The Girl Who Heard Dragons [short story collection]

I've been an Anne McCaffrey fan for ages but it's been a long time since I read her short stories. She is a very versatile writer and these stories demonstrate that. They range from pretty hard core science fiction to fantasy to light fiction with a touch of oddness. If you like her Pern books, then the title story will appeal to you. If you cried for the Ship Who Sang, then Duty Calls gives you another view of the brainship and brawn teamwork. McCaffrey's love of horses comes through in A Quiet One and Habit is an Old Horse. For any fan, the opening work "So, You're Anne McCaffrey" will be very interesting.

I had the honour of meeting Anne many years ago at the only Science Fiction Convention I have ever attended, right here in show more Winnipeg. She dished out ice cream at the opening, read from The Ship Who Sang, answered questions and signed books. It was such a thrill. show less

Teenage Aramina has the unusual ability to hear dragons. Her keen perception causes dismay to her mother, who fears Aramina will desert her family and commit to living the life of a dragonrider. In the land of Pern, Aramina's family is known as the "holdless," nomads who roam the land to hide from bandits. Aramina must find a way to exploit her unique talent without sacrificing the family she loves.

An interesting mix of fifteen short stories for young adults. Seven are sci fi and set in a world where the Khalians are the enemy to the various races of good guys trying to make the universe safe. Five are fantasy stories about various subjects. Three are odd vignettes about different topics.
The most fascinating to me of these fifteen were the one about the first exogenetic birth in the 1950's, the one about the doctor who rebuilds a man's entire body because she finds his face the handsomest she's ever seen, the one about the slaves in the south who heal and protect with their strange powers, and the one told from the old horse's point of view as he realizes that his mistress has died.

Whether writing fantasy, science fiction, or straight fiction, (This collection contails all three.) McCaffrey's characters are real people, and the background is never more important than how the people relate to each other.

A very decent collection of short stories and I enjoyed reading them overall. I found a few to be rather boring and just skimmed/skipped those over. There were some though, such as “Velvet Fields” and “The Bones Do Lie”, which really stuck with me and I’d go back to read those again.

As can be said of most short story collection, there are good stories here and middling though not really any outright bad stories. Ms McCaffrey is at her best when she sticks to dragons and horses, and the first tale in the book - that of the title- is by far the best of the lot.
Decent book for McCaffrey fans.

Anne McCaffrey is the quintessential writer of fantasy books pertaining to dragons. These books are always wonderful, well written, and perfectly characterized. All of her series are great but the ones that take place on Pern are the best of all. A thoroughly fun and engaging read.