Crystal Singer

Anne McCaffrey

Killashandra thought her world had ended when she was told she would never become a concert singer.And then she met the stranger from off-world.

He said he was a Crystal Singer – one of the unique ones of the Galaxy – and when Killashandra tried to find out what a Crystal Singer was the answers were vague, obscure.All she could discover was that they were special people, shrouded in mystery, and danger, and beauty – and something altogether incomprehensible.

It was then that she decided that she too must try and become a Crystal Singer.

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One of the things I like best about McCaffrey’s writing is how she is able to create new worlds that fit within the universe she has already established without seeming out of place. There is only the occasional mention of things from the rest of the universe, the focus is all on the Crystal Singers and their world, but there’s enough there to know that so many of the different books are connected, even if only distantly.

The first two thirds of the book are better than the last; Killashandra Ree is a very good character, well-written and interesting and McCaffrey really lets you get to know her, and the world she joins, full of danger though it is, has an appeal to it. The secondary characters are decent but not quite as well fleshed out as Killashandra, which makes them harder to connect with.

When she has to go off-planet for a contract, though, I begin to lose interest. It’s still well-written, but I just don’t find this part of the book to be as interesting.

If you like quality sci-fi with a well-developed world, then you should check this book out, and its sequels.