The Rowan

"The Rowan" and its sequel, "Damia," are far superior to the further entries in the series. I believe this is due to spreading the narrative thin across too many protagonists as the Rowan's progeny multiply. However, I am getting ahead of myself. On its own merits, "The Rowan" is a highly inventive love story of possibly the loneliest woman in the galaxy and the one man who might be able to match her. Isolated due to her incredible telepathic powers above and beyond anything that anyone has ever seen, as well as her orphaned upbringing, the Rowan becomes the force behind the galaxy's transportation system, which is based on the teleportation talents of the Rowan and her ilk. One day she hears a call from a powerful unidentified telepath show more of a distant solar system, which is under attack from an unrelenting alien menace. Unless she can render aid, she might lose her chance for companionship with the one person with whom she's ever felt a deep connection, as equals. And she's never even met him! Gasp! Tell me that doesn't pique your interest. Rest assured, the entire book is not just a love story. It's a detailed fleshing out of a neat concept, wherein telepaths are not oracles or magic-wielders, but are seamlessly integrated into commerce as the engines of galactic transportation.
This book is good pulpy fun and I return to it every couple of years. Try it, you might like it. show less

This is not a very good book. I think the first third is the strongest, with the set-up feeling quite promising. Two-thirds of it are just bad, it feels like finishing this book was an afterthought. It's almost a weird one to try to explain, because while there are certainly high stakes, they feel forced or flat. I suppose I shall just list my complaints.

1) The characters are made of cardboard. 2) There is a fair amount of fat-phobia interspersed into this book, as well as 3)quite deeply entrenched misogyny. For any who have read McCaffrey's other works, it's very "the early Pern books" style misogyny, where women are talked down to by men and other women, laughed at when they insist on their own agency, and then agree that the people show more in their lives making decisions for them were ultimately correct. I say "they", but it's the Rowan, the main character, who is treated this way. 4)There were also several moments where I simply became bored, wondered when something was going to happen, and decided I didn't care about what was happening once something did start to happen. Also, 5)the cat sidekick was written out of the story off page. Lame. And I'm not even a cat person.

The pros are the beginning of the book, the cool, weird space delivery system, the existence of the Talents, and the fact that this is a really quick read. I do own the rest of this series, and, because I like the setting, I will probably continue it. Maybe it gets better? show less

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97 points, 5 STARS!

Quote:

Instead, she had gone from one lonely tower to another. Yegrani’s ‘long and lonely road’ had been before her a long and lonely time.

Review:
I absolutely loved reading The Rowan. It was like this book was specifically created to hit all of my "Oh my god, I love it!" buttons. It is slow paced, taking the reader through the life of The Rowan. Perhaps a bit slower than some readers might wish McCaffrey to go, even. Yet I loved the pace, and I loved watching The Rowan grow up.

This is the start of a spinoff from McCaffrey's The Talents series, several generations removed from the characters in those books, so it isn't show more necessary to read The Talent before reading this (and I wouldn't even recommend that you do). I'd guess at the very least seven generations have passed, if not more. Mankind has found a way to colonize space. And the only way they could do that was through the help of extremely talented Prime telekinetics and telepaths who work tirelessly to shift people and supplies and send messages across the galaxy.

Enter The Rowan. She was found as a toddler because she kept sending a distress signal to an entire planet. Her family all dead, she grew up a ward of the planet for the good of FT&T, who are the organization that employs the Primes. The Rowan is extremely powerful from an unbelievably young age. She grew up knowing she would be a Prime, and she grew up with everyone else knowing she would be a Prime. Which means that she was training to work even as a young kid. That is all she ever really does is work and study, even from as young as nine years old, except for some short vacations.

We follow The Rowan as she grows up. She is so incredibly lonely. It is heartbreaking. She works and she works and she works, because she doesn't really have any peers. Everyone around her is an underling, they all answer to her. And then midway through the book, she gets trapped on a Callisto, one of Jupiter's moons for Story Reasons, which makes The Rowan even more lonely. Because she doesn't have anyone and can't go anywhere. It breaks my heart.

Until a colony planet, Deneb, is attacked by aliens and is requesting help from Earth Prime. Only, Deneb got The Rowan, instead. Which is the start to not only an amazing story, but a beautiful relationship as well when Deneb turns out to be a newly awakened Prime worthy of being with The Rowan.

I absolutely adored this book, and I honestly would consider rereading it at some point in the future. It just felt so right. show less

There were definitely moments (particularly of male domineering) that irritated me, but then there would be amazing moments of feminine empowerment I loved, particularly in the final conflict resolution. So good. The pacing was weird after part one, but not necessarily in a bad way. I just had to get used to it. The romance aspect is the single fastest case of insta-love I've ever encountered, but I suppose it could be explained by the nature of telepathy and those two characters being Primes. I hated the way Rowan seemed to lose herself in some ways to that relationship, but on the other hand I appreciated the lack of other frustrating romance elements often present in those storylines (like jealousy). Ultimately the parts I didn't show more like were outweighed by my overall enjoyment of the characters, worldbuilding, and main conflict. Upon this reread the book didn't live up to my memory of the perfect rating I gave it when I first read it as a teen, but it was still very entertaining. I can't wait to reread the rest of the series.

Also, I absolutely love the cover art! show less

A good, strictly sci-fi Anne McCaffery with some well-written women lead characters. The Rowan, of course, is our main protagonist, and we see her from childhood through into adulthood. The story takes place in a future time when Earth's inhabitants have colonized planets and move not through engine power but through the vast abilities of telepaths.

She is found after a mudslide because her mind will not stop shouting, and the Prime (the primary telepath of her planet) insists on rescuing her. This Prime is also a doozy of a character and is created for that purpose: not every female character can be likeable! Contrast her with the Rowan's primary caregiver, and some snippy cousins, and you have a good human basis for this sci-fi show more story.

Once the Rowan grows into adulthood, however, the story navigates in and around and through this interstellar travel, an invasion by an alien species, and a love story between equals. I did have to shake my head at McCaffery's /the Rowan's statement that she "never felt more womanly" than after she gave birth, but there you have it. Definitely a good and decent read and insight into a future of possibilities. show less

A natural disaster on Altair has left a three-year-old girl the lone survivor of The Rowan Mining Company’s base camp. When her mental cries reach every telepath on the planet a search for her becomes a race against time. She was trapped in a hopper under a landslide of mud. No food, no water, no comfort and running out of air. The trauma has left her no memory of her previous life, so she becomes a ward of the planet Altair and is known as The Rowan. The Rowan grows up a powerful telepath/telekinetic and it’s inevitable she will become one of the few Primes of FT&T (Federated Telepath & Telekinetic).

Her life is a lonely one until she meets Jeff Raven, a Wild Talent from a far flung colony on Deneb VIII. Together they face the alien show more invaders pummeling his planet and then they begin a life together. Sounds easy, right? Oh, no…nothing is ever easy for a Prime, let alone two.

Picking up hundreds of years after the original Talents series, The Rowan begins a new era for FT&T. Well-written with a fast pace the story of the Rowan’s life flows by smoothly. An orphan and a powerful T-1 the Rowan is an unusual child and leads an interesting, if lonely, life. I was happy for her when Jeff entered the picture. He’s quite the character and even more of a powerhouse than she is with considerable more charm, too.

I also loved reading about a descendant of Peter Reidinger. Peter Reidinger IV is Earth’s Prime and it’s nice to see the family line continue. Another interesting part of the story is how Deneb is handling the aftermath of the devastation. A new colony only three generations old and they just lost three-fifths of their population and both of their major cities. Deneb is a cash-strapped planet that needs to get it’s major export (minerals) up and running again in order to pay off the colonization debt. It makes me appreciate all of the things I have and how I can just make a run to the store if I need something. All-in-all a great story to get lost in.

*Book source ~ My home library show less

I used to love this series when I was younger and it did stand up to re-reading for me.

The Talents are spread out over the Nine Star League using their psionic abilitiies to help things along. Among these abilities there's a lot of variety and power, but there are very few high-powered telepaths, the ones who can help push cargo, and onto a small mining colony one is born. Orphaned at an early age and known as The Rowan she's trained by the Prime on her planet. The first part follows her youth. Her life changes when she comes into contact with another telepath, male and needing her help. She discovers more about herself and her abilities and has to face some of her fears.

I liked it, there were some casually sexist moments in it but it show more was published in 1990, and the author is of an age where some of that was normal. Still the attitudes have improved from the first book, I do want to continue with this series and see where and how it continues to entertain (I hope) show less