Reviews for Crystal Line

The average rating for Crystal Line based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2021-07-20 00:00:00 Michael Hayden Heh, I noticed that my rating is already the most liked "review" of this book despite (or perhaps because of) not being accompanied by any words. The truth is I could give an extensive account of what I remember about this trilogy in one short paragraph. I do, however, remember that I enjoyed it when I read it back in the 80s/90s. Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes

Review # 2 was written on 2011-05-18 00:00:00 Shane Nugent Anne McCaffrey's books usually get a 3 from me, meaning "Don't expect to get much of lasting value from this, but it's fun." But this one falls below that line. Its plot is not really interesting or believable... in fact I can hardly remember it though I read it just a few months ago (& have been, since I signed up, reviewing books I read years ago which I remember just fine.) It seems as if this book exists simply to solve Killashandra's problems so she can live Happily Ever After. Apparently with emphasis on the "Ever". This is also the book that made me fully aware of the worst flaw in McCaffrey's writing. There's a scene in which the strange, living substance the characters have discovered and nicknamed Jewel Junk is examined by a scientist, who calls it Fluid Metal or FM for short. He is repeatedly ridiculed by Killashandra and her friend for wanting them to call the stuff by his new scientific name, and he responds by being pedantic and whiny. It is ridiculously exaggerated. Basically he has been created as a target for their scorn; his whininess is to be despised by the reader, while it's clear Killashandra's mockery is to be interpreted as simply her being cool and mouthy. This scene opened my eyes to all the other instances of the same thing throughout her work. Basically she has Chosen Characters. They are special, and other people hate them because they are special. (And the idea that some people are special and some are not is deliberately inherent in many of her sci-fi creations: dragonriders, Talents, crystal singers.) They are persecuted, but in the end they come out on top. All their decisions are right, and if they are ill-tempered (like Killashandra) or even do harm to others (like Piemur, who steals a valuable fire-lizard egg from a Bad Character) they never get called on it. They are never in the wrong. Acts which get roundly condemned if done by a non-Chosen Character (like gossip and backstabbing) are OK if done by a Chosen Character because they're just telling it like it is. I don't like this trope one bit. I think it's morally harmful. When we read a feel-good book we do it to identify with the main character and enjoy the ride, and this ride includes identifying with the main character in the belief that we are special and anyone who finds fault with us is Bad. Then we come back to the real world... and treat that rival co-worker the way Anne McCaffrey treats, say, Kylara. Real great.