Freedom's Ransom [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Anne McCaffrey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2002

When Kris Bjornsen and her fellow slaves were dumped on an uninhabited planet by the alien Catteni overlords, they would surely have died-without the help of Zainal, a renegade Catteni exiled by his own people. But they did survive on the planet they named Botany, and in time they drove the Catteni away from Earth and neighboring planets.

Technologically limited but rich in natural resources, Botany must find its place in the newly configured universe. A trip to Earth shows Kris and Zainal how desperately the devastated home planet needs what Botany can give. Other worlds too have had their wealth skimmed by the Catteni regime; the nearby planet of Barevi is little more than a corrupt bazaar, where bits and pieces of Earth's once powerful technology can be traded for with grain and mineral ores. Earth needs food. Botany needs technology-and, some say, the will to protect itself from being overrun by refugees. As alien influence fades, the people of Botany must decide what kind of world they will become.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Freedom's Ransom is the fourth novel in Anne McCaffrey's Freedom series, also known as the Catteni Sequence. The sequel to Freedom's Landing, Freedom's Choice, and Freedom's Challenge, Freedom's Ransom will please some fans of this star-spanning science fiction series, but others will find the book slow-paced, talky, and lacking in action. Freedom's Ransom ends conclusively, with no major unresolved plot lines, yet leaves space for at least one sequel.

The planet Botany was settled by a mixed group of humans and aliens, slaves of the alien Catteni and their alien masters, the Eosi. But one Catteni was dropped on Botany with the slaves: Zainal, who helped them win their independence. Now Botany must establish trade with other planets in order to survive. But the other worlds have been ravaged by the Catteni, and once-proud Earth has been reduced to primitive poverty, its technology stolen by corrupt Barevi merchants. To save Botany, Zainal and Kris Bjornsen, his human lover, must find a way to help all the worlds.

While the preface of Freedom's Ransom crisply summarizes the preceding books, this series has so many characters, races, and planets that newcomers should start with the first book, Freedom's Landing. Sophisticated SF readers aren't likely to enjoy the series, but it should hook young adults; if you're looking to broaden a child's reading beyond Harry Potter, try Anne McCaffrey's Freedom series and Dragonriders of Pern series. --Cynthia Ward --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Coffee, not oil, becomes black gold in this eagerly awaited fourth volume in McCaffrey's intriguing Catteni/Freedom series (Freedom's Landing, etc.), which focuses on the business side of revolution. On Earth and the planets Barevi and Botany in the not-so-distant future, the traditional gold standard has fallen and coffee, fresh bread and meat become more valuable than diamonds when trading for the technological parts stolen by greedy Catteni mercenaries for the evil Eosi. These vital aerospace supplies will aid Terrans and Botany colonists seeking independence from the Eosi, whose barbaric routine of loot, pillage and destroy includes removing entire urban populations and selling them to other Catteni worlds as slaves. "I dropped. I stay," is the rallying cry of Zainal, a rebel Catteni who's taken from a prison on Barevi, a trading center for the Catteni Empire, and "dropped" with other slaves of assorted species on Botany, owned by the mysterious Farmers. Zainal becomes a reluctant leader of the other slaves and becomes mate to Terran Kris Bjornsen. Zainal and his team ultimately undertake two missions one to Earth, to acquire coffee beans and dental equipment for Dr. Eric Sachs, Botany colonist and former Manhattanite, and one to Barevi, to barter the beans and dentistry, turning this installment into an entertaining lesson on supply and demand. The visit to a bleak Manhattan after the Eosian looting is as disturbing, touching and humorous as the trading in the Barevian market. awards, McCaffrey was the recipient of the American Library Association's 1999 Margaret A. Edwards Life Achievement Award.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: BCA / Book Club (May 31, 2002)
• ISBN-10: 0399148892
• ASIN: B00008MNUO
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,077,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anne McCaffrey, the Hugo Award-winning author of the bestselling Dragonriders of Pern® novels, is one of science fiction's most popular authors. With Elizabeth Ann Scarborough she co-authored Changelings and Maelstrom, Books One and Two of The Twins of Petaybee. McCaffrey lives in a house of her own design, Dragonhold-Underhill, in County Wicklow, Ireland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Did Anne McCaffrey really write this book??, January 28, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Freedom's Ransom (Paperback)

I found this book to be very inconsistent with McCaffrey's other writing. Not only was it a much more plodding book, with a ill-defined story line, but it did not continue the series well. Some characters just dropped out of sight. A couple of new characters were introduced for no apparent reason. The characters who continued from previous books didn't have the same voices and went from interesting, unique people to flat charicatures. References to the Eosi who plagued Botany in the first books suddenly had a different name -- an inconsistency that is rather unusual for McCaffrey. I was extremely disappointed and have a hard time believing that this was written by the talented author of the other Freedom books, the Dragonrider books, and all the other wonderful books she's written. She's never told a story so poorly, that I've read.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Big Disappointment, June 20, 2002

By 

Altogirl (NY, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freedom's Ransom (Hardcover)

As a big McCaffrey fan, I had looked forward to this one. Unfortunately, it lacks the depth and character development of the earlier books in the series, and the plot is all over the place and boring at the same time. I found this the most disappointing of any book I have read by this author, and I've read all her SF.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, October 30, 2003

By 

Mark Attico "Let's Go Devils!" (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Freedom's Ransom (Paperback)

I read the first three books in the Freedom series and while they weren't on par with the Pern or Ship series, they were solid enough to keep me moving on to the next book...up until I came to Freedom's Ransom. It was dragging along so slow that I decided to check here and see whether it picked towards the end. Unfortunately, it appears most of the reviewers agree with me -- this is not a very good book.

I've been reading all of Anne McCafferey's books for a good 15 years now, and I suppose that everyone has to eventually produce a dud. If I were to sum up the plot of the book after 204 of 287 pages, I would only need 2 words: Coffee and teeth. That's it. After everything that's happened so far in this series, that's an awful long plunge back into reality. Sure, there's going to be rebuilding, but this doesn't offer anything in the way of intrigue, excitement, interesting characters...nuthin. Thankfully I got this series at the library instead of spending money on it, but if there is a 5th book in the series I may be hard pressed to check that one out unless I hear glowing reviews first based on number four falling flat.