Customer Reviews

Decision At Doona

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book originally in its second or third printing. It was the first science fiction book I ever bought, and I freely admit I bought it because it had a giant cat on the cover. In the over 25 years since I bought it, I have read and re-read it more times than I can remember. The spirit of the colonists (both races) who wanted nothing more than to escape their stagnating worlds; the Hrrubans' sense of humor when they realized the humans thought they were savages; the release for Todd to discover there was indeed still a world where children can play and make the noises of childhood; all of these things are portrayed as fully as the bureaucracies that had me grinding my teeth in sympathetic frustration for both the Terrans and the Hrrubans. I later discovered Pern and Ms. McCaffrey's other worlds but Doona has always been my first love. The sequels to the original came many years after but they are no less dogeared, at least in my library. And In MY library, Ms. McCaffrey's worlds take up more than one shelf. I have everything she ever wrote except for one mainstream romance and can recommend her books to anyone (and have, many times).

I was so tired of sci-fi books dealing with Humans going out to murder another race. This book gave a welcome change, two completely different species working together to create a new world for themselves. I've never read the sequels, but having just read this book alone was wonderful.

This is an excellent first-contact story...it shows the paronoia and xenophobia on both sides with good characterization. A tad dated, by today's standards, though...it was first published in 1969, and it shows in the technology level of the humans (about equivalent to the "Star Wars" films, with a few exceptions, while the Hrrubans are fully at the "Star Trek" technology level). On the whole, though, a great tale of trust, friendship, and the ability to rise above deeply ingrained fears and past failures

I enjoyed this book a lot. The writing style was not flowery or poetic, just easy to follow and understand. Ken, Hrrestan, and the other main characters are interesting and fun to read about, and we sympathize for the human colonists as they try to understand a new alien race, and face the possibility of having to leave this paradise of a colony world to return to an overpopulated and excessively structured Earth. Don't miss it.

I've read many books by Anne McCaffrey, and I wouldn't be able to choose a favourite out of them all, but Descision at Doona is definitely in the Top 10. A thought-provoking tale about the tentative meeting of two species with dubious pasts in a friendship that will surpass barriers of fear and domination for the first time in both of their histories. I can read it over and over again.

This book is the best I have read! It is surprisingly realistic and suspenseful writing. For an even larger surprise, don't read the character list until AFTER reading the book. When the hammer finally falls you will be SO surprised!

I hate to say I've been around this long, but I still have my April '69 copy. I have the whole series...as I do all of her works. This is a really great premise of 2 extremely different clutures which are remarkably alike. From the common people to the way their worlds are run...and how they can work together when they work at it. This is one of my favorite series period...and I recommend it highly to all of "the next generation"!

I enjoyed this book as a child, but re-reading it as an adult was disappointing. It's hard to believe I didn't notice at the time how absolutely pathetic the female characters are. Though set in the future, women cook and look after children - that's it! The protagonist's wife is the only woman who gets to say more than a sentence or two and she spends most of her time in tears. Except when cooking. The author was able to create female characters who weren't idiots in the Pern books, so it's surprising that she made no such attempt here. Even thirty years ago, this should have seemed oldfashioned, and it certainly isn't necessary to the plot. Perhaps the sequels were more believable in this area, but I am reluctant to try them now.

My overall impression after reading this book was that it was a cute little sci-fi throwaway novel.

As a lot of people have pointed out, the book is over thirty years old, and it shows. The portrayal of the women is enough to make you cringe. They are perfect housewives who have a sole purpose of keeping a clean home and raising the children while their `men folk' do all the hunting and gathering. I thought it was ironic that the aliens seemed to be more advanced in that regard than the humans.

Todd, the child character was written so that he seemed almost cartoonish. Although he was six he had an entire ship load of people in terror at his tantrums. At times when I was reading his descriptions and his terrors though the book I was wondering out loud if this was a joke.

Also the ending, with all the different earth organizations just outright confused me. Eventually I lost track of trying to keep track of the names of the government officials because I eventually realized it didn't even matter.

So why did I give this four stars? The plot itself was very original. I loved the way that Anne Mccaffrey painted life on earth. It really drew you in and made you realize truly how desperately the colonists needed to get out. The aliens were original as well, and I truly enjoyed the twist at the end (which I will not give away here).

So despite its major flaws in the characters, the book didn't make me feel like I wasted my time. My advice is to read it knowing that you will be reading something that was written in a society with a different set of gender morals. If anything it shows how things have changed since then - for the better!

Humans are forbidden to have contact with other intelligent races in space. That edict comes as a result of the fact that human contact with the Swiannese race resulted in their mass suicide. This rule is tested when a race of human colonists finds that they are not alone on their uninhabited planet.

The writing in the book is spare and often elegant. While elements of the plot show its age, it demonstrates McCaffrey's consummate skill as a science fiction/fantasy author.