For young women only?

[Brian G Turner]

I heard a claim that Anne McCaffrey is written specifically for an audience of young women. Is that claim even remotely true, and does that predispose that her writings are not going to be very accessible for a male readership?

 

[nemogbr]

I've never heard that name before, as I've found it very attractive for a male readership.


C'mon Dragons and Dragonriders?

Enough said. What male with any sense of adventure would not find it an attractive day dream?

 

[Sirathiel]

Maybe this (unfounded) claim has it's roots in the fact that Anne McCaffrey was one of the first writer's to focus on a female heroine?

Her books don't strike me as uninteresting for a male readership though,...

 

[Princess Ivy]

I am a girl! I love McCaffrey and am a member of her forum, which seems to have an equal number of male and female devotees!
I you can overlook horrific errors in continuity (which I obviously can), and like Sci-Fi that is not all doom and gloom, her work is well written. Dragon series can be a bit long, there are so many and not written in sequence, but worth the read. Also the Tower and Hive and talents of earth series. Don't for get the Ship series and Acorna. I wasn't able to get into the others, which were written with partners.

 

[Mark Robson]

McCaffrey's writing is definitely not just for girls. Alright, I grant you that her lead roles are often female - often, but not always - but that matters not. Some of the best heroic fantasy that I've read in recent years was written with a heroine lead. If you haven't read Elizabeth Moon's 'Deed of Paksenarrion' series, then I would highly recommend it. Personally, I believe it's one of the best works of fantasy to appear in many years.

The Tower and Hive Series, The Crystal Singer Series and the Dragonriders of Pern all feature heavily on my bookshelves and have done since I purchased my first one - price £1.00! (Boy do I feel old) Even now I re-read them - I read Dragonsong only last week.

Sadly, I think that Anne has probably written her best work. I confess that I was disappointed with the last in the Tower and Hive series, but that said, I am willing to accept that any author can have an 'off book', and I will continue to buy her work anyway out of respect for her previous consistency.

 

[dwndrgn]

While I can see where a person might imagine that this is true, once having read more than one of her books their perspective might change. As has been said, she features both male and female leads, plenty of dragons and fighting and a good mix of a bunch of other stuff that may appeal to many different readers. I could be biased though, I began reading her books when I was a young adult and considering that I'm also female...

 

[Princess Ivy]

*Note, the dragon series is now being revived in partnership with her son Todd. Dragons Kin is on my Amazon wish list and app a sequel to Nemisha's ship is also on the cards...*

 

[Leto]

Do you have to start with volume One or, as Discworld, all books can be read independantly ?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

The Dragonsinger books were obviously written for (though not ONLY for) younger and perhaps female readers, but everything else of McCaffrey's seems to have appeal right across the board. After all, she had a fine career writing science fiction ( and that rare hybrid science fantasy) back when a large majority of readers of speculative fiction were male.

 

[Princess Ivy]

Do you have to start with volume One or, as Discworld, all books can be read independantly ?

Thats a difficult one to answer!
In the pegasus and tower and hive sequences, (which are one serries but two different starting points), the first novel writen was the Rowan. However, the technical start of the story is To ride a Pegasus.
As well as serveral short stories
With the dragon Riders of pern sequence, the first part is a collection of short stories, however this is writen a lot later, called the chronicles of Pern.
The first full length novel in the time continum is Dragon Dawn, but the first Novel writen in the series is Dragonflight, followed by Dragon Quest.

Luckily enough, each novel stands on its own. I personally read dragon Dawn first, and found it difficult to get into. Once i'd made it into the book, however, my imagination was caught. Its more sci-fi than fantasy. After i'd read dragonflight however i found dragonsdawn far more readable.

One of the problems, however, is her continuity. Its attrocious. more as in forgetting the names and details of secondary characters and actual events.
eg: in dragonflight the name of the oldtime weyr leader is T'ron, in dragonsquest it becoms t'ton, then changes back in other books
At the end of the Pegasus sequence, Callisto base is opened, however, in the Rowan (set several hundered years later) Callisto base is new.
These little lapses don't affect overall enjoyment though.

And both series are very positive and uplifting.
The brainship sequences are a little more challenging, posing questions to which the answers are not easy, and sometimes the solution is to learn to live with things.

The Freedom Landing series and Shinara sequences, I found very disjointed and not very enjoyable, while the acorna sequence seemed very young and Niave to me.

She also wrote a sequence about space pirates in collaboration with someonelse that just put me to sleep. and i never could get into them. far to much influence from the collaborator.

 

[Leto]

Ok, I'll just go and check what's available in the bookshop. Thanks for the indication princess (nice avatar btw).

 

[Neil040]

McCaffrey's writing is definitely not just for girls. Alright, I grant you that her lead roles are often female - often, but not always - but that matters not.

I agree with that Mark.. I too read her first Pern book when it was newly published.. loved it and her books were always on my mind looking out for the next one every time I went to the bookshops... so many years since I last read one tho as I drifted away from her.. but still have happy memories of reading them way back when...

 

[Alexa]

I've just finished Damia. I would say Damia was written for a young and adult audiance, both women and male. It's interesting, easy to read, not very difficult in names, easy to love the characters and follow them in this special life of telepaths. It's true you have to wait till the middle of the book to meet Damia, but it's worth waiting.

 

[Princess Ivy]

although i do love pern, my heart does lie with the tower and hive sequence. I love all of the characters, and how they manage to rise above their pain and problems. Its inspirational work, for everyone.

 

[Sirathiel]

Do you have to start with volume One or, as Discworld, all books can be read independantly ?

Actually, there's an official reading guide out there in the net. I followed it and didn't get lost.

Dragonflight
Dragonquest
Dragonsong
Dragonsinger
Dragondrums

That's the order of the first books as I remember it. Sadly, Anne McCaffrey's homepage seems to be down or something. The guide was put up there... Hopefully, it'll get fixed soon.

 

[Leto]

Ok thanks for the info, I'll keep that in mind when looking for the books.

 

[Princess Ivy]

That's the order of the first books as I remember it. Sadly, Anne McCaffrey's homepage seems to be down or something. The guide was put up there... Hopefully, it'll get fixed soon.

The kitchen Table has closed down. I have posted this and several sister site addys in another thread

 

[Amber]

Hm actually I found it the other way round. Anne McCaffrey's female 'heroines' always irritated me a lot. They weren't the sort of heroines I like. Her 'heroines' relied on men, and were fairly often used as adjuncts. Their roles are not as important within the series. As far as I remember there was never a Female Earth Prime, even though the Rowan was just as strong as her husband. Damia falls in love with Sodian showing her essential fallibility and blindness. She quite willingly strips naked to attract Afra- is this the mark of a self possessed intelligent woman?

With the Dragon riders, woman are forced to sleep with someone not of their choice, simply because their dragons mated with a man's bronze dragon. I remember one book about a girl with a queen dragon who didn't want to sleep around. I can't remember her name except that she ended up with Fnor, it was Bren or something. Anyhow she was laughed at and her viewpoint misunderstood. Women were drudges- Lessa before her dragon. They were allowed no dragons other than queens and later in the series greens, and even then only under sufference, and those queens are there to produce eggs. Why were the queens riders not the squadron commanders? It was their mates the wing flyers who were and who ruled the Weyr.

In every book, women are portrayed as always needing a man to support them, and usually as being less powerful than men. When a strong, intelligent, beautiful woman does crop up, she is invariably cast as the evil man hunting, crop stealing bandit leader.

Don't get me wrong with this little impassioned speech. I enjoyed her books, and I even still read them occasinally. I accept they were written in a slightly different time, but as a sixteen year old girl myself I can safely say that most intelligent woman would not relish being an Anne McCaffrey character. For a strong woman hero who retains sexuality look at Eowyn (LOTR,) Althea (Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders, Ursula le Guins female characters etc.

Sorry for writing so much, but it is a subject I feel strongly on.

 

[Lacedaemonian]

most intelligent women would not relish being an Anne McCaffrey character

Excellent.

 

[Amber]

Thanks ^^ Do you agree then?