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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Anne McCaffrey fans will enjoy this.,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Dragonholder (Hardcover)
Anne McCaffrey's son Todd has given us a pleasant, entertaining book about his mother, the people and animals in her life, and her writing. There are many photos scattered throughout. Don't expect a detailed, chronological biography or extensive coverage of her books. Here's what you can read about here: her dogs (Wizard, Merlin, Angelo), cats (Thomas-cat, Maxwell Smart, Isaac Asimov), and horse (Mr. Ed). There's a delightful account of an unlikely friendship between Mr. Ed and a cat named Zeke. Other highlights include Anne's early acting and singing career; her culinary talents; how life experiences influenced her books; her family heritage of "second sight"; the world of SF writers, editors and conventions; her move from the U.S. to Ireland in 1970; and the success of her dragon series. Toward the end of the book, Anne acquires her County Wicklow home, which she would name Dragonhold because her dragons had bought it for her.
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thank you, Todd, for this lovely book!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Dragonholder (Hardcover)
Todd McCaffrey - you remember him from "Decision at Doona" don't you? - writes an incredibly lovely book about how his mother came to be one of the most-loved authors (you DID know she writes genres other than science fiction, didn't you?). The pictures of Ed and Zeke, of Isaac Asimov (both man and cat), of Andre Norton and Harlan Ellison, would make this book a must-have, in themselves. But, Todd does a masterful job of telling Anne's story, and his own, and I truly enjoyed it. Don't expect a 1,000 page treatise. This is just the right length to be enjoyed over and over - and I will!
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Charming Fragments of a Life,
This review is from: Dragonholder (Hardcover)
The only criticism possible for this biography of Anne McCaffrey by her son, Todd, is that it is too short. The book is a must-read for any Anne McCaffrey fan, but will leave any such fan saying "More! More!" It tells in brief her family background and the story of her life in a series of family anecdotes and his own favorite memories of growing up with his mother. What is in the book is lovely and charming and interesting and often quite touching, but it is disjointed and reads more like a sketch than a real biography. What you are left with is a sense of what an interesting person she is and how much you'd like to hear more, to have a really well-rounded portrait. That lack is why I gave it only four stars instead of five. Still, you are left with a new awareness of how incredibly brave Anne McCaffrey was and is. She wrote her wonderful dragon stories under the worst possible conditions -- an unhappy, difficult marriage, raising three children, one quite ill for some years, frequent moves, the death of her father, serious money worries. Through it all, she kept writing and was clearly an excellent mother. That alone makes her an inspiration. Read the book knowing its limitations and enjoying learning some charming fragments of a life.
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