Silent Dances (Starbridge, Book 2) [Mass Market Paperback]

A. C. Crispin (Author), Kathleen O'Malley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1990

Deaf since birth, Tesa is the perfect ambassador to the alien Grus, whose sonic cries can shatter human ears.

But her mission is harder than it looks. The Grus are not alone on their world.

They have deadly enemies, both natural and otherwise. And if Tesa is to save all life on the planet, she will have to make peace with not one alien species... but -two-.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A good, lively, fast-miving story... SILENT DANCES is just tremendous; I'm delighted to recommend it!" -- Judith Tarr, author of THE HOUND AND THE FALCON TRILOGY

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 275 pages
• Publisher: Ace; First Edition edition (July 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441783309
• ISBN-13: 978-0441783304
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #805,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

HOW TO FIND ME:
My web page is www.accrispin.com
My blog is http://accrispin.blogspot.com/ - it's actually Writer Beware's blog.

My Facebook page is A.C. Crispin -- look me up! I enjoy interacting with my readers.

My Twitter address is @anncrispin. I tweet about pirate facts, writing tips, and reports on my booksignings and appearances.

ABOUT ME:

Hi, Amazon.com readers! I'm Ann Crispin, aka A.C. Crispin.

Seasons Greetings! StarBridge is now available on Kindle!

My holiday "present" to everyone is that the StarBridge Series is finally going to be available as electronic editions! Over the past five or six years, I've gotten dozens of requests from my readers who have wanted to complete their collection of StarBridge books by reading them on their e-readers.

Now, thanks to Ridan Publishing, StarBridge, Book One is available in all major e-book formats on the Ridan website and right here on Amazon.com for the Kindle. The first three StarBridge Books, StarBridge, Silent Dances, and Shadow World, will be out before the Christmas holiday, and the remaining four, Serpent's Gift, Silent Songs, Ancestor's World, and Voices of Chaos will be following early in the New Year.

I can't tell you how thrilled I am about this. StarBridge has always been near and dear to my heart.

If the e-editions do well, there may be MORE StarBridge adventures to come...I'm talking brand-new, original stories. So please...check them out!


Also, still available if my Pirates of the Caribbean prequel book, The Price of Freedom. Not to make to big a deal of it, but the hardcover would make a heck of a good present for any fan of PotC. Remember, books keep on giving long after the holidays are over.

The Price of Freedom is the first full-length novel written in the Pirates of the Caribbean universe aimed at adult readers. It's a prequel to the POTC films, and tells how Jack Sparrow first became Captain Jack Sparrow. It tells how he first encountered Cutler Beckett and Hector Barbossa, and why he left Shipwreck Cove. Jack also meets some unusual ladies in the book. And, since it's a Pirates of the Caribbean story, there's also treasure and magic!

The Price of Freedom is available in both hardcover and Kindle versions. If you're familiar with my other books, I've done for Jack Sparrow what I did for Han Solo and Sarek --this novel is his backstory.

Check out that cover art. Neat, huh? You can get a closer look on my website. You can also read five excerpts from the book there. Here's the link:

http://www.accrispin.com/projectp.htm

My interests? Books, reading, writing, pirates, Pirates of the Caribbean (natch!) and helping aspiring writers avoid writing scams. I'm the Chair of SFWA's Writer Beware -- www.writerbeware.com -- and if you're an aspiring author, you really should visit our website. There are lots of hungry sharks out there on the internet these days, posing as literary agents and publishers. Getting published is hard enough these days, without getting ripped off while trying. Writer Beware is free, we're all volunteers. Come check us out, and you can avoid the scam literary agents and publishers that want to separate you from your hard-earned money.

I'll be checking back to this page, so if you have questions, post them, and I'll reply as soon as I can.

-Ann C. Crispin

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nicely woven intertwining of culture and challenges., June 2, 1999

By 

Glenn Sugden "hEADcRASH" (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Silent Dances (Starbridge, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

While the first in the StarBridge series seemed a bit confrontational about a female lead character, this second work appears to have found a very comfortable place for the main character (Tesa) to exist.

It's a scenario that seems to have been created perfectly for the main character, yet doesn't come off as being contrived. A.C. Crispin then wastes no space drawing you into an environment where Tesa fits beautifully.

Her Indian heritage being played off of the avian aliens is fascinating. The ping-ponging of traditional imagery against these new alien species is really well done. It is obvious that quite a bit of research was put into this area, and it certainly shines through.

This facet would have been enough for me in and of itself. Yet the fact that one of the avian species has a voice that shatters human eardrums, making the deaf Tesa a perfect candidate for diplomacy, adds another richly meaningful layer to an already terrific story.

There seems to be a more feminine approach to the storytelling. It appeared more focused on the characters, emotions, and goals than "traditional" SciFi. It took me a bit of getting used to, but once that transition was made, it had a refreshingly different (and deeper) impact on my involvement with the story.

i (obviously) highly recommend this book. While the approach may take a little getting used to, it's definitely worth it in the end.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great first contact book, from a silent perspective., August 24, 1998

By 

David Mcanulty - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silent Dances (Starbridge, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

"Deaf since birth, Tesa is the perfect ambassador to the alien Grus-whose sonic cries can shatter human ears..."

A young starbridge interruptor is brought into the middle of a first contact, that has gone horribly wrong. Between the planet's 2 inhabitants trying to kill each other, and her own people waiting to betray her, Tesa must prove the intelligence of the crane like Grus, or watch them be destoryed.

I'd say it compares with Janet Kagans work (which is quite a compliment!)

2.0 out of 5 stars Politically Correct alien contact story, July 26, 2011

By 

Laura Todd (Oaks, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Silent Dances (Starbridge, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

I really enjoy novels about first contact, and after reading the first Starbridge, I collected the whole series. This one, however, was a disappointment. Political correctness in fiction just doesn't age well. When I learned that the main character was deaf with a capital D, and wanted to remain that way, I ceased to identify with her. She is also a Native American, and while I have am generally fascinated and sympathetic with that culture, I said to myself "uh-oh--a double Token!" I guessed that the plot was going to be a variant of 'Dances With Wolves", and I was right.

Some of the plot points just didn't make sense. Why would an alien bird pair allow Tesa (an "alien" to them) to raise their chick? Tesa speaks in sign language. Tell me how avians with wings are able to do likewise? Oh yeah, there are also some evil human poachers/would-be settlers who want to see the aliens go extinct, surprise surprise.

One of the other reviewers noted that this book was written from a 'feminine' sensibility, more attuned to emotions than SF generally is. I don't have anything against feelings, but I could have done with less preaching and more interesting writing. Instead of having the avians be just like the Sioux or Pawnee, how about some originality and speculation about how life might evolve on a planet with 3 suns? There are several intelligent alien species on this planet, how do they evolve and interact?

I really like well-written "speculative astrobiology" about what life could be like on an alien planet, but that's a genre almost as hard to find as the planets themselves.