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Fiction. Science Fiction. Thriller. HTML:�??[Anne] McCaffrey�??s world of the Talented is as vivid as that of Pern and its dragons.�?��??Publishers Weekly Earth has reached its darkest moment. In subterranean warrens, the poor eke out precarious lives where jobs are scarce and children are sold for labor�??while on the surface, a privileged few enjoy lives of luxury. As the population surges and unrest spreads, a disaster of epic proportions seems inescapable. The only hope: a platform under construction in space from which starships will be launched to colonize distant planets. But the project is critically behind schedule. In the midst of the chaos, Rhyssa Owen and her fellow Talents�??telepaths who read minds, kinetics who manipulate matter, and precogs to whom the future is an open book�??struggle to survive. Then two children are discovered whose extraordinary psychic gifts have the potential to avert the looming catastrophe�??or hasten… (more)
User reviews
And watching the beginnings of T&T emerge (the space launches) was a good precursor to The Rowan and the rest of the Talent series.
I liked this series when I read it before and re-reading didn't diminsh my liking for it. It's about the people involved, and while science may have changed, and the relationships with countries didn't develop how she predicted, much of the human elements remain the same.
Rhyssa is being visited in her sleep by someone who can travel out of body. She can’t get enough of who or where he is to pinpoint his location, so they have to search for him. Someone that powerful needs to be under the protection of the center and he needs to be trained in his Talent, whichever Talent that may be. When they finally find 14-yr-old Peter Reidinger in a hospital, paralyzed from the waist down as the result of an accident and realize he’s been boosting his kinetic talent with electricity they are staggered by the thought of his potential.
In another part of the city Tirla is a 12-yr-old girl living in Residential Linear G. Her parents are dead, but she makes a decent living serving the many different ethnic groups in her linear never realizing that her knack for survival and speaking many languages is actually Talent. When the Center and Law Enforcement and Order try to crack down on a child kidnapping ring in Linear G they discover Tirla and her unusual Talent. Coaxing her to the Center she thrives along with Peter. Then the unthinkable happens. Both Tirla and Peter get kidnapped and everyone rushes to find them before it’s too late.
After discovering this series back in 1990 I couldn’t read them fast enough. I had them in my hot little hands as soon as they were published. I like that this book picks up a few generations after 'To Ride Pegasus' because we can see the progress already made while learning the problems this generation of Talents have to deal with. I have to say that I’m glad our world isn’t as crowded as McCaffrey portrayed in this book. Yikes! Those Linears! *shudder*
Well-written with rich characters and a great plot this book is another winner with me. The potential of Peter just boggles the mind and in this book it hasn’t even really been tested yet. Tirla is also another great character with an unusual Talent. It makes me wonder how many more ways Talent will evolve over time. Oh, wait…I’ve already read all the books, so I know. *grins* That doesn’t dim my enjoyment of the re-read. I haven’t read this series in a number of years, so I’m thoroughly enjoying them all over again.
*Book source ~ My home library.
4 stars for a fun and entertaining
Peter and Tirla become very important to the Center. I expect to see more of them in the final book of this trilogy.