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A review by mastersal
Damia by Anne McCaffrey
3.0
For some reason the blurb on goodreads does not match the one on the book. For reference I am copying the blurb from Amazon which matches the new paperback printing:
“Damia is the daughter of Prime Talents The Rowan and Jeff Raven. Her own telepathic and telekinetic abilities manifested at an early age, unimaginable powers even greater than her parents’, challenging to wield much less control. As willful as her mother ever was, Damia defies her family’s attempts to tame and train her—only to bond with Afra Lyon, a Talent who serves The Rowan, and who becomes the object of her affection.
When she comes of age, Damia learns that a Prime of her capabilities and temperament has no time for love. Assigned to serve the farthest human colonized world from Earth, Damia leads a lonely existence until she telepathically connects with an alien presence in another galaxy—a potential threat not only to Damia, but to the love Afra wants to share with her…”
So continuing my self-flagellation (see: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2574316936?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1), I picked this up due to another awful cover design - it made the book seems more like paranormal self-published book than a book by one of the most beloved sci-fi authors out there. I still miss the classic cover with Damia slouching front and centre; it had this impudent panache that is missing in this new one. (I will say that the paperback was printed in 1993 so perhaps that explains the cover. Anyone know the cover trends from that time?)
Anne McCaffrey remains a favourite author for me; her books are simple and tell a generally cracking story. The world building is not as complex in each book but overall, when the series are put together, the worlds and scenarios she has created are seminal. As I have aged, some of the issues with Ms. McCaffrey’s are more obvious but I do generally enjoy them - nostalgia perhaps?
With that caveat aside, this book was very confusing for me. I raced through it as it is a very readable book which is more domestic than grand space opera. This book is basically family-life in space which is important to keep in mind. Despite the last minute action and the sci-fi setting this is more domestic saga than anything. Some of the domestic, child-rearing sections are quite fun actually. It reminds me a bit of the Jetsons actually which could be a good thing depending on your tastes.
However, structurally, this book has some significant oddities. The first 20% or so is a recap of Book 1 told from Afra (our hero???) perspective. It wasn’t necessarily an issue, if a little long, but devoting so much space to Afra was odd. In a book about Damia why would we spend the first quarter on a recap and through the love-interest’s POV. Why not call this book Afra?
This was the beginning of a series of odd choices. The extended focus on Afra before Damia was even born made the entire dynamic creep. I got the need for a focus on the main male lead (and love interest) but the dynamic he had with Rowan become quite creepy as we know he’ll “bond” with Rowan’s daughter thanks to the blurb. (On a side note, the Rowan regresses to hysterical and high-strung which was “fun” to read - not).
There are so many of these that I could basically go through the entire book and point odd thing out (the twins, the age difference, the focus on baby Damia with Afra as her caregiver!). However, despite that I don't think it matters to the actual reading experience based on the strength of the writing. The plot was not great but the book felt like candy - it gave me a high while I was reading it but I felt a little nauseous after a while.
I am going with 3 stars in the end as I enjoyed reading it so I am sticking to my scale. I am not sure why this wasn’t a worse book because this is an odd duck of a book. Ah well - I am still going to finish the series.
PS. Afra has green skin - what? I know I shouldn’t be euro-centric and assume whiteness but green? That wasn’t explained at all.
“Damia is the daughter of Prime Talents The Rowan and Jeff Raven. Her own telepathic and telekinetic abilities manifested at an early age, unimaginable powers even greater than her parents’, challenging to wield much less control. As willful as her mother ever was, Damia defies her family’s attempts to tame and train her—only to bond with Afra Lyon, a Talent who serves The Rowan, and who becomes the object of her affection.
When she comes of age, Damia learns that a Prime of her capabilities and temperament has no time for love. Assigned to serve the farthest human colonized world from Earth, Damia leads a lonely existence until she telepathically connects with an alien presence in another galaxy—a potential threat not only to Damia, but to the love Afra wants to share with her…”
So continuing my self-flagellation (see: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2574316936?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1), I picked this up due to another awful cover design - it made the book seems more like paranormal self-published book than a book by one of the most beloved sci-fi authors out there. I still miss the classic cover with Damia slouching front and centre; it had this impudent panache that is missing in this new one. (I will say that the paperback was printed in 1993 so perhaps that explains the cover. Anyone know the cover trends from that time?)
Anne McCaffrey remains a favourite author for me; her books are simple and tell a generally cracking story. The world building is not as complex in each book but overall, when the series are put together, the worlds and scenarios she has created are seminal. As I have aged, some of the issues with Ms. McCaffrey’s are more obvious but I do generally enjoy them - nostalgia perhaps?
With that caveat aside, this book was very confusing for me. I raced through it as it is a very readable book which is more domestic than grand space opera. This book is basically family-life in space which is important to keep in mind. Despite the last minute action and the sci-fi setting this is more domestic saga than anything. Some of the domestic, child-rearing sections are quite fun actually. It reminds me a bit of the Jetsons actually which could be a good thing depending on your tastes.
However, structurally, this book has some significant oddities. The first 20% or so is a recap of Book 1 told from Afra (our hero???) perspective. It wasn’t necessarily an issue, if a little long, but devoting so much space to Afra was odd. In a book about Damia why would we spend the first quarter on a recap and through the love-interest’s POV. Why not call this book Afra?
This was the beginning of a series of odd choices. The extended focus on Afra before Damia was even born made the entire dynamic creep. I got the need for a focus on the main male lead (and love interest) but the dynamic he had with Rowan become quite creepy as we know he’ll “bond” with Rowan’s daughter thanks to the blurb. (On a side note, the Rowan regresses to hysterical and high-strung which was “fun” to read - not).
There are so many of these that I could basically go through the entire book and point odd thing out (the twins, the age difference, the focus on baby Damia with Afra as her caregiver!). However, despite that I don't think it matters to the actual reading experience based on the strength of the writing. The plot was not great but the book felt like candy - it gave me a high while I was reading it but I felt a little nauseous after a while.
I am going with 3 stars in the end as I enjoyed reading it so I am sticking to my scale. I am not sure why this wasn’t a worse book because this is an odd duck of a book. Ah well - I am still going to finish the series.
PS. Afra has green skin - what? I know I shouldn’t be euro-centric and assume whiteness but green? That wasn’t explained at all.