Damia

After about the 50% mark, I just skipped and skimmed the rest of the book because I couldn't take it anymore. Not even my intense teenage nostalgia for this series can make up for my experience of it now. The men CONSTANTLY meet together specifically in order to subvert Rowan's wishes, particularly as a mother. The moment I officially tapped out was when she caught her husband about to ship off their kids to ANOTHER PLANET without telling her! WTF!?!?!?! And then near the end the romance between Damia and the guy who basically raised her does not sit well with me. Unfortunately the men-walking-over-women thing continues into the next generation with Afra gleefully telepathically putting Damia to sleep at will without her consent. I am show more so disgusted and disappointed. show less

Damia is the Rowan's most difficult child, because Damia is the one who took after her mother. Ouch. Against the backdrop of a widely spread galactic civilization, McCaffrey illustrates how loneliness can be inherited. People do foolish, destructive things if they think it might free them of that particular burden.
Damia grows up, and she is very likely more powerful a telepath than either of her parents. She is given enormous responsibility at an extremely young age due to the increasing demands of the ever expanding colonies and the need to utilize every prime-rated telepath available. Between this highly volatile situation and Damia's intense need for love, the stage is set for action and dramatic conflict of a high order.
I really show more enjoyed this book, with its high emotional stakes as well as a truly frightening antagonist. show less

The actual sci-fi plot was moderately interesting although a bit oddly paced. I especially didn't need as much longwinded rehashing of the plot of the prequel as I got.

The romance was the type I hate most! A teenage girl and a 40 year old man who used to babysit her? He's really gross about it too, although I get the impression that McCaffrey thinks it's romantic, which frankly just makes it worse.

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85 points, 4 ½ stars!

Quote:

"And, you'll agree to give yourself a long break before you ask me -- politely and in the normal fashion -- for another baby." He eyed her sternly.

Review
Well, Damia was certainly a bold way to write a book. Damia is the name of one of The Rowan and Jeff Raven's daughters. So you'd think the whole book would be about her, right?

Nope.

The first third of the book is the second half of the previous book. The narrator is Afra, The Rowan's second in command. Afra is 16 (and younger in the very beginning) when he applies, and is accepted, to The Rowan's posting at Callisto. Afra then becomes indispensable and is an amazing friend show more to The Rowan. In the height of The Rowan's loneliness, he even considered being a true partner to her, even though it wasn't what he wanted, just what she needed. He is a real stand up guy. Then the aliens come and try to wreck Deneb, and The Rowan meets her mate and everything is perfect.

And then they have kids.

Damia is their third child, and is an absolute handful to deal with. The Rowan decides that Damia needs a brother or sister, so she can form a connection like Damia's older brother and sister have. So, The Rowan steals her husband's sperm to impregnate herself with. Yeah. I'm just going to leave that as is.

However, Damia's real special connection is to her Afra. WHO IS TWENTY FIVE YEARS OLDER THAN HER. Yup. Just going to leave that there, as well.

We see Damia grow up from a toddler, into a young girl, and then into a young woman to an adult with her own Tower to look after. She is special. Powerful and headstrong. A lot like her mother. And Damia has to be treated differently than everyone else simply because she is so powerful and headstrong. She causes trouble as a kid without meaning it, and then when she is adult she has a weight of responsibility on her shoulders and doesn't want to disappoint her parents. And she experiences the same sort of loneliness as an adult that her mother did.

And throughout the book, Afra is there for her. He helps raise her. He protects her when he can.

And he is 25 years older than her.

Gods this romance was difficult for me to read. On the one hand it was ridiculously cute. On the other? Twenty.Five.Years.Older. He helped raise her! He punished her as a child! I wouldn't be surprised if he had changed her diapers! I just..ARGH WHY DOES MCCAFFREY DO THIS TO ME?!

At least they're both adults when they get together, unlike Pegasus in Flight?

And then the aliens come back, and this time they are different aliens. They're not the ones that attacked Deneb. Honestly I was kind of really dissatisfied with the ending. It ends with us meeting the Aliens but we don't learn anything about them. The end just didn't pop like the previous book. It felt like it ran out of room, that the book got too long because it didn't go anywhere and covered old ground, so another book was needed to finish the story. show less

From when she was very young Damia had a lot of power. So much that it became almost essential that she leave home to live with her grandmother and discover how to control her powers. She comes into contact with aliens and discovers treachery, but there's also love.

I do have some problems with father figures or almost father figures becoming romantic figures, it's an almost deal-breaker, particularly when he uses a post-hypnotic suggestion, implanted when she was very young to send her to sleep when she's an adult "for her own good".

Not my favourite of hers, not a bad story overall, but more joined short stories than an actual full novel.

I adored this book when I was in my early teens, and reread it so many times my copy is rather beat-up. It was, by far, my favorite in the Talents series. Unfortunately, it doesn't hold up well as an adult. While Afra is still one of my favorite McCaffrey characters, Damia is a complete brat, and the book suffers from some of McCaffrey's... interesting sex and sibling issues. The vague undertones of incest, the disturbing marrying someone who was an authority figure in your childhood, etc. While, if I recall correctly, this particularly McCaffrey novel doesn't have the rape featured in so many others, most of her other issues are clearly on display. Of course, if you've read any McCaffrey, you already know what you're getting into on show more that score. show less

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer Title: Damia Series: The Tower and the Hive Author: Anne McCaffrey Rating: 3 of 5 Stars Genre: SFF Pages: 391 Synopsis: The Rowan and Jeff are pushing out babies left and right. Afra, a T4 who was in love with the Rowan, translates his feelings into protecting their children. And is the target of the 3rd child's seduction, Damia. Then Damia grows up and they get it on. And lots of adventures happen inbetween all that. My show more Thoughts: First, this book is as much about Afra as it is about Damia. It is simply a very long, drawn out romance with some science-fiction and action elements thrown in. Still pretty enjoyable however. My main quibble was with the attempted seduction by Damia of Afra when she was still a teenager. One, it was silly [Oh Afra, won't you rub suntan lotion on me? Oops, you missed a spot, right down here] and Two, it was disturbing. The sexualization of minors is not something I find acceptable or want to read about. Overall, a good light adventure romp. Oh, I HATE the new covers. They are definitely aimed at the teen female crowd. I'm just glad I read this back when it came out so I could read it again. With the original cover. " show less