsion specialist from Earth. He was attempting to get on top of the main unit for a better perspective.
Just float up there and check. Surely the disabled and unpowered Hive ship floating in space with big ole holes in it doesn't have any functioning gravity? ~.^
"Like the amoeba, splitting apart, Mother," Zara said. "Or, like a Human zygote splitting in two to form identical twins in utero. Not quite like…"
Okay so like one of them splits off and makes a baby, you don't need two to produce a child, got it.
They were not from the same "split," for a "split" only produced one new Mrdini.
Right, two Mrdini are needed to produce two, as each produces one, I got it.
So both sets of original parents had had to be contacted
Wait, "sets"?
and brought to the Aurigaean hibernatory at the appropriate time and a new "split" of the same elements as the original Grl and Ktg had to be "programmed" which, Flk said, was an intense form of meditation to "urge similar traits" to occur in the new form. With this sort of procreation, no worthwhile "persons" were totally lost, but could be retrieved by encouraging a "split" by the same two Mrdini which had produced the original.
So it takes TWO to make one child? Then what... what the hell is this splitting? Do they each split a half off themselves and mash it together to make one? What the... am I missing... can someone explain...?
"What do I have to do?" A thin line of barely contained fear trembled in the mental voice.
Oh yes there is nothing more revolting than someone with human FAULTS like the disgusting feeling of FEAR. I mean because Primes are so perfect and fantastic, so this guy wow! What an absolute ASSHOLE this guy is, out in space facing an alien threat and being afraid about it, no wonder no one can stand him wow.
Seriously the morality in these books is horrific. And given that they just pop out of nothingness to destroy the enemy and just teleport in destructive devices to blow their shit up, that's kinda like dirty pool right? Like, worse than stabbing someone in the back? Like, totally without any honor? But honor isn't necessary to being admirable, just not feeling FEAR is.
Speaking of, um, why did they only figure out in the end to teleport a bomb into the enemy ships? I thought that's why they brought Talents along in the first place, then they didn't do any of that. And then that one 'Dini tried to coerce Rojer into teleporting missiles and he wouldn't, and now at the very end of the book Thian's like, "Oh shit let's teleport in bombs and junk!" and everyone's all, "Wow that's brilliant Thian, oh you're so smart no wonder you're a Prime like wow!"
I mean? The idea is obvious? And even if it weren't, it's what that other jerk tried to get Rojer to do, so...?
Ugh, one star this crap really. Just giving it two in comparison.
May need to rethink that.
As with the previous book, this one gets TWO stars just because it's not as awfully terribly bad and dull as the first two which each got one. At least there's some nice sci-fi nonsense in here to be vaguely intertained with, rather than a bunch of bitches throwing tantrums and changing personalities chapter to chapter.
As before, random irritations:
Zara had also chosen a rifle but she went after the scurriers, which broke cover when Kincaid's shots startled them.
Zara the firmly established vegetarian? Who never kills or eats flesh? Is this a new thing, her slaughtering and eating meat now?
Zara laughed. "I come from Aurigae, Major. I've been hunting small game all my life."
Oh, nope, she's been doing it all her life now. Just retconning cuz you don't remember whose thing is what, okay.
"You'd have to be an acrobat to service this bloody affair," said a propulsion specialist from Earth. He was attempting to get on top of the main unit for a better perspective.
Just float up there and check. Surely the disabled and unpowered Hive ship floating in space with big ole holes in it doesn't have any functioning gravity? ~.^
"Like the amoeba, splitting apart, Mother," Zara said. "Or, like a Human zygote splitting in two to form identical twins in utero. Not quite like…"
Okay so like one of them splits off and makes a baby, you don't need two to produce a child, got it.
They were not from the same "split," for a "split" only produced one new Mrdini.
Right, two Mrdini are needed to produce two, as each produces one, I got it.
So both sets of original parents had had to be contacted
Wait, "sets"?
and brought to the Aurigaean hibernatory at the appropriate time and a new "split" of the same elements as the original Grl and Ktg had to be "programmed" which, Flk said, was an intense form of meditation to "urge similar traits" to occur in the new form. With this sort of procreation, no worthwhile "persons" were totally lost, but could be retrieved by encouraging a "split" by the same two Mrdini which had produced the original.
So it takes TWO to make one child? Then what... what the hell is this splitting? Do they each split a half off themselves and mash it together to make one? What the... am I missing... can someone explain...?
"What do I have to do?" A thin line of barely contained fear trembled in the mental voice.
Oh yes there is nothing more revolting than someone with human FAULTS like the disgusting feeling of FEAR. I mean because Primes are so perfect and fantastic, so this guy wow! What an absolute ASSHOLE this guy is, out in space facing an alien threat and being afraid about it, no wonder no one can stand him wow.
Seriously the morality in these books is horrific. And given that they just pop out of nothingness to destroy the enemy and just teleport in destructive devices to blow their shit up, that's kinda like dirty pool right? Like, worse than stabbing someone in the back? Like, totally without any honor? But honor isn't necessary to being admirable, just not feeling FEAR is.
Speaking of, um, why did they only figure out in the end to teleport a bomb into the enemy ships? I thought that's why they brought Talents along in the first place, then they didn't do any of that. And then that one 'Dini tried to coerce Rojer into teleporting missiles and he wouldn't, and now at the very end of the book Thian's like, "Oh shit let's teleport in bombs and junk!" and everyone's all, "Wow that's brilliant Thian, oh you're so smart no wonder you're a Prime like wow!"
I mean? The idea is obvious? And even if it weren't, it's what that other jerk tried to get Rojer to do, so...?
Ugh, one star this crap really. Just giving it two in comparison.
May need to rethink that.
May 25, 2020
Sort of 'Damia's Children, Part Two' Lyon's Pride shifts Rojer to the front of the pack as it were. He continues his assignment with the navy- going above and beyond to send probes and gather information from the Hiver occupied planet they've found. This work is technically beyond the scope of his orders, but he doesn't mind doing it. When the Mrdini Captain Prtglm makes a unilateral decision and tries to force Rojer to send missiles down to devastate the Planet, he refuses and his Mrdinis, Gil and Kat are killed by Prtglm and Rojer flees into hiding. Afra and The Rowan have to come out and find him- and take him back to Deneb to recover from his devastating loss.
Meanwhile, Laria is coming into her own as Clarf Tower's Prime and she's having trouble finding the right combination of Tower staff. Clarissa Negeva her current number two isn't a fan of Mrdinis and it's kind of a liability for that assignment, so she accepts Clarissa's request for a transfer and ships her back to Earth- but not before receieving a delightful blast of xenophobic haterade from the departing Clarissa. Her replacement is Kincaid Dano, who has been out on an extensive tour of duty with the navy that has left him emotionally and mentally exhausted. (He's also gay, which isn't at all problematic in this book, but an eyebrow will be raised for sure in the next book.)
Rojer recuperates on Deneb and gets his engineering qualifications, meeting his distant cousin (like not a problem if they're into each other distant) Asia, who is shy and lacking in confidence- but extremely smart. He gets his engineering qualifications and is immediately whisked away to Phobos Moon Base where the Thian, Flavia (another T-1 from Altair- granddaughter of two relatively minor characters from The Rowan) and the Navy are trying to figure out how to get the captured Hiver Sphere turned on. The three of them come up with a plan to take the captured Hiver Queen at the Moon Base and put her in the sphere to get the power started. This works. The Base Commander is unhappy and Jeff Raven doesn't particularly care.
There's a big old family reunion with the kids at Iota Aurigae before they get sent out on assignment and surprise surprise- Rojer's Dini's get ressurected/cloned- so it's a joyful occasion.
The book ends with the gang departing for various assignments-- Laria heading back to Clarf with Kincaid. Thian, Rojer and Flavia assemble teams to move onto the next phase of their struggle against the Hivers: finding all the planets they've colonized and isolating them- or at least figuring out a way to contain them without resorting to out and out genocide- which Mrdini and Human authorities both agree they don't want. (They're also going to check out habitable worlds that the Hivers have passed by and see if they're worthy for either Human and Mrdini settlement.)
Overall: I like this book. It's like comfort food. The series is good. The world is getting rounded out nicely-- though, some tantalizing hints McCaffery offers never really get elaborated on which is kind of frustrating to me.
Meanwhile, Laria is coming into her own as Clarf Tower's Prime and she's having trouble finding the right combination of Tower staff. Clarissa Negeva her current number two isn't a fan of Mrdinis and it's kind of a liability for that assignment, so she accepts Clarissa's request for a transfer and ships her back to Earth- but not before receieving a delightful blast of xenophobic haterade from the departing Clarissa. Her replacement is Kincaid Dano, who has been out on an extensive tour of duty with the navy that has left him emotionally and mentally exhausted. (He's also gay, which isn't at all problematic in this book, but an eyebrow will be raised for sure in the next book.)
Rojer recuperates on Deneb and gets his engineering qualifications, meeting his distant cousin (like not a problem if they're into each other distant) Asia, who is shy and lacking in confidence- but extremely smart. He gets his engineering qualifications and is immediately whisked away to Phobos Moon Base where the Thian, Flavia (another T-1 from Altair- granddaughter of two relatively minor characters from The Rowan) and the Navy are trying to figure out how to get the captured Hiver Sphere turned on. The three of them come up with a plan to take the captured Hiver Queen at the Moon Base and put her in the sphere to get the power started. This works. The Base Commander is unhappy and Jeff Raven doesn't particularly care.
There's a big old family reunion with the kids at Iota Aurigae before they get sent out on assignment and surprise surprise- Rojer's Dini's get ressurected/cloned- so it's a joyful occasion.
The book ends with the gang departing for various assignments-- Laria heading back to Clarf with Kincaid. Thian, Rojer and Flavia assemble teams to move onto the next phase of their struggle against the Hivers: finding all the planets they've colonized and isolating them- or at least figuring out a way to contain them without resorting to out and out genocide- which Mrdini and Human authorities both agree they don't want. (They're also going to check out habitable worlds that the Hivers have passed by and see if they're worthy for either Human and Mrdini settlement.)
Overall: I like this book. It's like comfort food. The series is good. The world is getting rounded out nicely-- though, some tantalizing hints McCaffery offers never really get elaborated on which is kind of frustrating to me.
May 12, 2023
I can say that while I have rated every book two stars I've chosen to continue the story. The world has me wrapped up. And that really has to speak for the book in the end. Also I really can't turn down book covers that look like that. Seriously if I run into a cover in this kinda of art style there's a really good chance it's ending up in my cart. Like with the previous book I found myself getting confused with all of the various characters. I also felt really uncomfortable with the Mirdini. At best they came off as the pets of the humans. Are worst they were slaves.
With the introduction of Kincaid I had hoped we'd see more of him. I mean I'm a gay guy, he's a gay guy. Of course I was instantly invested in him. I think McCaffrey was trying to be progressive with having a gay character but it fell pretty flat. In the earlier books, The Rowan I think, they mention a gay T2 off hand so I took that to mean homosexuality was fairly common and accepted but Kincaid has me thinking otherwise. Though that could just be some of Kincaid's internalized homophobia or it could be just embarrassment about his boss finding out about his sexuality. Also his whole, "well if you were a guy Laria..." bs made me want to throw him out the nearest airlock.
" 'You can be as gay as Dick's husband in your private life, but you fit so much better with me, Lio and Van that we've done everything we can t ease you in.'
'Even to taking me to Aurigae?' Laria caught the thread of indignant suspicion and made a face at him.
'You needed a change and were well enough to enjoy a vacation. It was Granddad's idea, not mine. And he was trying not to be too obvious with his matchmaking.'
Kincaid sat straight up in protest. 'He knows I'm a homo?' "
" 'Vanteer may be a rover, Laria, and love many women fervently, but not for ever. But he would come back to you time and again because you would never hold him. Now, if humans could do a 'Dini split and produce a male you, it would be the best of all conclusions,' Kincaid went on, finally slipping his fingers out of hers, 'but we haven't even figured out how to clone so I will continue to admire, respect, and love you as my very good friend.' "
With the introduction of Kincaid I had hoped we'd see more of him. I mean I'm a gay guy, he's a gay guy. Of course I was instantly invested in him. I think McCaffrey was trying to be progressive with having a gay character but it fell pretty flat. In the earlier books, The Rowan I think, they mention a gay T2 off hand so I took that to mean homosexuality was fairly common and accepted but Kincaid has me thinking otherwise. Though that could just be some of Kincaid's internalized homophobia or it could be just embarrassment about his boss finding out about his sexuality. Also his whole, "well if you were a guy Laria..." bs made me want to throw him out the nearest airlock.
" 'You can be as gay as Dick's husband in your private life, but you fit so much better with me, Lio and Van that we've done everything we can t ease you in.'
'Even to taking me to Aurigae?' Laria caught the thread of indignant suspicion and made a face at him.
'You needed a change and were well enough to enjoy a vacation. It was Granddad's idea, not mine. And he was trying not to be too obvious with his matchmaking.'
Kincaid sat straight up in protest. 'He knows I'm a homo?' "
" 'Vanteer may be a rover, Laria, and love many women fervently, but not for ever. But he would come back to you time and again because you would never hold him. Now, if humans could do a 'Dini split and produce a male you, it would be the best of all conclusions,' Kincaid went on, finally slipping his fingers out of hers, 'but we haven't even figured out how to clone so I will continue to admire, respect, and love you as my very good friend.' "
June 10, 2019
Lyon's Pride is the 4th of the Tower series, set in the Pegasus universe. It's really very good. I've reread the entire series probably a dozen times over the years and still enjoy it. This book mostly focuses on the children of Damia and Afra, like the one before it (Damia's Children). In particular it focuses on the oldest four of their eight children.
While Laria has settled comfortably into a tower position as a Prime. Her two brothers end up serving on space ships as they hunt down the homeworld of the invading Hive aliens. They are a bit young for it but as primes are desperately needed and they are responsible enough to handle the job. Zara however is a problem with high empathy ratings she is nearly dysfunctional as she hits puberty and while she only comes up briefly in the first half of the book, there is a later section focused entirely on the trouble she gets into.
I enjoyed seeing Damia's children branching out into other jobs besides manning towers. All of Rowan's kids ended up serving in towers and you don't really see many other placements for the T-1's outside of tower positions. I found the shipboard adventures of Thian and Rojer to be exciting and they kept my attention so thoroughly I ended up staying up later than planned to finish this book.
I liked that while there's some matchmaking and attempts to get the kids, especially Laria to settle down early and produce more talented kids, romance takes a backseat to the plot and no one is in a hurry to settle down.
I also was pleased with the addition of the gay character, Kincaid. Anne MacCaffrey has never shied away from mentioning gay characters (almost exclusively men) but for the time this was written it was rare to see one of them get any kind of focus. While he's not a main character he is an important one.
While Laria has settled comfortably into a tower position as a Prime. Her two brothers end up serving on space ships as they hunt down the homeworld of the invading Hive aliens. They are a bit young for it but as primes are desperately needed and they are responsible enough to handle the job. Zara however is a problem with high empathy ratings she is nearly dysfunctional as she hits puberty and while she only comes up briefly in the first half of the book, there is a later section focused entirely on the trouble she gets into.
I enjoyed seeing Damia's children branching out into other jobs besides manning towers. All of Rowan's kids ended up serving in towers and you don't really see many other placements for the T-1's outside of tower positions. I found the shipboard adventures of Thian and Rojer to be exciting and they kept my attention so thoroughly I ended up staying up later than planned to finish this book.
I liked that while there's some matchmaking and attempts to get the kids, especially Laria to settle down early and produce more talented kids, romance takes a backseat to the plot and no one is in a hurry to settle down.
I also was pleased with the addition of the gay character, Kincaid. Anne MacCaffrey has never shied away from mentioning gay characters (almost exclusively men) but for the time this was written it was rare to see one of them get any kind of focus. While he's not a main character he is an important one.
February 13, 2019
This book picks up right where Damia's Children left off. As I mentioned in my review for Damia's Children, it feels like these two novels were meant to be one long complete novel rather than the two they are. I did not feel like Damia's Children had an overarching plot, it was more an introduction of characters for this novel.
This novel did have a decent plot, but again, it seemed like small events carried it. I was not impressed with the science in the science fiction. The author was also very absorbed in all her naval and ships and worlds and honestly, it got confusing. Usually I pride myself on keeping all those things straight, but there were too many major and minor characters and worlds and ships to keep straight, so I just skimmed when a listing of people or ships or worlds was given. I'm sure she was just record keeping, dotting her i's and crossing her t's, but it was really just too much.
The love stories that pervaded The Rowan and Damia do not really exist in Damia's Children and Lion's Pride. There are love interests, but they are rather side-lined and not particularly interesting nor developed. You get a bit of "movie" impression where boy meets girl, there are some small interactions that we get to see, then suddenly they are in love and we are expected to understand that deep development must have happened off screen and we only saw sex scenes because those are what sells.
Again, this was a quick read.
This novel did have a decent plot, but again, it seemed like small events carried it. I was not impressed with the science in the science fiction. The author was also very absorbed in all her naval and ships and worlds and honestly, it got confusing. Usually I pride myself on keeping all those things straight, but there were too many major and minor characters and worlds and ships to keep straight, so I just skimmed when a listing of people or ships or worlds was given. I'm sure she was just record keeping, dotting her i's and crossing her t's, but it was really just too much.
The love stories that pervaded The Rowan and Damia do not really exist in Damia's Children and Lion's Pride. There are love interests, but they are rather side-lined and not particularly interesting nor developed. You get a bit of "movie" impression where boy meets girl, there are some small interactions that we get to see, then suddenly they are in love and we are expected to understand that deep development must have happened off screen and we only saw sex scenes because those are what sells.
Again, this was a quick read.
November 27, 2017
The story pick up where Damia's Children left off. The kids are more mature now and they're about to grow up -- fast.
I read to relax before hitting the sack and McCaffrey is one of my favorite ways to do just that. Even though this is the 4th book in the series, it's not gotten stale. The story and the characters are vintage McCaffrey. I've always thought her writing to be "comfortable" and this story fits that bill fine. The background and the characters are "rich" and well-developed.
My only complaint is that there are so many characters in this yarn, that I got somewhat confused as to who was who. Not the fault of the author. Remembering names has always been a huge problem for me (I check my dogtags first thing in the morning to remember who I am).
A thoroughly enjoyable story, complete in itself (although it helps to have read the previous 3 books in the series to understand why things work the way they do and who the major "talent" families are).
I read to relax before hitting the sack and McCaffrey is one of my favorite ways to do just that. Even though this is the 4th book in the series, it's not gotten stale. The story and the characters are vintage McCaffrey. I've always thought her writing to be "comfortable" and this story fits that bill fine. The background and the characters are "rich" and well-developed.
My only complaint is that there are so many characters in this yarn, that I got somewhat confused as to who was who. Not the fault of the author. Remembering names has always been a huge problem for me (I check my dogtags first thing in the morning to remember who I am).
A thoroughly enjoyable story, complete in itself (although it helps to have read the previous 3 books in the series to understand why things work the way they do and who the major "talent" families are).
October 7, 2019
This one was really hard to get through. There didn't seem to be a really strong plot, and it jumped between characters seemingly at random, which was frustrating. I would rather have gotten one focused viewpoint instead of several. The end result was that I cared less about these characters than I did even in the previous book, where they were first introduced. The Rowan and Damia were interesting and well-defined characters, but Rojer, Laria, and Thian kind of all got shortchanged in the character development department since they were sharing their story.
I'm still planning to read the final book in the series, just to see if it gets any better, but as it currently stands... if you're thinking about reading this series, I'd stop after the first two.
I'm still planning to read the final book in the series, just to see if it gets any better, but as it currently stands... if you're thinking about reading this series, I'd stop after the first two.
December 23, 2020
There are things I liked and things that frustrated the snot out of me. Characters are interesting, dialogue is fine and the settings, species and plot are intriguing. But, my word, is there no semblance of military knowledge in this universe? The commanders of the most important military assets of a multi-planet civilization kid and joke and flirt like the student council. You have telepaths transporting ships across the galaxy, but it's a breakthrough to figure out porting explosives onto any enemy ship? All the 'paths in the universe are on board with the same organization and its plans? There are only a handful of ships--probably fewer than there are worlds? Ugg. But as a whole not too bad, not too great.
May 22, 2023
I enjoyed this more than the last few of the series. Maybe I'm now more settled into the universe where I found the relationships less jarring. It has McCaffrey's customary deft touch, making the mundane of life aboard a spaceship seem wondrous and magical. The conflict with the Hivers has been given a natural escalation, and the lack of characterisation of this new world feels natural and in keeping. The Talents we spend time with are fun, personable and well characterised, though none quite live up to Damia and The Rowan of earlier books. The 'Dinis too feel incredibly alien, particularly in the way speech between them and humans is written, without slowing the story for long exposition, adding a depth and texture to the universe.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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August 22, 2019A fabulous and action packed tale....
As always, Anne McCaffrey shows the timelessness (and uncanny timeliness!!) of her gifts! Having been a devoted and avid "fan" for a very long time, and-Heavens willing- my children, and theirs will continue that tradition. The absolute necessity of passing on the spirit of the characters in ALL her many books/series of books was never more needed than now. All the more reason that Science Fiction become Science Fact! Thank you again Ms. McCaffrey, you are greatly missed!i
As always, Anne McCaffrey shows the timelessness (and uncanny timeliness!!) of her gifts! Having been a devoted and avid "fan" for a very long time, and-Heavens willing- my children, and theirs will continue that tradition. The absolute necessity of passing on the spirit of the characters in ALL her many books/series of books was never more needed than now. All the more reason that Science Fiction become Science Fact! Thank you again Ms. McCaffrey, you are greatly missed!i
September 11, 2018
Continuing story, probably requires books 2-3 to understand context. This book keeps the story going of interacting with friendly and inscrutable/expanding aliens. This book and book 3 gives glimmers of interesting conundrums of how to handle interspecies contact, and human/alien morality problems.
I don't own book 5 though, and reviews make me think that those problems aren't well explored in it, so... I'm going to stop this adventure with book 4.
I don't own book 5 though, and reviews make me think that those problems aren't well explored in it, so... I'm going to stop this adventure with book 4.
January 9, 2021
Spoiler alert: Winning a war in which only the enemy dies is a little "boring" as far a war stories, but nice if you like keeping the characters alive. There were so many characters, it was a little hard to keep track of who is where and who is interested in whom and who is related to whom. And semi-disturbingly, related to and interested in.... All in all, pretty fun. I still don't like bug aliens.
July 25, 2021
Yet another great follow-on in the Tower and the Hive series.
I loved learning even more about Afra and Damia's older children, and how they reach adulthood whilst helping out the space navy, and the Mrdini equivalent, in searching out the other Hive Spheres they know about.
As is usual for Anne, this is very focused on the relationships that build up between the various Talents, which was a pleasant read for me.
So, on I go to the next book in the series: The Tower and the Hive.
I loved learning even more about Afra and Damia's older children, and how they reach adulthood whilst helping out the space navy, and the Mrdini equivalent, in searching out the other Hive Spheres they know about.
As is usual for Anne, this is very focused on the relationships that build up between the various Talents, which was a pleasant read for me.
So, on I go to the next book in the series: The Tower and the Hive.
March 25, 2022
Hard decision - 3.5 stars would have been my choice.
I really like the books, and I recommend them - but there are some issues in how (for example) the military works. There are other areas where the "Talents" - for all that they're the paragon of virtue - do things that I think are ethically questionable. Not morally wrong, just questionable.
Overall, however, it's a great series and I recommend it.
I really like the books, and I recommend them - but there are some issues in how (for example) the military works. There are other areas where the "Talents" - for all that they're the paragon of virtue - do things that I think are ethically questionable. Not morally wrong, just questionable.
Overall, however, it's a great series and I recommend it.
November 24, 2020
I am a big fan of books 1 and 2, less so of book 3, but this series should have ended at Damia's Children. This continuation increases the cast without developing the character, and continues a long and boring space quest lacking any interesting ideas or climax. All in all Lyon's Pride reads as a series of vignettes disguised as a plot. Not McCaffrey's best by a long shot.
March 4, 2021
Lyon’s Pride
Damia’s’ kids are at it again against the Hivers but this time they are determined to win and make sure that the Hivers won’t get the home world they are seeking. With each run in with the Hivers they learn more about them and what they are seeking and how to combat them. It is only time until they are contained forever or is it?
Damia’s’ kids are at it again against the Hivers but this time they are determined to win and make sure that the Hivers won’t get the home world they are seeking. With each run in with the Hivers they learn more about them and what they are seeking and how to combat them. It is only time until they are contained forever or is it?
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