Sassinak (The Planet Pirates) [Paperback]

Anne Mccaffrey (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Planet Pirates | Publication Date: July 31, 1992

Sassinak was 12 when the raiders came. Old enough to be used, young enough to be broken - or so they thought. But they reckoned without the girl's will forged into a steely resolve to revenge herself on the pirates who had killed her parents and friends. When the chance comes to escape, Sassinak grabs it, thanks to the help of a captured Fleet crewman. Returned to the Federation of Sentient Planets, she initiates her revenge by joining Fleet as a raw recruit, surprising everyone with her rapid rise to senior rank. And then her vengeance begins in earnest.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The first in the Planet Pirates series, this science fiction yarn offers a vivid universe inhabited by cardboard citizens. Sassinak, the heroine and the only developed character, steps straight from a formula: When she is 12, pirates raid her native colony, enslaving her and g murdering her family. Abe, a fellow captive, befriends her and, when they are emancipated by Fleet (the military), becomes her guardian until he is slain in a barroom brawl. Intelligent and daring, Sass joins Fleet, seeking vengeance on her enemies. She becomes the classic fictional commander: a loner whose entire life is subsumed by the military. Fortunately, Sass's exploits are so expertly recounted that their intrigue and adventure compensate for the hackneyed plot line. Cleverly drawn aliens, supporting characters here, allow the authors to explore various aspects of prejudice. Sass's appraisal of men, however, verges at times on sexist. Hugo winner McCaffrey's works include Dragonsdawn ; Moon is the author of Oath of Gold. Major ad/promo.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

About the Author

Anne McCaffrey is the author of the much-loved Dragonriders of Pern series. Brought up in the US, she currently lives in Ireland. Elizabeth Moon served as a 1st Lieutenant in the US Marine Corps and is the author of the Deed of Paksenarrion series. She lives in Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Orbit Books (July 31, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857230922
• ISBN-13: 978-1857230925
• Product Dimensions: 4.3 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,248,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The WHOLE story, January 19, 2002

By 

Rick Widmer (Kimberly ID USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sassinak (Planet Pirates, Vol 1) (v. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Sassinak on its own is a pretty good story, but there are a few holes in it, and it doesn't seem finished... Almost like it is just a chapter in a bigger book.

Well it is. To get the whole story you need to read: The Death Of Sleep by Anne McCaffery and Jody Lynn Nye followed by Dinosaur Planet and Dinousar Planet Survivors, both by Anne McCaffery. Then Sassinak and finaly Generation Warriors. (Also by Anne McCaffery and Elizabeth Moon.)

That way you can read the WHILE story, starting with the first time Lunzie gets shipwrecked till they all save the known universe, almost by accident. You'll have to read the books to see how they do it! The books are all tied together and you get to see some of the same scenes from different points of view.

They are well worth the time to read.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Moderately Ludicrous, August 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sassinak (Planet Pirates, Vol 1) (v. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

In retrospect, it's hard to say where exactly Sassinak goes awry. It has, for example, an absolute gold mine of a premise - an abducted girl grows up to the be one of the most powerful military leaders in space history. However, somewhere in the execution, the authors tripped over themselves. The book jumps from place to place with little or no transition, and Sassinak's original abduction happens so fast and is treated so trivially by the authors that it's hard to see it as a traumatic event that shaped her personality. Likewise, there is truly uninspired series of scenes with Sassinak in military school - and then, whoops! She's a cadet! And then, whoops! She's a captain. The last 50 pages are a confusing mish-mash of abrupt deus ex machinas and hastily resolved plot points. How are they resolved, you ask? I have no idea, but when I turned the page, all the characters were busy chatting about how glad they were that *that* was over, and I took it on faith that resolution occured. God knows I'm not going to read the book again to find out.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ok for young readers, April 20, 2008

By 

Cerankoman (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sassinak (Planet Pirates, Vol 1) (v. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed reading this book when I was in high school. As an adult I'm a bit more picky with my reading. But as a teenager I thought it was a good space opera.