About the Author

Anne McCaffrey, one of the world’s most popular authors, is best known for her Dragonriders of Pern® series. She was the first woman to win the two top prizes for science fiction writing, the Hugo and Nebula awards. She was also given the American Library Association’s Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement in Young Adult Fiction, was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, and was named a Science Fiction Writers of America Nebula Grand Master. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1926, McCaffrey relocated to Ireland in the 1970s, where she lived in a house of her own design, named Dragonhold-Underhill. She died in 2011.

Reviews

Praise for Damia
 
“McCaffrey interweaves an engrossing romance with a coming-of-age story as she examines the issue of responsibility in a society where survival depends on the abilities of a gifted few.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“Plenty of eccentric characters…heartwarming moments.”—Locus
 
“[A] well-crafted universe...[Damia] both refines and extends characterizations, especially in interrelationships and the use of mental powers…A winning choice for the author’s legion of fans.”—Booklist
 
“Well-written...McCaffrey has created another memorable, independent female protagonist and fully fleshed-out, secondary characters who behave in a believable manner…A superb science fiction romance.”—School Library Journal

“Anne McCaffrey has created worlds whose elements elude the imaginations of most other writers…[Damia] is a perfect example of what makes McCaffrey’s writing so much fun.”—The Globe and Mail
 
“McCaffrey’s special talent is creating sympathetic and endearing characters.”—The Toronto Star

Damia, child of the legendary Rowan and inheritor of her mother's formidable telepathic powers, faces a test of courage and self-control as the planet Deneb is threatened by an insidious alien attacker. This sequel to The Rowan (Ace, 1990) extends the story of a remarkable group of people into a second generation. Although the plot verges on the melodramatic and the central characters suffer from an overabundance of self-awareness, McCaffrey's legion of fans will undoubtedly want this. Otherwise, a marginal sf romantic adventure. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/92

In this second volume of the trilogy begun with The Rowan , McCaffrey introduces Damia Raven, brilliant and willful daughter of Angharad Gwyn (the Rowan) and Jeff Raven, leaders of the psionic Talents of Federal Telepath & Teleport, who make interstellar commerce possible. The precocious Damia's difficult childhood is made tolerable by the care and solicitude of Afra Lyon, her parents' valued friend and assistant, who secretly loves the child as much as he did her mother. Maturing as a Prime--the most powerful of the orders of psis--Damia is sent to run the FT&T Tower on the new colony of Iota Aurigae. She lives there in petulant loneliness, having rejected or alienated all Talented potential mates, until she touches the alien mind of Sodan, many light-years away. Concerned about an alien invasion like the one suffered a generation previously, her family sends Afra to evaluate the dangers of Damia's infatuation. In a forceful resolution, Damia suffers a deep loss but finds her salvation. McCaffrey interweaves an engrossing romance with a coming-of-age story as she examines the issue of responsibility in a society where survival depends on the abilities of a gifted few. (July)

Praise for Damia

"McCaffrey interweaves an engrossing romance with a coming-of-age story as she examines the issue of responsibility in a society where survival depends on the abilities of a gifted few."-Publishers Weekly

"Plenty of eccentric characters...heartwarming moments."-Locus

"[A] well-crafted universe...[Damia] both refines and extends characterizations, especially in interrelationships and the use of mental powers...A winning choice for the author's legion of fans."-Booklist

"Well-written...McCaffrey has created another memorable, independent female protagonist and fully fleshed-out, secondary characters who behave in a believable manner...A superb science fiction romance."-School Library Journal

"Anne McCaffrey has created worlds whose elements elude the imaginations of most other writers...[Damia] is a perfect example of what makes McCaffrey's writing so much fun."-The Globe and Mail

"McCaffrey's special talent is creating sympathetic and endearing characters."-The Toronto Star