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The Tower and the Hive #5
The Tower and the Hive
Much had been done to limit and destroy the powers of the terrible Hivers, who had torn through space, annihilating every living thing that stood in their way. But still the Alliance had to discover the whereabouts of every last Hiver world and stop the Queens from further colonization.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 20, 1999
192 people are currently reading
1972 people want to read
About the author
Anne McCaffrey
478 books7,753 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 136 reviews
March 20, 2011
No. This is a stupid book.
Within the first 20 pages, three main characters sit around and summarize the series so far. They're not doing this to catch up a third party; they're literally sitting around and telling each other their own family history. Thian actually says to his brother and first cousin: "...they had met their match in Jeff Raven and Angharad Gwyn aka The Rowan..." It would be like me meeting up with my cousins and saying "And then our grandmother, the Irishwoman Eileen aka Lee, met and married Joseph of Boston". They would look at me like I'm a moron, because they know the history, they know our grandmother's nickname, and it makes me sound brain-damaged. It HURTS to read, because it is so damn stupid. And Rojer even smugly notes how pleased he is with their factual summary, as if to call to the reader's attention that this was the laziest possible format for getting up to speed on the fifth book in a series. At one point, there is also a footnote. One lone, insane footnote that clarifies that "in previous yarns, this was the Nine Star League, but more systems have joined". Why are we annotating fiction, and completely breaking series convention for a clarification that no one would have questioned?! I get that "the Star League" is likely a bigger "Nine Star League", especially as Humans now have allies. AUGH.
Every character is one-dimensional in the extreme. Rojer turns into an insufferable overbearing boyfriend, there are entire pages that seem to be made up of nothing but pedigrees (I don't CARE!), a gay character magically turns straight, the political subplot features a Dan Brown level of premature conclusion, parents always know best and children never put up more than a token resistance, an agreeably malevolent character peters out like a wet firecracker... Not to mention there are multiple boring things happening in multiple boring locations and everyone talks to each other in their heads. Do you know how DULL it is for there to be little/no interaction between main characters, only dialogue? You get no physical descriptions, no change in scenery, nothing but lines of dialogue with an accompanying cue like "...he finished, his thoughts heavy with emotion". Awful.
Really, the main drive for the book is once again matchmaking. And babies, of course. Must have babies. Lots of babies! Did I mention this book cures The Gayness?
And then at the end of the book (spoilers, I guess, so you've been warned - as if the previous three paragraphs aren't enough warning about this stupid book) there's the usual Talents-coming-together-to-overcome.... something. The Something is cooked up in the last third of the novel and is so buried in logistical hand-wavium that it's barely comprehensible. It's completely anticlimactic, not least because I have no idea why they'd WANT to stop a war between the queens of a species they're studying. It's completely bizarre. And why are they relocating queens? Why are they stopping the war sweeping the planet? It's a chance for behavioural observation of a race that's been killing everything in the galaxy, and instead the Talents decide to basically step in and change the bugs' chemical baseline so they'll be peaceful? Why?! They're trapped on an easy-to-monitor world! There are many other planets out there likely to be covered in bugs, why get all peacenik over the one in Human/Mrdini control? But the book needs some sort of ending, so that's the one we get: Talents inexplicably forcing peace on a captive planet, then congratulating themselves. Yes, well done neutralizing the only stable research environment for the murderous species still roaming your galaxy. Idiots.
I spent much of this book suspecting that I would REALLY REALLY ENJOY a book from the point of view of one of the non-Talents in this environment. Someone dealing with the ethical questions of interspecies diplomacy, or as part of the People First contingent, or maybe even Zara. Anything to get away from these overprivileged, arrogant bores.
Read "The Rowan", and then MAYBE "Damia". But after that, save yourself the time and trouble. It truly, TRULY isn't worth it to wade through this series, and I'm now feeling a bit grim about having wasted a weekend rereading this dreck. Bah. Now I'm going to have to go dig out Jane Eyre again as a palate cleanser.
Within the first 20 pages, three main characters sit around and summarize the series so far. They're not doing this to catch up a third party; they're literally sitting around and telling each other their own family history. Thian actually says to his brother and first cousin: "...they had met their match in Jeff Raven and Angharad Gwyn aka The Rowan..." It would be like me meeting up with my cousins and saying "And then our grandmother, the Irishwoman Eileen aka Lee, met and married Joseph of Boston". They would look at me like I'm a moron, because they know the history, they know our grandmother's nickname, and it makes me sound brain-damaged. It HURTS to read, because it is so damn stupid. And Rojer even smugly notes how pleased he is with their factual summary, as if to call to the reader's attention that this was the laziest possible format for getting up to speed on the fifth book in a series. At one point, there is also a footnote. One lone, insane footnote that clarifies that "in previous yarns, this was the Nine Star League, but more systems have joined". Why are we annotating fiction, and completely breaking series convention for a clarification that no one would have questioned?! I get that "the Star League" is likely a bigger "Nine Star League", especially as Humans now have allies. AUGH.
Every character is one-dimensional in the extreme. Rojer turns into an insufferable overbearing boyfriend, there are entire pages that seem to be made up of nothing but pedigrees (I don't CARE!), a gay character magically turns straight, the political subplot features a Dan Brown level of premature conclusion, parents always know best and children never put up more than a token resistance, an agreeably malevolent character peters out like a wet firecracker... Not to mention there are multiple boring things happening in multiple boring locations and everyone talks to each other in their heads. Do you know how DULL it is for there to be little/no interaction between main characters, only dialogue? You get no physical descriptions, no change in scenery, nothing but lines of dialogue with an accompanying cue like "...he finished, his thoughts heavy with emotion". Awful.
Really, the main drive for the book is once again matchmaking. And babies, of course. Must have babies. Lots of babies! Did I mention this book cures The Gayness?
And then at the end of the book (spoilers, I guess, so you've been warned - as if the previous three paragraphs aren't enough warning about this stupid book) there's the usual Talents-coming-together-to-overcome.... something. The Something is cooked up in the last third of the novel and is so buried in logistical hand-wavium that it's barely comprehensible. It's completely anticlimactic, not least because I have no idea why they'd WANT to stop a war between the queens of a species they're studying. It's completely bizarre. And why are they relocating queens? Why are they stopping the war sweeping the planet? It's a chance for behavioural observation of a race that's been killing everything in the galaxy, and instead the Talents decide to basically step in and change the bugs' chemical baseline so they'll be peaceful? Why?! They're trapped on an easy-to-monitor world! There are many other planets out there likely to be covered in bugs, why get all peacenik over the one in Human/Mrdini control? But the book needs some sort of ending, so that's the one we get: Talents inexplicably forcing peace on a captive planet, then congratulating themselves. Yes, well done neutralizing the only stable research environment for the murderous species still roaming your galaxy. Idiots.
I spent much of this book suspecting that I would REALLY REALLY ENJOY a book from the point of view of one of the non-Talents in this environment. Someone dealing with the ethical questions of interspecies diplomacy, or as part of the People First contingent, or maybe even Zara. Anything to get away from these overprivileged, arrogant bores.
Read "The Rowan", and then MAYBE "Damia". But after that, save yourself the time and trouble. It truly, TRULY isn't worth it to wade through this series, and I'm now feeling a bit grim about having wasted a weekend rereading this dreck. Bah. Now I'm going to have to go dig out Jane Eyre again as a palate cleanser.
March 22, 2008
This is the only book that I've actually flung across the room. It was because of a scientific inaccuracy. You can't use gas chromatographs to identify unknowns! I actually wrote to her about it and got a very cordial response.
June 18, 2012
Originally published on my blog here in January 2000.
The fifth, concluding, novel in The Tower and the Hive sequence is, unfortunately, something of a disappointment, even in a series which has already declined from its best. The books are among McCaffrey's most juvenile and have few redeeming features other than being fun to read.
The plot continues the story of the telepaths' leading of the resistence to the genocidal attacks on human and Mrdini planets of the insectile Hivers. The issues raised - xenophobia, pacifism, alien cultures, and so on - are treated at a superficial level. The telepathic Talents are always right, and it is made clear that any reasonable person would agree with what they do (opposition always comes from "fanatics"). A far better analysis of the issues involved in such a war, with a similar social insect style alien, is contained in Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and its sequels. (They are also aimed in part at the younger end of the science fiction market.)
McCaffrey also here includes a subplot seemingly based on ideas frequently associated with homophobia. A homosexual character - a rarity in science fiction even in the late nineties - is "reformed" when he is manipulated into falling in love with the "right" woman. The main aim of both men and women is seen to be to have a family. McCaffrey's writing about sexuality has been more interesting and less potentially offensive in the past, for example in the early Pern novels.
The fifth, concluding, novel in The Tower and the Hive sequence is, unfortunately, something of a disappointment, even in a series which has already declined from its best. The books are among McCaffrey's most juvenile and have few redeeming features other than being fun to read.
The plot continues the story of the telepaths' leading of the resistence to the genocidal attacks on human and Mrdini planets of the insectile Hivers. The issues raised - xenophobia, pacifism, alien cultures, and so on - are treated at a superficial level. The telepathic Talents are always right, and it is made clear that any reasonable person would agree with what they do (opposition always comes from "fanatics"). A far better analysis of the issues involved in such a war, with a similar social insect style alien, is contained in Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and its sequels. (They are also aimed in part at the younger end of the science fiction market.)
McCaffrey also here includes a subplot seemingly based on ideas frequently associated with homophobia. A homosexual character - a rarity in science fiction even in the late nineties - is "reformed" when he is manipulated into falling in love with the "right" woman. The main aim of both men and women is seen to be to have a family. McCaffrey's writing about sexuality has been more interesting and less potentially offensive in the past, for example in the early Pern novels.
January 30, 2020
1.5 stars. We get a little more plot-wise since it's the last book and needs to wrap things up, though the wrap-up still feels kind of incomplete and all over the place. There are plotlines (e.g. assassination attempts) and entire characters (e.g. Vagrian) introduced for no apparent reason. They could have been cut out completely without impacting anything else.
Zara reverted back to her book 3 values, making me wonder if someone else entirely wrote book 4. And according to the acknowledgments, McCaffrey had no idea what conclusion she was writing toward for the first four books, which was probably why it took so long for book 5 to be written; no wonder everything seemed to fall apart and not move forward in the last few books.
As if what we already knew about Kincaid's toxic past from the last book wasn't enough, McCaffrey adds in this book that he had an abusive childhood and, later, a dead (male) lover. It's like she felt the need to "appease" readers for forcing a gay character on them by giving him every possible horrible event in his life. Although why she bothered to make him gay when he only has sex with a woman and starts a family with her is beyond me. WTF.
Overall, this series was a struggle to get through, and after my tough time with another of McCaffrey's series, I'm not going to give much more of my time to her.
Zara reverted back to her book 3 values, making me wonder if someone else entirely wrote book 4. And according to the acknowledgments, McCaffrey had no idea what conclusion she was writing toward for the first four books, which was probably why it took so long for book 5 to be written; no wonder everything seemed to fall apart and not move forward in the last few books.
As if what we already knew about Kincaid's toxic past from the last book wasn't enough, McCaffrey adds in this book that he had an abusive childhood and, later, a dead (male) lover. It's like she felt the need to "appease" readers for forcing a gay character on them by giving him every possible horrible event in his life. Although why she bothered to make him gay when he only has sex with a woman and starts a family with her is beyond me. WTF.
Overall, this series was a struggle to get through, and after my tough time with another of McCaffrey's series, I'm not going to give much more of my time to her.
July 21, 2022
One reviewer already pointed out how stupid it was that they stand around telling each other their own family history, and they were right! It's laughably stupid. Like we're being trolled stupid.
We've already gotten like a full chapter in "previously on" so I don't know why you'd need to do this anyway. I'm really glad that, as a society, we seem to be moving away from this. At least I hope we are. I just read the entire Expanse series (FANTASTIC BOOKS OMG), and that shit is just like bam here goes we're IN it. None of this, "Oh if you missed it, here's what happened in the previous 6 books. It's called giving your audience credit, and I love it. I hated it as a kid when I would pick up book 2 or 3 of something, and it would awkwardly cram in summarization for people who hadn't read the first book(s). Don't pander to those assholes! They can either read the whole series or they can be confused and fuck off, fuck 'em! And if you have to, at least do what this book did and put a pre-chapter in with a "last time on," don't do what this book did and cram summary awkwardly into the main story.
All the "Eagle" side of the family is now "Eagles." She didn't even remember what she named them. It was Roddie Eagle and Asia Eagle, now it's Roddie Eagles and Asia Eagles. ◔_◔
Someone mentions clairvoyants casually in passing, which reminds me, where are the damn clairvoyants? We hear about one in the first book, then basically never again. So it's not like, interesting or useful to write about people who can see the actual future? Yeah okay. Why not just introduce a Q who can change reality itself and then never again mention him, cuz it's dull I guess, let's get back to the shipping of various industrial items, now THAT gets the reader's blood pumping!
For some reason Hive Queens can't "see"? I mean, people walk right in front of them and no reaction? But, they're constantly looking at screens, so why would they be able to see those and not people right in front of them? How could you travel through space without sight, which they have anyway, especially in a ship that might not be of your own creation (as hypothesized in the book)? It makes no sense, and is quite stupid.
As in the last book, more on Mrdini reproduction, that only makes it more insanely confusing. As in the last book, it starts by saying that Mrdini basically sort of divide and create life by themselves:
... a 'Dini bud starts to form, actually, before a 'Dini enters hibernation.
So it'll split off and form a new one, right, so it takes one to breed?
... if the bud is nipped early enough to abort it before it has formed between the two 'Dini...
AND THEN IT FINISHES BY SAYING YOU NEED TWO. WHY DO YOU NEED TWO. DO EACH OF THEIR BUDS HAVE TO MASH TOGETHER TO MAKE ONE, THIS MAKES NO SENSE, SOMEONE MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
Sigh.
And as usual in this book, as in every book previous, we have the ever-present and revoltingly perfect morality of the Primes and main characters, they're so good they're like angels, always making the perfect choice and smugly judging each other for the most minor of offenses!
Damia wants to go home now that the day is done.
"Unless it's urgent," Afra appended, giving his wife a reproving look.
Ugh. They even chastise their own spouses when they get out of line by wanting some goddamn rest.
... Afra's reproof had recalled her sense of duty.
If my husband reproved me I'd comedically slap his stupid face. Which he'd only do if he WANTED me to slap his face, and then we'd have a good laugh. God these people are gross. Indescribably gross.
Thian needs a lift up to something high. Semirame holds out his hands for a footrest, whereupon Thian shakes his head and grinningly teleports onto her shoulders.
Why don't you... why don't you just use your powers to fly? You... this, I can't even. God so dumb.
The ground beneath his feet had been trampled down for so long that it was now below its original level by several centimeters. In fact, if he looked closely he could see the slight ruts worn by workers that had tramped up and down it for centuries.
I mean, I dunno THAT much about dirt, just as much as the average person I guess, but when for centuries, countless generations of creatures who refuse to break out of any kind of pattern or rhythm, for centuries walk over the exact same paths and they've only worn it down by a few centimeters.
Is that how ground works? I'm asking a real question here. 'Cuz, like, I'd think it'd be deeper.
Of Vagrian:
"You're Yohuk's younger brother, Laria said.
And later, of Vagrian:
"I'd be very surprised if Yoshuk's big brother..."
◔_◔
Of the super violent movement that wants to exterminate all Hives:
"Well, Commander Baldwin may be an asshole, but he's heading a long line of 'em."
What you're saying is, "Baldwin may be an asshole, but he's a Nazi." One thing confirms the other thing, but you know the word "but" is for when you're saying something different. "Baldwin may be an asshole, but he loves cats," for example.
I mean I get what you're TRYING to do, I guess, I think. Maybe. Maybe you're trying to say that he's an asshole so no one wants to follow him but they do? Which makes no sense because he's a Commander even for the "good" side where people follow him there? So it's clumsy and dumb k.
In the weightlessness of the aged sphere...
Okay, so unlike the last book, this one DOESN'T have gravity? Because last time, uh...
She loved swimming in the lake -- careful, though, not to swallow too much water.
I, uh... okay. Is this a random PSA to not swallow water or something? Very odd.
Morag, Kaltia and their 'Dinis 'ported in, fortunately close to the steps as if both had "seen" where it was safe to arrive.
"As if"? You're saying they didn't, and they just guessed? Surely they're always "seeing" where they're about to teleport, or else they'd end up inside of walls and people?
"Did you bring me in any fresh greens and tubers?" Zara demanded.
Ah, so is she vegetarian again? Girl liked killin' stuff just recently, but I guess she's back to not liking it.
As to the issue of Laria banging a gay guy straight, many people take issue with this but now that I've read it it's not actually so black-and-white. First of all, lots of people are straight their whole lives, until they fall in love with the same sex and realize they are actually gay. That's cool, that can happen, I buy that. So why not buy the reverse? He even specifically says that he's a virgin to bangin' a lady, which makes this even more believable. He hasn't even TRIED. Lots of you would discover you're actually bisexual if you bothered to give it a try. ;)
Furthermore, they have been pressured their critters to it with weird dreams or whatever they do. I would compare this to how a straight guy'll bang another guy in, say, prison or on a long boat trip. Does that make them gay now? (Well, I'd argue it makes them bisexual. But I'd argue that most people are at least slightly bisexual, and people who are fully and actually hardcore straight or gay are a minority.)
Further FURTHERmore, he doesn't go straight. He's now, at best, bisexual. To say she "cured" him is (ugh I hate to use your terms) bisexual erasure, which is you being the sort of person you yourself hate if you're saying she TURNED him straight. He's not straight. Quit erasing his bisexuality! Booooo!
And anyway he specifically says she's the only woman he could see doing this with, because he loves her, and also he's kinda less into it after the 'Dini's stop basically raping them, and now that she's pregnant he says some stuff about wanting to be the father, and she wants that too and won't ask MORE of him. So he's still, like, pretty gay at the end of the book, and the way they leave it it sounds like there won't actually be that much banging, and he's free to go off banging fellas whenever he wants.
So, not an issue really.
What IS an issue is the wandering plot, the terrible pacing, the disappointing conclusion, the poorly-thought-out Mrdini and Hive entities, the horrific morality, the nonsense, the introduction and abandonment of dozens of characters, the nonsense, the dullness, the lack of editing, the nonsense...
Man are the Pern books as bad as this? 'Cuz I remembered enjoying them. -_-'
We've already gotten like a full chapter in "previously on" so I don't know why you'd need to do this anyway. I'm really glad that, as a society, we seem to be moving away from this. At least I hope we are. I just read the entire Expanse series (FANTASTIC BOOKS OMG), and that shit is just like bam here goes we're IN it. None of this, "Oh if you missed it, here's what happened in the previous 6 books. It's called giving your audience credit, and I love it. I hated it as a kid when I would pick up book 2 or 3 of something, and it would awkwardly cram in summarization for people who hadn't read the first book(s). Don't pander to those assholes! They can either read the whole series or they can be confused and fuck off, fuck 'em! And if you have to, at least do what this book did and put a pre-chapter in with a "last time on," don't do what this book did and cram summary awkwardly into the main story.
All the "Eagle" side of the family is now "Eagles." She didn't even remember what she named them. It was Roddie Eagle and Asia Eagle, now it's Roddie Eagles and Asia Eagles. ◔_◔
Someone mentions clairvoyants casually in passing, which reminds me, where are the damn clairvoyants? We hear about one in the first book, then basically never again. So it's not like, interesting or useful to write about people who can see the actual future? Yeah okay. Why not just introduce a Q who can change reality itself and then never again mention him, cuz it's dull I guess, let's get back to the shipping of various industrial items, now THAT gets the reader's blood pumping!
For some reason Hive Queens can't "see"? I mean, people walk right in front of them and no reaction? But, they're constantly looking at screens, so why would they be able to see those and not people right in front of them? How could you travel through space without sight, which they have anyway, especially in a ship that might not be of your own creation (as hypothesized in the book)? It makes no sense, and is quite stupid.
As in the last book, more on Mrdini reproduction, that only makes it more insanely confusing. As in the last book, it starts by saying that Mrdini basically sort of divide and create life by themselves:
... a 'Dini bud starts to form, actually, before a 'Dini enters hibernation.
So it'll split off and form a new one, right, so it takes one to breed?
... if the bud is nipped early enough to abort it before it has formed between the two 'Dini...
AND THEN IT FINISHES BY SAYING YOU NEED TWO. WHY DO YOU NEED TWO. DO EACH OF THEIR BUDS HAVE TO MASH TOGETHER TO MAKE ONE, THIS MAKES NO SENSE, SOMEONE MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
Sigh.
And as usual in this book, as in every book previous, we have the ever-present and revoltingly perfect morality of the Primes and main characters, they're so good they're like angels, always making the perfect choice and smugly judging each other for the most minor of offenses!
Damia wants to go home now that the day is done.
"Unless it's urgent," Afra appended, giving his wife a reproving look.
Ugh. They even chastise their own spouses when they get out of line by wanting some goddamn rest.
... Afra's reproof had recalled her sense of duty.
If my husband reproved me I'd comedically slap his stupid face. Which he'd only do if he WANTED me to slap his face, and then we'd have a good laugh. God these people are gross. Indescribably gross.
Thian needs a lift up to something high. Semirame holds out his hands for a footrest, whereupon Thian shakes his head and grinningly teleports onto her shoulders.
Why don't you... why don't you just use your powers to fly? You... this, I can't even. God so dumb.
The ground beneath his feet had been trampled down for so long that it was now below its original level by several centimeters. In fact, if he looked closely he could see the slight ruts worn by workers that had tramped up and down it for centuries.
I mean, I dunno THAT much about dirt, just as much as the average person I guess, but when for centuries, countless generations of creatures who refuse to break out of any kind of pattern or rhythm, for centuries walk over the exact same paths and they've only worn it down by a few centimeters.
Is that how ground works? I'm asking a real question here. 'Cuz, like, I'd think it'd be deeper.
Of Vagrian:
"You're Yohuk's younger brother, Laria said.
And later, of Vagrian:
"I'd be very surprised if Yoshuk's big brother..."
◔_◔
Of the super violent movement that wants to exterminate all Hives:
"Well, Commander Baldwin may be an asshole, but he's heading a long line of 'em."
What you're saying is, "Baldwin may be an asshole, but he's a Nazi." One thing confirms the other thing, but you know the word "but" is for when you're saying something different. "Baldwin may be an asshole, but he loves cats," for example.
I mean I get what you're TRYING to do, I guess, I think. Maybe. Maybe you're trying to say that he's an asshole so no one wants to follow him but they do? Which makes no sense because he's a Commander even for the "good" side where people follow him there? So it's clumsy and dumb k.
In the weightlessness of the aged sphere...
Okay, so unlike the last book, this one DOESN'T have gravity? Because last time, uh...
She loved swimming in the lake -- careful, though, not to swallow too much water.
I, uh... okay. Is this a random PSA to not swallow water or something? Very odd.
Morag, Kaltia and their 'Dinis 'ported in, fortunately close to the steps as if both had "seen" where it was safe to arrive.
"As if"? You're saying they didn't, and they just guessed? Surely they're always "seeing" where they're about to teleport, or else they'd end up inside of walls and people?
"Did you bring me in any fresh greens and tubers?" Zara demanded.
Ah, so is she vegetarian again? Girl liked killin' stuff just recently, but I guess she's back to not liking it.
As to the issue of Laria banging a gay guy straight, many people take issue with this but now that I've read it it's not actually so black-and-white. First of all, lots of people are straight their whole lives, until they fall in love with the same sex and realize they are actually gay. That's cool, that can happen, I buy that. So why not buy the reverse? He even specifically says that he's a virgin to bangin' a lady, which makes this even more believable. He hasn't even TRIED. Lots of you would discover you're actually bisexual if you bothered to give it a try. ;)
Furthermore, they have been pressured their critters to it with weird dreams or whatever they do. I would compare this to how a straight guy'll bang another guy in, say, prison or on a long boat trip. Does that make them gay now? (Well, I'd argue it makes them bisexual. But I'd argue that most people are at least slightly bisexual, and people who are fully and actually hardcore straight or gay are a minority.)
Further FURTHERmore, he doesn't go straight. He's now, at best, bisexual. To say she "cured" him is (ugh I hate to use your terms) bisexual erasure, which is you being the sort of person you yourself hate if you're saying she TURNED him straight. He's not straight. Quit erasing his bisexuality! Booooo!
And anyway he specifically says she's the only woman he could see doing this with, because he loves her, and also he's kinda less into it after the 'Dini's stop basically raping them, and now that she's pregnant he says some stuff about wanting to be the father, and she wants that too and won't ask MORE of him. So he's still, like, pretty gay at the end of the book, and the way they leave it it sounds like there won't actually be that much banging, and he's free to go off banging fellas whenever he wants.
So, not an issue really.
What IS an issue is the wandering plot, the terrible pacing, the disappointing conclusion, the poorly-thought-out Mrdini and Hive entities, the horrific morality, the nonsense, the introduction and abandonment of dozens of characters, the nonsense, the dullness, the lack of editing, the nonsense...
Man are the Pern books as bad as this? 'Cuz I remembered enjoying them. -_-'
November 13, 2017
Great ending to The Talents series.
August 27, 2013
4.5
*Book source ~ My home library.
The Talents of FT&T along with the Space Navy and the Mrdini continue to identify all of the Hiver worlds. They need to find as many as possible and figure out a way to keep the Queens from leaving and wiping out other worlds. The descendants of the Rowan and Jeff Raven hold many of the top positions of Prime and the untalented say the Gwyn-Raven line holds too many powerful positions. However, no other single family has produced so many Primes and it’s a matter of supply and demand. Everyone demands a Prime for slinging cargo around and the Gwyn-Raven-Lyons have the most of them. Plain and simple. Now, if they can only figure out how to take care of the Hiver problem as well as the Mrdini population explosion then the rest should be smooth sailing. They can only hope.
This last addition to the series does a good job of putting everyone into place for future positions within FT&T, especially the grandchildren of the Rowan and Jeff Raven since they will be the ones to take over FT&T eventually with their children continuing on after them. These Talents have come such a long way from the time of Henry Darrow and even the first Peter Reidinger. Without the telepathic and telekinetic oomph of the Talents, Earth could not have explored space or settled distant worlds so quickly and efficiently. Nor would they have survived the Hiver invasion. Having a Prime on a ship in the fleet while they explore the far reaches of space means being able to keep in contact with home worlds and keeping the fleet supplied. Peter Reidinger the First would be proud since he had a fascination with space.
There is so much going on in this book and yet each person is given time on page to show how far reaching the arm of FT&T is. Lots of information, action, strange new worlds and great characters. I’m sad to see it end. All-in-all a great sci-fi/fantsy adventure.
*Book source ~ My home library.
The Talents of FT&T along with the Space Navy and the Mrdini continue to identify all of the Hiver worlds. They need to find as many as possible and figure out a way to keep the Queens from leaving and wiping out other worlds. The descendants of the Rowan and Jeff Raven hold many of the top positions of Prime and the untalented say the Gwyn-Raven line holds too many powerful positions. However, no other single family has produced so many Primes and it’s a matter of supply and demand. Everyone demands a Prime for slinging cargo around and the Gwyn-Raven-Lyons have the most of them. Plain and simple. Now, if they can only figure out how to take care of the Hiver problem as well as the Mrdini population explosion then the rest should be smooth sailing. They can only hope.
This last addition to the series does a good job of putting everyone into place for future positions within FT&T, especially the grandchildren of the Rowan and Jeff Raven since they will be the ones to take over FT&T eventually with their children continuing on after them. These Talents have come such a long way from the time of Henry Darrow and even the first Peter Reidinger. Without the telepathic and telekinetic oomph of the Talents, Earth could not have explored space or settled distant worlds so quickly and efficiently. Nor would they have survived the Hiver invasion. Having a Prime on a ship in the fleet while they explore the far reaches of space means being able to keep in contact with home worlds and keeping the fleet supplied. Peter Reidinger the First would be proud since he had a fascination with space.
There is so much going on in this book and yet each person is given time on page to show how far reaching the arm of FT&T is. Lots of information, action, strange new worlds and great characters. I’m sad to see it end. All-in-all a great sci-fi/fantsy adventure.
March 29, 2020
And the most awkward series recap goes to ... this book. There was a character who was proud of himself for recounting all the events that had happened in the series to date. This was despite that fact that in the book only days have passed - how could you be confused? I get that the actual book was published years after Book 3 but it was particularly awkward to read. There were two pages of genealogy of all the characters. Yikes!!
In fact, most of this book felt awkward. Like the other books in the series, the plot is thin and focused on the domestic lives of Damia’s family. There is less sci-fi macro plot in this one vs. book 3 which was a shame as it left the series with limited resolution with respect to the Hivers. I actually had to check to see if there was a book I missed but no such luck.
All the matchmaking between grandparents and parents (so that Primes could have babies and continue to provide Talent to the universe) made me I feel like I had into a Bollywood movie which would have been more fun if I actually cared about the characters. Ms. McCaffrey could have benefited from a full length romance instead of excerpt that we got.
All the missed opportunities with the series ending left this is a fairly meh book - so 2 stars it is. Read only if you’ve managed to make it so far into the series that you want to see who ends up with whom.
In fact, most of this book felt awkward. Like the other books in the series, the plot is thin and focused on the domestic lives of Damia’s family. There is less sci-fi macro plot in this one vs. book 3 which was a shame as it left the series with limited resolution with respect to the Hivers. I actually had to check to see if there was a book I missed but no such luck.
All the matchmaking between grandparents and parents (so that Primes could have babies and continue to provide Talent to the universe) made me I feel like I had into a Bollywood movie which would have been more fun if I actually cared about the characters. Ms. McCaffrey could have benefited from a full length romance instead of excerpt that we got.
All the missed opportunities with the series ending left this is a fairly meh book - so 2 stars it is. Read only if you’ve managed to make it so far into the series that you want to see who ends up with whom.
July 27, 2014
Now this is almost a three, there were some really good parts in it and normally I would make it a three, but this being the last in the series made me a little bit more harder on it, because it was also an Ending. That being said though, it didn't feel like an Ending, I mean yes quite a few of the plot-lines were tied up, but it was still left fairly open ended and didn't go into depth some of the things I was hoping it would. The Hivers were never really contacted, though progress seemed to be made and a plan was set in motion, though we only saw that it was starting to work, and then, instead, a completely unnecessary plot was done with the dinis for...some reason.
That doesn't quite want me to put it as a two, but then Zara comes into play with her choppy personality and becomes a rather big part of the story. As well as, there being other people doing things that don't quite add up, but I could go along with if it wasn't for everything else.
As I said, it would have been fine as a three if it continued. Some of the things that felt weird I would have given the benefit of the doubt that they would become something more in the next book, but as there wasn't...it just felt...not as good as it could be.
That doesn't quite want me to put it as a two, but then Zara comes into play with her choppy personality and becomes a rather big part of the story. As well as, there being other people doing things that don't quite add up, but I could go along with if it wasn't for everything else.
As I said, it would have been fine as a three if it continued. Some of the things that felt weird I would have given the benefit of the doubt that they would become something more in the next book, but as there wasn't...it just felt...not as good as it could be.
April 30, 2023
Oh nostalgia, you're a contrary beast.
Anne McCaffrey is an author who has always been a re-read comfort/guarantee and all unbeknownst, there was an unread title in the back catalogue....
Closing out the Tower and Hive series, we are with the children of Damia and Afra - the grandchildren of Rowan. They're with their Mdini pairs on various joint task force fleets 'searching the galaxy' for the insectoids who threaten to overtake the two humanoid species in colonizing suitable planets.
VERY sadly, the dialogue fails the 'would anyone really say this?' question, and despite reams of explanatory text regarding everybody's relationships to everyone else, the rest of the story takes place on vague 'ships' within equally vague 'quarters', on a mission to... we don't know yet, we'll figure that part out later... THEN the ending is well, silly.
I'm honestly saddened by this book. In a worst-case scenario situation, it's lowered the enjoyability all the earlier books in the series. This five book 'generational saga' should have stopped while it was a duology, as all the subsequent entries have been sullied by this final entry.
Anne McCaffrey is an author who has always been a re-read comfort/guarantee and all unbeknownst, there was an unread title in the back catalogue....
Closing out the Tower and Hive series, we are with the children of Damia and Afra - the grandchildren of Rowan. They're with their Mdini pairs on various joint task force fleets 'searching the galaxy' for the insectoids who threaten to overtake the two humanoid species in colonizing suitable planets.
VERY sadly, the dialogue fails the 'would anyone really say this?' question, and despite reams of explanatory text regarding everybody's relationships to everyone else, the rest of the story takes place on vague 'ships' within equally vague 'quarters', on a mission to... we don't know yet, we'll figure that part out later... THEN the ending is well, silly.
I'm honestly saddened by this book. In a worst-case scenario situation, it's lowered the enjoyability all the earlier books in the series. This five book 'generational saga' should have stopped while it was a duology, as all the subsequent entries have been sullied by this final entry.
October 25, 2016
When I first read this I hated it, over time it's grown on me but I still don't like the focus on military solutions and discontent amongst talent.
Reading it so close to the others there are glaring mistakes in time lines (give up trying to work out how long a plot takes) and in character background compared to what was mentioned earlier.
The story wraps up most time lines wonderfully whilst leaving it open for future children and a life time of space travel.
Reading it so close to the others there are glaring mistakes in time lines (give up trying to work out how long a plot takes) and in character background compared to what was mentioned earlier.
The story wraps up most time lines wonderfully whilst leaving it open for future children and a life time of space travel.
July 23, 2022
I am a huge fan of this series but I would have liked another few novels, there are still unfinished stories in this world that could have been written. Some people are going on about the science or some such things; these are fiction novels not textbooks! If you want non-fiction then you are reading the wrong books. Why is it everyone must be a critic, personally I read novels for the story, characters, and to go to another place for awhile.
April 26, 2009
I hated this conclusion to the Rowan series - I read it some time ago, but remember being bored to death with page after page of space-battle and precious little of the character interaction or relationships that I read the first few books for. Yuck.
June 13, 2023
Comfort read!
May 29, 2017
The Tower and The Hive (1999) by Anne McCaffrey wraps up her tower series with the same overly fluffed prose as her other four novels. The space fleets investigate Hive worlds, come to conclusions, and work out a solution to their problems so that they can live happily ever after. That's pretty much what you'd expect out of a final book.
Sharing all the flaws of the previous tower books, this book holds no surprises or revelations, softballing the pertinent moral and ethical questions, while jumping to the socially acceptable answer. As always, any antagonist or opposer is demonstrated as having bad behavior problems and issues, rather than actually issuing opinions of merit.
For example, The Rowan's family dominates the Towers. While it's true that there's more supply than demand, this doesn't dismiss the underlying concern that there's too much power in one family's hands. Even if the accuser is jealous and xenophobic, and pouty to book, to dismiss the concern so quickly is patronizing. I don't expect the finest intellectual rigor on my McCaffrey SF, but I do demand some rigor. Answer the hard questions, or at least wrestle with them in a meaningful fashion that respects the reader.
While at one time I enjoyed books where the good guys agreed with each other, and they overcame the bad guys, now I find such writing as too pat. Conflicts are not binaries. While McCaffrey sort of gets that dynamic with the hive, as she comes to understand that genocide is genocide, she fails to apply the same consideration to human beings. The good guys need to actually work through their ethics instead of yakking away with character building scenes, and the bad guys need to present their case in a compelling manner so that they know that they've been thinking and that they're willing to ask the hard questions.
I think that this series ultimately misses for me because McCaffrey fails to build the characters, the world, and the issues, which is a stunningly failure considering that this is an SF series.
Sharing all the flaws of the previous tower books, this book holds no surprises or revelations, softballing the pertinent moral and ethical questions, while jumping to the socially acceptable answer. As always, any antagonist or opposer is demonstrated as having bad behavior problems and issues, rather than actually issuing opinions of merit.
For example, The Rowan's family dominates the Towers. While it's true that there's more supply than demand, this doesn't dismiss the underlying concern that there's too much power in one family's hands. Even if the accuser is jealous and xenophobic, and pouty to book, to dismiss the concern so quickly is patronizing. I don't expect the finest intellectual rigor on my McCaffrey SF, but I do demand some rigor. Answer the hard questions, or at least wrestle with them in a meaningful fashion that respects the reader.
While at one time I enjoyed books where the good guys agreed with each other, and they overcame the bad guys, now I find such writing as too pat. Conflicts are not binaries. While McCaffrey sort of gets that dynamic with the hive, as she comes to understand that genocide is genocide, she fails to apply the same consideration to human beings. The good guys need to actually work through their ethics instead of yakking away with character building scenes, and the bad guys need to present their case in a compelling manner so that they know that they've been thinking and that they're willing to ask the hard questions.
I think that this series ultimately misses for me because McCaffrey fails to build the characters, the world, and the issues, which is a stunningly failure considering that this is an SF series.
November 5, 2016
This book is a little clunky; especially when I compare the reading experience to Damia, which I must've re-read ten+ times between when I picked it up at twelve and about sixteen or seventeen. McCaffrey's most comfortable surroundings are not space fleets. This book may be a relatively natural conclusion to the tale of the aggressive Hivers, but it's never as interesting as when they were actually menacing humanity. In fact this book has very little in the way of villainy or opposition to the Prime Talents.
I will offer one defense of a common criticism I've seen elsewhere on here: the 'babies ever after' focus on the interpersonal level is actually completely called-for by the world-building underlying the Star League and FT&T. What tension crops up in this novel is almost entirely about birth rates: not enough Primes; the domination of the Gwyn-Ravens; even the overpopulation of the Dinis and Hivers. So of course everyone's focused on getting the next generation lined up!
I will offer one defense of a common criticism I've seen elsewhere on here: the 'babies ever after' focus on the interpersonal level is actually completely called-for by the world-building underlying the Star League and FT&T. What tension crops up in this novel is almost entirely about birth rates: not enough Primes; the domination of the Gwyn-Ravens; even the overpopulation of the Dinis and Hivers. So of course everyone's focused on getting the next generation lined up!
January 3, 2012
I really really wanted to like this book. I loved the first books of the series and re-read them over and over. The last 2 books felt 'clunky' to me, way too much 'catching up' in the beginning, I wanted to keep going with the story of the series but had to read the review because new stuff was mixed in. This book took over a chapter to get past the review.
There were a lot of moments where things didn't really make sense in the Talents dealings on the Hive worlds and I don't think I feel satisfied with the ending of the series.
There were a lot of moments where things didn't really make sense in the Talents dealings on the Hive worlds and I don't think I feel satisfied with the ending of the series.
December 29, 2013
I don't know. The rest of this series just doesn't live up to The Rowan for me at all. The final 3 books feel kind of like they just string together, and there are so many new characters tossed in along the way that you don't really get to see a strong character arc for any single protagonist. Maybe that's what bothers me most -- I like personal stories, and these novels are definitely a story of humanity vs alien invaders. Also, I have no idea what the purpose of including some of the side characters was, really.
February 28, 2016
as a note for anyone considering reading this series: the first two are fairly dated but otherwise feature excellent sci-fi heroines who are full of agency and are well-rounded characters. starting in the third book the universe expands tremendously as it becomes a mix of inter-generational family epic and pseudo-scientific space exploration, neither of which are mccaffrey's forte. this last book generally ties a very limp bow on the entire series and i cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone unless you're just a completionist.
December 1, 2008
This is the last book in McCaffrey's Talent series. It is also a particularly good book. I read Lyon's Pride and didn't know/couldn't find a sequel. I was very unhappy, because Lyon's Pride left a lot of ends loose. Then I discovered this book at the Orem Public Library and was able to finish the exquisite series. Like I have said, I read these books often. I'm never able to read one without reading the others too.
March 11, 2013
The last book set in her world of The Rowan - where a nepotistic clan of psychically gifted Talents high-handedly control shipping, communication and transportation, and deal with the major issues facing civilization (relations with aliens both friendly and inimical, overpopulation, etc..) in their own way.
Gets off to a bit of slow start, explaining prior events in this world, but soon gets going with full-blown McCaffrey soap-opera.
Gets off to a bit of slow start, explaining prior events in this world, but soon gets going with full-blown McCaffrey soap-opera.
January 8, 2011
It's the last in this storyline. How sad for me. It is a lovely conclusion to a series I very much enjoyed. Gwyn-Raven clan is quite expansive and I can see why people are envious of their power. The natural talent they have is amazing. They are the FT&T royalty. I still think this series is more for young adults rather than adults, but what do I know?
I enjoyed reading about the Gwyn-Raven(Lyon) grandkids who carry-on in their grandparent's footsteps.
I enjoyed reading about the Gwyn-Raven(Lyon) grandkids who carry-on in their grandparent's footsteps.
December 31, 2016
The last novel of the five book series. The Alliance searches for a solution to prevent the Hive from continuing its genocidal colonial expansion. As well, Zara and Elizara work with the Mrdini to explore ways of controlling their population.
I thought it was a great read, although the end did feel like there could be another novel after. The big problems get dealt with - but the social issues seem like there could be future problems for FT&T.
I thought it was a great read, although the end did feel like there could be another novel after. The big problems get dealt with - but the social issues seem like there could be future problems for FT&T.
May 26, 2020
I don't know how to feel about this book. On the one hand, there's a lot of good stuff in it. They open up more planets to colonization, get more Towers going and find out what happens when you keep Hivers planet bound and don't let them flee to find out planets to colonize (spoiler alert: a big ass war happens.)
There's a delicate problem for the Mrdinis to deal with (they're having a population explosion due to not needing to do suicide runs on Hiver ships-- so they gotta figure out birth control as it were) and there's a growing faction of militants that are tired of the Alliance between Human and Mrdini and decide to try and do something about it- and launch an assassination attempt on the high councillers, Jeff Raven and the Rowan. (Remember Clarissa from the last book? Yeah, she's back and ready to try and kill- she def doesn't succeed.) So there are more plot points that make for interesting reading and a genuinely decent story.
But on the other hand...
Kincaid and Laria hook up with an assist from their Mrdinis and I don't know how to feel about it. I mean, on the one hand, sexuality is a spectrum and they're both consenting adults, so who cares? McCaffery seems to take the tack time and time again that minds don't have gender, so a lot of the foibles of our current relationship dynamics get swept past because you can make that deep, mental connection with a person on an entirely different level. But on the other hand... why go to all the trouble of making Kincaid gay if you're going to toss that aside and stick him with Laria anyway? And with a push from the Mrdinis- who I guess can dabble in erotic dreams? It's... ugh. I genuinely don't know how to feel about it. Not crazy about it. Happy for Laria. They seem to have good rapport/connection, but... eeeeeesh.
Then there's Vagrian Beliakin, who pretty much waltzes into Clarf fully intent on displacing Kincaid and becoming Laria's lover. While it's generally agreed that he acted like a high handed and creepy ass fool, he seems jarring and probably unnecessary (and really, should have been in the last book in many ways before Laria and Kincaid get fully established- could have been a useful way to bring the two of them together.) He gets sent along for a stint in Iota Aurigae which 'adjusts' his thinking and eventually gets him his own tower on one of the new colony worlds. (Clarissa tries to recruit him, but he senses her creepy xenophobia and declines.)
The whole plot line with Beliakin just underlines a problem with the whole series in many ways: the only want to get more Talents is to, well, make babies and that has been a sort of uncomfortable undercurrent in all these books and it's the same deal with Laria. She finds a decent partner, but the idea of getting sent these high Talent males to achieve 'rapport' with her to hopefully, you know, make babies and happiness is... uncomfortable and not explored nearly enough in my opinion. Like, why would you want to sign up for this life? No one questions it. Everyone just assumes that oh, they have Talent, so they're gonna have a job working for FT and T and if they have a high enough Talent? Boom, Tower.
And then there's the end. On the one hand, okay, it's a creative and scientific solution that doesn't involve KILLING THE GIANT SPACE BUGS. But on the other hand, it just falls with a thud. So they figure out pheromones to keep the Hivers quiet and sedate. That's the big solution. That's what they've got whole fleets of ships out searching the galaxy for and it all comes down to a smell? Props for an outside the box solution I'm just not sure it made for a satisfying climax to the whole series.
But all that being said: I love these books. I love these characters. 10/10 would reccommend and read them again.
There's a delicate problem for the Mrdinis to deal with (they're having a population explosion due to not needing to do suicide runs on Hiver ships-- so they gotta figure out birth control as it were) and there's a growing faction of militants that are tired of the Alliance between Human and Mrdini and decide to try and do something about it- and launch an assassination attempt on the high councillers, Jeff Raven and the Rowan. (Remember Clarissa from the last book? Yeah, she's back and ready to try and kill- she def doesn't succeed.) So there are more plot points that make for interesting reading and a genuinely decent story.
But on the other hand...
Kincaid and Laria hook up with an assist from their Mrdinis and I don't know how to feel about it. I mean, on the one hand, sexuality is a spectrum and they're both consenting adults, so who cares? McCaffery seems to take the tack time and time again that minds don't have gender, so a lot of the foibles of our current relationship dynamics get swept past because you can make that deep, mental connection with a person on an entirely different level. But on the other hand... why go to all the trouble of making Kincaid gay if you're going to toss that aside and stick him with Laria anyway? And with a push from the Mrdinis- who I guess can dabble in erotic dreams? It's... ugh. I genuinely don't know how to feel about it. Not crazy about it. Happy for Laria. They seem to have good rapport/connection, but... eeeeeesh.
Then there's Vagrian Beliakin, who pretty much waltzes into Clarf fully intent on displacing Kincaid and becoming Laria's lover. While it's generally agreed that he acted like a high handed and creepy ass fool, he seems jarring and probably unnecessary (and really, should have been in the last book in many ways before Laria and Kincaid get fully established- could have been a useful way to bring the two of them together.) He gets sent along for a stint in Iota Aurigae which 'adjusts' his thinking and eventually gets him his own tower on one of the new colony worlds. (Clarissa tries to recruit him, but he senses her creepy xenophobia and declines.)
The whole plot line with Beliakin just underlines a problem with the whole series in many ways: the only want to get more Talents is to, well, make babies and that has been a sort of uncomfortable undercurrent in all these books and it's the same deal with Laria. She finds a decent partner, but the idea of getting sent these high Talent males to achieve 'rapport' with her to hopefully, you know, make babies and happiness is... uncomfortable and not explored nearly enough in my opinion. Like, why would you want to sign up for this life? No one questions it. Everyone just assumes that oh, they have Talent, so they're gonna have a job working for FT and T and if they have a high enough Talent? Boom, Tower.
And then there's the end. On the one hand, okay, it's a creative and scientific solution that doesn't involve KILLING THE GIANT SPACE BUGS. But on the other hand, it just falls with a thud. So they figure out pheromones to keep the Hivers quiet and sedate. That's the big solution. That's what they've got whole fleets of ships out searching the galaxy for and it all comes down to a smell? Props for an outside the box solution I'm just not sure it made for a satisfying climax to the whole series.
But all that being said: I love these books. I love these characters. 10/10 would reccommend and read them again.
May 20, 2023
Throughout my entire read though I really wanted to like this series. FT&T sounds super interesting. The hive sounds super interesting. Why are they reproducing so rapidly? What kind of society do they have? Why are they roaming the galaxy? We do get an answer to that last one. I absolutely hate the Mirdini, they're basically pets.
My final criticism, the same from the last book, why did we need to make Kincaid gay? Especially if he ends up with a woman. You could have made him straight or bi. That would have been fine. But no we had to make the one gay character become romantically and sexually involved with a woman, completely erasing his identity. Just force everything into that heterosexuality box.
' "I offer myself, Laria," he said softly in her ear. "You need someone right now and I am here." He gave a soft self-deprecating laugh.
She gripped his arm, unable to answer yet desperately wanting to agree.
You offered me friendship, dear Laria, when I needed it desperately. Why man I now assuage your need now?"
She could feel his mind touching hers, lightly at first, then stressing his remarkable offer, as his arms folded her more closely to him. She could not deny the honesty of his gesture. She most certainly could not deny her need of relief.
"Admittedly I'd be a virgin sacrifice." The laughter in his voice found an amused response in her. "But I like you better than any other woman I have ever met. And I am not the least bit intimidated by you being a Prime." He kissed her forehead and then held her away from her, seeking her eyes in the darkness as his mind sought hers on a deeper level. She did not resist. "After all, it's much the same with either partner." His mouth curled in an ironic smile. "Shall we see if we can make it together?"
She opend her mind completely and felt within him the desire to console, the respect and admiration he had for her and a suddenly fierce yearning for sexual release.
I am honored, she said.
I am horny.
That's my problem too.
Let's solve that mutual problem.
Just don't, he added, shield for or from me. '
' That was rather more than I expected, he said wryly.
And exactly what I needed, dear friend.
I am more than your friend now Laria.
Are you?
You can see that easily enough Prime.
Yes, but is it right for you?
She could feel his mental shrug, vividly accompanied by the lingering astonishment of completion with a woman.
You would consider that aspect, dear heart, he said in a droll tone. I feel we should explore the possibilities without prejudice. Certainly I have never felt such rapport with anyone since Josh died. '
' He pulled her into his arms, embracing her as tightly as he could, as if warding off any possibly harm to her or his seed in her womb. No, no, no.
Okease. To father your child? More luck than I ever dreamed would happen. As much as I can, and inspite of my orientation, I love you, Laria, as much as it is possible for me to love a woman. As tightly as he already held her, the pressure of his arms increased. '
' "Our child will have two parents and that's not negotiable, Laria Gwyn-Raven-Lyon-Dano," Kincaid said, in almost the same adamant tone Afra has used to Damia. '
My final criticism, the same from the last book, why did we need to make Kincaid gay? Especially if he ends up with a woman. You could have made him straight or bi. That would have been fine. But no we had to make the one gay character become romantically and sexually involved with a woman, completely erasing his identity. Just force everything into that heterosexuality box.
' "I offer myself, Laria," he said softly in her ear. "You need someone right now and I am here." He gave a soft self-deprecating laugh.
She gripped his arm, unable to answer yet desperately wanting to agree.
You offered me friendship, dear Laria, when I needed it desperately. Why man I now assuage your need now?"
She could feel his mind touching hers, lightly at first, then stressing his remarkable offer, as his arms folded her more closely to him. She could not deny the honesty of his gesture. She most certainly could not deny her need of relief.
"Admittedly I'd be a virgin sacrifice." The laughter in his voice found an amused response in her. "But I like you better than any other woman I have ever met. And I am not the least bit intimidated by you being a Prime." He kissed her forehead and then held her away from her, seeking her eyes in the darkness as his mind sought hers on a deeper level. She did not resist. "After all, it's much the same with either partner." His mouth curled in an ironic smile. "Shall we see if we can make it together?"
She opend her mind completely and felt within him the desire to console, the respect and admiration he had for her and a suddenly fierce yearning for sexual release.
I am honored, she said.
I am horny.
That's my problem too.
Let's solve that mutual problem.
Just don't, he added, shield for or from me. '
' That was rather more than I expected, he said wryly.
And exactly what I needed, dear friend.
I am more than your friend now Laria.
Are you?
You can see that easily enough Prime.
Yes, but is it right for you?
She could feel his mental shrug, vividly accompanied by the lingering astonishment of completion with a woman.
You would consider that aspect, dear heart, he said in a droll tone. I feel we should explore the possibilities without prejudice. Certainly I have never felt such rapport with anyone since Josh died. '
' He pulled her into his arms, embracing her as tightly as he could, as if warding off any possibly harm to her or his seed in her womb. No, no, no.
Okease. To father your child? More luck than I ever dreamed would happen. As much as I can, and inspite of my orientation, I love you, Laria, as much as it is possible for me to love a woman. As tightly as he already held her, the pressure of his arms increased. '
' "Our child will have two parents and that's not negotiable, Laria Gwyn-Raven-Lyon-Dano," Kincaid said, in almost the same adamant tone Afra has used to Damia. '
June 17, 2019
The Tower and the Hive is the final book of the series of that name. The series progresses through the generations of a family talented with special skills of telepathy, empathy and telekinesis. These skills are rare and highly prized and often found in families. I've loved the whole series of books which takes place in the Pegasus universe and continues an earlier series.
This book is not one of my favorites in the series though. It has a lot of problems and I can't help feeling like it was throne together hastily to wrap up the series. To start with it's half the size of the others and really doesn't stand alone well. It starts off with a synopsis that is wrong in places. (One major mistake lists Afra as Damia's brother, when he is actually the man she marries and has children with.)
Spoilers below:
The story mainly continues to focus on the oldest of Damia and Afra's four children and their adventures. Laria is a tower Prime so her part of the story mainly focuses around her daily activities and the man she falls in love with, Kincaid. McCaffrey has never had a problem having gay characters in her books, even back when it could cause problems, and I love that about her. But I was dubious about Kincaid transitioning from Laria's best friend to her lover, and then the father of her child. He doesn't consider himself bi, he's completely gay and they never really resolve this.
One minute he says he wishes he could be more for her, and the next he's... being more for her without any transition. There's never an 'Aha!' moment where he realizes he's bisexual or anything so it ends up feeling like Laria's wish fulfillment at the expense of Kincaid who suddenly has no issues being in a hetero relationship. There is some very brief hinting that they aren't going to be monogamous but even that isn't fleshed out much.
In the meantime Rojer, Thian, and Zara her next youngest siblings are out on spaceships dealing with the Hive aliens and trying to find a cure for the insect race's aggression. The solution is a good one though slightly anticlimactic and I really enjoyed that part of the book though predictably for a generational series it spends a lot of time hooking them up with their future mates. Both Thian and Rojer are pretty much settled on who they will be producing the next generation with though Zara never gets any romance. She is the youngest though.
Zara is another problem I have with this book though. In an earlier book she broke all the rules and all the protocol to go and save an alien hive queen. She was in tears and hysterical that they weren't treating the queen right and she was dying. It was explained away as being a high empathy rating, as well as going through puberty, and she's sent off to study with a medical T-1 which is a career that will suit her high empathy and emotions better than being a prime in a tower. But now she's out in space, on a ship, helping to hunt down the Hive planets and all of that empathy seems pretty much gone. She doesn't really seem to care if they are all killed or not except for the occasional off-hand comment or two.
So it's an okay book, and I loved seeing characters I like continuing their journeys but it seemed like it just exists to wrap up a few things that could have been done in the last book.
This book is not one of my favorites in the series though. It has a lot of problems and I can't help feeling like it was throne together hastily to wrap up the series. To start with it's half the size of the others and really doesn't stand alone well. It starts off with a synopsis that is wrong in places. (One major mistake lists Afra as Damia's brother, when he is actually the man she marries and has children with.)
Spoilers below:
The story mainly continues to focus on the oldest of Damia and Afra's four children and their adventures. Laria is a tower Prime so her part of the story mainly focuses around her daily activities and the man she falls in love with, Kincaid. McCaffrey has never had a problem having gay characters in her books, even back when it could cause problems, and I love that about her. But I was dubious about Kincaid transitioning from Laria's best friend to her lover, and then the father of her child. He doesn't consider himself bi, he's completely gay and they never really resolve this.
One minute he says he wishes he could be more for her, and the next he's... being more for her without any transition. There's never an 'Aha!' moment where he realizes he's bisexual or anything so it ends up feeling like Laria's wish fulfillment at the expense of Kincaid who suddenly has no issues being in a hetero relationship. There is some very brief hinting that they aren't going to be monogamous but even that isn't fleshed out much.
In the meantime Rojer, Thian, and Zara her next youngest siblings are out on spaceships dealing with the Hive aliens and trying to find a cure for the insect race's aggression. The solution is a good one though slightly anticlimactic and I really enjoyed that part of the book though predictably for a generational series it spends a lot of time hooking them up with their future mates. Both Thian and Rojer are pretty much settled on who they will be producing the next generation with though Zara never gets any romance. She is the youngest though.
Zara is another problem I have with this book though. In an earlier book she broke all the rules and all the protocol to go and save an alien hive queen. She was in tears and hysterical that they weren't treating the queen right and she was dying. It was explained away as being a high empathy rating, as well as going through puberty, and she's sent off to study with a medical T-1 which is a career that will suit her high empathy and emotions better than being a prime in a tower. But now she's out in space, on a ship, helping to hunt down the Hive planets and all of that empathy seems pretty much gone. She doesn't really seem to care if they are all killed or not except for the occasional off-hand comment or two.
So it's an okay book, and I loved seeing characters I like continuing their journeys but it seemed like it just exists to wrap up a few things that could have been done in the last book.
June 28, 2017
This is a disappointing end to a hit and miss series. I really enjoyed some parts of this series, particularly the 'Dini (Mrdini) species and characters and their relationships to the human characters. By the last volume, I really couldn't care less about the Hiver species. I felt that the author had largely taken all the threat out of the species by making all the contact between the Hivers and other species boring and at arms' length. Basically, the Talents solve everything with their minds. Humans and Dinis can walk around the Hivers with the Hivers not even knowing they're there. How much of a threat are the Hivers really at this point? Direct contact never actually happens, and the other two species move the Hivers around without their knowledge and pour "gentle rain from heaven" on them to keep them from being aggressive. (That phrase is from Shakespeare, which the characters apparently do not even know.) The author spent a lot of time trying to resolve the Hiver "problem" in this final volume of the series, when I would much rather have heard a lot more about the Raven & Lyon familes and how they turned out. There were way too many pointless technical conversations with characters who had no significance. I skimmed a lot of it hoping the end would get back to the main characters, and it really didn't. Disappointing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2019
Read this book in just about a day. It was a bit longer than the previous two novels in this series and picked up exactly where the previous one left off. Again, we had too many characters to keep track of, especially as more were introduced. The story progressed along smoothly, but I don't think the title was apt at all. I also find the cover art to not represent the story much, as I assume it is Damia and Afra on the cover at their Iota Aurigae tower. Who else could it be?
Ms. McCaffrey had a fine review of the previous events for those who were reading these novels as published with time gaps, or who, perhaps, had time gaps to deal with between reads. She refered back to events in context so the reader would remember the peak points.
Overall, I enjoyed the story, although I found one of the unions to be rather trite and I imagine even offensive for some readers. I think you can tell the author is getting older as she writes these novels because certain things you just don't see from younger authors.
Ms. McCaffrey had a fine review of the previous events for those who were reading these novels as published with time gaps, or who, perhaps, had time gaps to deal with between reads. She refered back to events in context so the reader would remember the peak points.
Overall, I enjoyed the story, although I found one of the unions to be rather trite and I imagine even offensive for some readers. I think you can tell the author is getting older as she writes these novels because certain things you just don't see from younger authors.
March 7, 2021
The Tower and the Hive
More and more the Hivers need to be confined to their planets so that no one is killed or harmed but how to do that without killing them off? It takes a few specialists awhile to come to the conclusion that pheromones have much to do with keeping them docile. Now any planet that is found gets sprayed with the special treatment of pheromones to keep them docile.
Now that the Mrdini are not having to go into battle with the Hivers they are having a population problem and need help with that and one of Damia’s children Zara, is helping to solve the problem. She has also learned that it’s to do with some of the special ingredients that are used when the Dinis are hibernating that cause them to create another Dini. Simple but so hard for other Dinis to accept that it must be changed after so many years of doing same thing to change for the better.
So many things can be simple and yet can be hard at the same time as change is difficult but if no change then how do you grow?
More and more the Hivers need to be confined to their planets so that no one is killed or harmed but how to do that without killing them off? It takes a few specialists awhile to come to the conclusion that pheromones have much to do with keeping them docile. Now any planet that is found gets sprayed with the special treatment of pheromones to keep them docile.
Now that the Mrdini are not having to go into battle with the Hivers they are having a population problem and need help with that and one of Damia’s children Zara, is helping to solve the problem. She has also learned that it’s to do with some of the special ingredients that are used when the Dinis are hibernating that cause them to create another Dini. Simple but so hard for other Dinis to accept that it must be changed after so many years of doing same thing to change for the better.
So many things can be simple and yet can be hard at the same time as change is difficult but if no change then how do you grow?
March 28, 2022
Another good - but only good - book in the series. I recognize that authors sometimes bite off more than they can chew (so to speak) and so the last book of a series has to tie up a lot of loose ends, but I really do not like using the proverbial miracle to do so.
The plot line is still good - but some of what happens is just way too contrived and - in some cases - inconsistent with things we learn in previous books. For example, recently 'ported message tubes are very cold to the touch, having traveled through space. However, transferring living material (without a pod) works just fine in this book. The fact that some of the work ends up bringing all of the families together is more of a family reunion than something required by the task. It was a disappointing end to the series.
The plot line is still good - but some of what happens is just way too contrived and - in some cases - inconsistent with things we learn in previous books. For example, recently 'ported message tubes are very cold to the touch, having traveled through space. However, transferring living material (without a pod) works just fine in this book. The fact that some of the work ends up bringing all of the families together is more of a family reunion than something required by the task. It was a disappointing end to the series.
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