Spotted LegendsII in Heffers and read it there and then, so thought
I'd add my comments... Slightly more spoilerish, but nothing anyone
can't extrapolate from the title/setting.
Paul Bolchover <P.Bolchover@amtp.cam.ac.uk> writes:
> Over the last few years, I feel that Anne McCaffrey has been
> far more successful in her short stories that in her novels,
> and "Beyond Between" continues this trend.
Agreed. However, I really don't think that *any* of her output over
recent years is close to the standards of ten or more years ago.
> Without giving away any spoilers, the story acts as a coda to
> "Moreta". It certainly adds breadth to "Moreta" and
> "Nerilka", without detracting from the overall sadness of that
> period of Pern's history.
Indeed. One thing I did feel was that the characterisation was pretty
flat. Leri in particular felt very different in comparison to her
portrayal in _Moreta_. And Moreta herself comes across much, much
weaker - once the blind panic of stranding oneself between wears off,
surely she should revert back to her normal, capable self. As for the
other major dragon/rider pair, bah! Given their circumstances, why, oh
why are they not insane/bored witless/lonely/ or at least, willing to
admit that they are well and truly dead, and spending that amount of
time in limbo isn't healthy, given the alternative..
> My sole niggle is that the people in Moreta's time seem to
> know more about Pern's history that should have been the case,
> after 1500 years - their memory of the events seems to be more
> like someone in the 2nd pass, and different from world as
> portrayed in "Moreta" and "Nerilka".
Very different. They can speculate about other dimensions, and have a
clear knowledge of the first riders and some early tech, but struggled
to scape up enough knowledge to vaccinate the population? Please.
> Apart from that, it's a good story, which raises (but doesn't
> answer) some questions that I had always wondered about.
Mmmm. And we see the first hint of religious musings. Never thought
I'd see the day...
--
Katherine I.
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