28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A mixed bag, but has some goodies you can't get elsewhere., February 18, 2001
This review is from: Get Off the Unicorn (Mass Market Paperback)
I'll at least mention all 13 stories, none of which have anything to do with Acorna, to the best of my limited knowledge of that book. McCaffrey originally intended to call *this* book _Get *Of* the Unicorn_, but she felt that the name suggested by a printing error had more pizzazz. The cover art on the current edition is from "The Smallest Dragonboy", the only Pern story in the book.
My first thought when _The Rowan_ came out, and again when I first leafed through _Freedom's Landing_: "She decided to roll those ideas out of storage after all." It's been a little surreal, wondering if I alone remembered the original short stories. :)
"Lady in the Tower" (1959) and "A Meeting of Minds" (1969) - the predecessors to _The Rowan_ and _Damia_.
"Daughter" (1971), "Dull Drums" (1973) - Nick and Nora (no, not Charles, but Fenn) are the twin children of a farmer who's obsessed with having Nick enter the family business (he couldn't care much less about his daughter, or that Nick wants to work with animals instead). Guess which twin gets the higher scholastic scores? "Daughter" is a bit predictable, but these two stories are OK, really. They're set in what would now be the near future; the academic system works differently. The vibes are a bit like the _Pegasus_ universe, to me, without the ESP.
"Changeling" - This self-described 'unusual experiment in human relationships' seems to have some gaping plot holes. Claire, living with Roy and Ellyot (who have a relationship), apparently married her husband, Chess, mostly to have children. The story never covers the details of how Chess went from storming out of his first meeting with Roy to the point of not only moving in, but accepting `oh by the way, I want to have Roy's child first, by artificial insemination'. We're not told, much less shown, how/why Chess changed his attitude; in fact, the story jumps from `architect for the new kitchen' to `husband' in about a paragraph.
"Weather on Welladay" (1969) - This one was written to fit the cover art of the magazine it originally appeared in. Whaling, on Welladay, means 'milking' the whales for radioactive iodine - now someone's pirating iodine and leaving whales to die.
"The Thorns of Barevi" (1970) - The origin of the Freedom series; originally written to cash in on the soft-porn market, as mentioned by an earlier reviewer.
"Horse from a Different Sea" - This is a sly reversal of the 'aliens need our women' type of plot in movies like "I Married a Monster from Outer Space" (not a bad movie, actually). Here, the alien passing herself off as a prostitute needs men - but *they're* the ones who become pregnant. The town doctor is the narrator for this one. Most of them are grown men cheating on their wives; the Boy Scout mentioned by a previous reviewer is an exception.
"Great Canine Chorus" (1971) - One night on their beat, Pete Roberts' K-9 partner, Wizard, acts a bit as though he's possessed. He is - by Maria, a 9-year-old telepath suffering from neglect. She has several parapsychic abilities, compensating for being blind, deaf, and paralyzed - and she's terrified of being taken away and cut up because her body doesn't work right. Enough that she uses her powers to keep Roberts from doing anything more than sending food to her via Wizard. Then she figures out other ways to get what she wants...
"Finder's Keeper" (1973) - Young Peter Anderson has a carefully concealed talent for 'finding'. Since his mother got too sick to work at the diner, he's been using it to help with his part-time work as a caddy (great for finding golf balls). Now Fargo, a sleazy detective, has figured out Peter's secret - and is using the threat of exposure to get Peter to do his own job for free. If you like this one, try Andre Norton's _Red Hart Magic_; Nan Mallory in "The King's Hunters" has the same gift.
"A Proper Santa Claus" (1973) - Little Jeremy's wild talent is that he can make his artwork come to life.
"The Smallest Dragonboy" (1973) - Keevan is the youngest boy at Benden Weyr who's old enough for Impression when Ramoth's latest clutch hatches. Some of the older candidates (old enough to be getting desperate) start getting their jollies by harassing him. (No wonder they were rejects in previous Impressions.) In later books, he appears as K'van, Heth's rider (even in the index of _Dragonflight_, which includes several characters who hadn't been born yet, e.g. Menolly). Heth was part of Jaxom and Ruth's team in _All the Weyrs of Pern_.
"Apple" (1969) - As in, the bad apple that spoils the barrel. The Talents have to hunt down and contain a young woman who has harnessed her abilities, only to cut loose on a crime spree. For best results, you should really read this as part of _To Ride Pegasus_, since it works on the assumption that you know Daffyd and company already.
"Honeymoon" - In "The Partnered Ship", the last story of _The Ship Who Sang_, Helva extended her contract, and acquired Parollan as her new brawn, preparatory to a 2nd mission to Beta Corvi. ("Dramatic Mission" in that book covers mission #1.) "Honeymoon" picks up where "The Partnered Ship" left off - Helva's first voyage with Niall Parollan. You *really* need to read _The Ship Who Sang_ first. (When Parollan's in port, incidentally, he's a party animal - and his idea of a date is a group of triplets.)
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Short gems from master storyteller!, August 30, 2002
This review is from: Get Off the Unicorn (Mass Market Paperback)
Ms. McCaffrey's collection of short stories, Get Off the Unicorn, is a treasure trove of great little stories. Some of them, like Daughter, Dull Drums, and Finder's Keeper are great example of McCaffrey's skill at creating characters you love in just a handful of pages. One story that really hit home for me was called A Proper Santa Claus. It is about a very creative young boy who is very gently crushed by the adults about him into what they believe is a proper use of his talent. The end always makes me cry. I think all teachers and parents should be made to read this story!
But the coolest part of this excellent collection of short stories is that it is the source for several of her best series:
Apple -- The Talent Series
Thorns of Barevi -- The Freedom Series
Lady in the Tower -- The Rowan
A Meeting of Minds -- Damia
And there is even a Pern story, The Littlest Dragonboy and a Brainship story called Honeymoon about Helva and Niall Parollan. A great collection!
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