Freedom's Landing

It has been way too long since I’ve read Anne McCaffrey, and how I have missed her. This series has been on my to-read list for years and years, so when the ReadThemAll challenge came up, hosted by Read At Midnight, I knew that I needed to use this as my Boulder Badge entry.

This book was slow going for me for most of the beginning. The very beginning was super interesting, where we meet Kris and learn about how she’s been kidnapped from Earth and is basically a slave to the Catteni, but when she gets dumped on the empty planet with Zainal, a rogue Catteni who landed himself in some trouble with his own people, I struggled a lot. Once everything got explained and set up, it was fine, but the first 80 pages or so were a slog for show more me.

With that said, I’ve really missed McCaffrey’s science fiction — this is the science fiction I grew up with and I have missed it so, so much. In terms of pure story, it’s wonderful, with the survival/colonization/new planet discovery aspect, with the characters discovering new technology and constantly finding themselves in danger they didn’t realize was around. It’s super realistic in terms of the characters needing to figure out what they need to have a balanced diet, how they’re going to handle hygiene and sickness, etc.

In terms of larger themes, McCaffrey has insightful and incisive commentary on race relations based on how other aliens are treated by humans, even though they’re also Catteni slaves and put in the same situation as humans — sometimes even with fewer tools and privileges for survival, like needing special nutrients for their diet that just aren’t really easy to get on the planet they’re trapped on.

One of the things I most appreciated about this novel was the way romances very slowly and organically came about. There was no, “Oh my god s/he is so hot and I need to have her right now, even though we’re all struggling to even just eat on this new planet,” which is sadly too common in some novels. Whenever romance popped up, it made sense in the context, and there was no sex for the sake of sex during times that didn’t really make any sense. Perfectly done and I wish I read more stories that were able to handle it so realistically.

Overall, this is a solid start to a science fiction series that I’m looking forward to continuing, and for those who like survivalist stories with a science fiction edge, or even just McCaffrey fans, you should give it a read!

Originally posted on Going on to the Next. show less

*Book source ~ My home library.

Kris Bjornsen was going about her day at Denver University when the Catteni attacked Earth. Scooping up citizens by the thousands from 50 cities around the world the Catteni ships took their new slaves to Barevi, a planet used by the Catteni for R&R and a depot for their purloined goods from around the galaxy. Kris manages to escape her new ‘master’ and is hiding out in the wilds of Barevi when a chance encounter with Zainal, an Emassi (or high ranking Catteni), changes her life yet again. Gassed during a riot she and Zainal are dumped onto an empty world the Catteni have chosen for the aliens to colonize. Terrans make up the largest group, but there are also Deski, Rugarians, Turs and Ilginish. show more Fortunately for them, they have Zainal who knows a little bit about the initial survey of the planet. Unfortunately for Zainal, no one likes Catteni and there’s a large consensus to kill him. Chuck Mitford, a retired Marine, takes charge of the motley crew and makes a command decision to keep Zainal alive. For now. With only knives, hatchets, blankets and ration bars, they have to work together to survive on an alien planet.

I love, love, love this book. There’s something about survival books I really like and I think it’s because I put myself into that situation and wonder how well I’d do. But this isn’t just any old survival situation on Earth where you can hope to eventually find civilization. Cell phones, a grocery store, a bed, hot water, a toothbrush. Forget it. This is an alien planet. Completely unknown. What is safe to eat? What will kill me? Are there dangerous animals? Is there shelter? What kind of weather is to be expected and how long are the days? Or nights? Back to basics in a way that’s hard to do on Earth anymore.

I’ve read this book (and the whole series) several times over the years and I’ve enjoyed it each and every time. So much to do and so much to explore with people and aliens who are strangers. The book mostly follows Kris as she survives on the planet they name Bounty and once again it kept me enthralled the whole time. The world is unique, the writing is wonderful and I love the characters. There is action, mystery, humor and even romance. All-in-all an excellent sci-fi adventure. show less

I read a fair amount of McCaffrey's work back in my twenties, but hadn't encountered this particular novel, so when it turned up on sale in Kindle format, I looked forward to re-acquainting myself with a favorite author. The brief description of the plot had me looking forward to something perhaps in the same vein as Godwin's Space Prison (a.k.a. The Survivors). Alas, Freedom's Landing was an unpleasant surprise.

I found the characters largely two-dimensional, the plot poorly developed, and the dynamic between protagonist Kris Bjornson, and Zainal predictable and uninteresting. It was pretty much inevitable from right from their first meeting that they were going to eventually become lovers. At least this wasn't too raunchy, but even so, show more I got a vibe of those ho-hum "Human woman abducted by virile humanoid space aliens who finds her irresistible" soft-core porn pot-boilers.

It's often the case that an author whose work I like occasionally publishes a book that I don't enjoy. That's only to be expected. It's also true that my tastes in books have evolved considerably since those long-ago days of my teens and twenties, to the point that books that I loved at that age make me cringe today. Without going back to re-read McCaffrey classics like The Ship Who Sang, I suppose I can't be certain whether it's just the Catteni setting that irks me, or if I just don't like this author's work anymore. I suspect it's the former, and I may well circle back to an older book or two of hers that I remember fondly, just to find out for sure. But at this point, I've no intention of reading further in the Catteni series. show less

I remember thoroughly enjoying this series when I was a teenager, and a recent re-read didn't disappoint. Kristin Bjornssen is a runaway slave (and living quite well on her own, thank you very much!) on an alien planet when a male Catteni, the species that captured and enslaved her, suddenly crash lands practically on top of her hide-out--and everything changes.
His people are trying very hard to kill to him, which has Kris finding herself admiring him, and even helping him stay out of his would-be murderer's hands. When he becomes a bit too much for her to handle, she attempts to dump his unconscious self back with his people...and they both end up in the midst of a riot, and captured and sent on a slave ship...somewhere.

That somewhere show more is an alien planet the Catteni want colonized, and their method is simple and brutal. Drop slave races on the planet with basic supplies, and see if they survive. The problem is, this planet is not as uninhabited as the Catteni believe...

This story is a fast-paced struggle for survival on an alien planet, and is very compelling. I can't help but wondering if I would survive half as well as the people in this story! I still have the feeling that some of their achievements are incredibly convenient, almost deux ex machina, yet the characters definitely acknowledge how lucky they are, and there are plenty of descriptions of how hard they are working to improve their standard of living on this dangerous, unpredictable planet. show less

4 stars because I really got into it and couldn't put it down.
Not 5 stars as it is not quite top standard.
McCaffrey is always an easy to read author.
Strong female lead character, most others chop and change too much to get quite a read on their personalities.

The aliens, came, they saw and they conquered. Earthlings however still put up a fight even when they've been transported to another world. As we seem so tough the aliens (catteni) use the protagonists as terraformers on a supposedly empty world. The inclusion of a catteni seems like an opportunity for revenge, but he quickly proves his worth.

2D characters but a firm grasp of the world, scenary and way of life make this an intreguing read.
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After re-read.
Fundamentally trite. Enjoyable, fast moving, likable characters, but still trite.

The biggest flaw really is the ease at which the new colonists discover all sorts of useful show more things just lying around - bicarbonate of soda for example. Very handy if you want to make soda bread. It also dissolves in water (eg rain) again a useful property for making bread, but a bit of an inconienience if you want to just find it lying around on a planet. Likewise iron and copper don't just readily lie about on the surface and even if they did you can't build a wood fire hot enough to smelt them. Sulphur also isn't readily findable without volcanic features, and again doesn't just convert itself into matches. etc etc etc. People skillsa re also remarkably unrealistic, having been there and done it I can say that a 'survival skills' course at uni doesn't actually prepare you for living off the wild, it takes ages, days and days to chip out a rock 'pot' for making stew with heated rocks - which also is incredibly impractical. Modern humans don't just pick up these skill that our ancestors spent their entire lives developing. Neither do they get along nicely even if it's a sergent shouting at them. People in strange circumstances become rebelious, argumentative, frightened and just emotive - all of which Mccaffery forgets or ignores.

If you really suspend your belief for a while than it's fun ride. The world has been well thought out, with novel problems for the colonists to overcome and plenty of opportunities for them to explot. The tension between the characters is well developed, even if all the of them bar our hero Kris bjornson - an american - are somewhat thinly developed. As Kris and co start to cope with life on their new world, and develop their elationships with their co-dropped aliens they begin pondering on why the world is as they find it, and so the sequel is nicely set up.

It's all very gung-ho and jingoistic survival stuff, but in a light hearted way and it's still fun to read. show less

Fun story, as always. It starts with the short story The Thorns of Barevi, but gives it a different ending so that the story goes on - Kris clobbers the Catteni instead of giving in. Then the two of them get swept up and dumped on a colony planet - part of a group of hundreds sent to test whether people can actually live there. The speed of development there is a little much - they go from 'maybe we can make rock pots to make stew' to clay and metal soup pots in - two weeks? a month? Admittedly there are a lot of people with a lot of skills, and plenty of resources available, but it just seems a little too quick. Personalities are a major point - from Sarge Mitford, Sandy Arenson, Kris herself and the Catteni (Zainal) working together show more to build something solid, to Patti Sue and similar wet blankets (though Patti does eventually toughen up), to shirkers and harassers like Arnie and Aarens (sp?). Zainal develops from 'the Catteni' to a very solid person, with his own motivations that extend beyond Botany (the planet) to some vague but grand plans. The planet has a lot of surprises, some of which help that accelerated development process - having chips and solar panels to hand certainly doesn't hurt! Zainal's dealings with the other Catteni produce some interesting effects too. The only thing is that the story really ends in the middle - not a cliffhanger, but there's a lot of loose ends floating about. The Farmers have been alerted, the Catteni and Eosi are aware of Botany and (some of) its anomalies, and...story pauses, with an overview of events by Mitford (the rest of the book is entirely from Kris's viewpoint). Glad I have all three (four) books. show less