Lyon's Pride (Tower and Hive Series #4)

by Anne McCaffrey

Overview

A DESTRUCTIVE SPECIES

The Hive acts as a single entity, relentlessly swarming the galaxy, endlessly propagating on every habitable world they encounter—destroying native populations in the process. They do not recognize any sentience but their own. They do not acknowledge any attempt to communicate with them. They do not understand they leave countless numbers of dead in their wake.

A FAMILY LEGACY

The Prime Talents of the Raven-Lyon clan—telepaths, teleporters, and telekinetics—have protected the Alliance from the Hive breeding contagion for years. Now a fleet orbits the alien homeworld to prevent them from leaving, and a Hive queen and her eggs are in captivity and quarantined. And unless the Raven-Lyons break the language barrier between Human and Hive, the Alliance may have no choice but to eliminate their entire race…

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780441001415
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/28/1995
Series:	A Tower and Hive Novel Series , #4
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	315,521
Product dimensions:	4.22(w) x 6.73(h) x 0.88(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Anne McCaffrey was the multi-award winning bestselling author of more than fifty books, including the Dragonriders of Pern series, the Freedom series, and the Tower and the Hive series.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“McCaffrey’s protagonists remain as warm and appealing as ever.” —Publishers Weekly “McCaffrey continues to spin a good tale…all in all, a rich, compelling novel.” —Booklist “Another exciting episode in the thrilling epic of The Rowan…Read and enjoy!” —Romantic Times

Editorial Reviews

“McCaffrey’s protagonists remain as warm and appealing as ever.”

—Publishers Weekly

“McCaffrey continues to spin a good tale…all in all, a rich, compelling novel.”

—Booklist

“Another exciting episode in the thrilling epic of The Rowan…Read and enjoy!”

—Romantic Times

From the Publisher

In this sequel to Damia's Children , the psionically Talented children of Damia Gwyn-Raven and Afra Lyon are pushed closer to the forefront of the struggle between the human Nine Star League and their alien Mrdini allies against the blind expansionism of the insect-like Hive culture that threatens both their civilizations. Rojer, like his siblings a T-1 at the most powerful level of Talent, is assigned to provide communication and transport for a squadron following a Hiver vessel. When he refuses a command by the Mrdini Captain Prtglm to launch missiles psionically against an occupied Hiver planet, he barely escapes while Prtglm kills his Mrdni companions, complicating an already delicate situation. A debate sharpens within the human community and with the Mrdini over the fate of the Hive colonies, with some humans and most of the Mrdinis holding out for complete destruction. Another large faction of humanity, which has eschewed war for generations, seeks a less bloodthirsty solution, such as isolation and containment. While McCaffrey's protagonists remain as warm and appealing as ever, her plotting here lacks vigor. Since the scene has been set for further volumes, a more rapid resolution to the Hive dilemma and the introduction of a new challenge might be in order. Science Fiction Book Club main selection; Doubleday Book Club alternate. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

YA-This fourth book in the Raven-Lyon family saga continues the story of Damia's Children (Ace, 1993), the human-Mrdini Alliance, and their ongoing battle against the insectlike Hive creatures. McCaffrey has several story lines going at once. The human-Mrdini ships want to destroy several Hive vessels that escape from imprisonment because when the Hive colonize a planet they eliminate all sentient life. There is conflict over what to do with the captive Hive queen-some want to study her, learn more about her, and hope for peaceful co-existence, while another segment of the alliance thinks she should be killed outright. While the book is readable and well written and the characters are believable, the story is not as tight or as strong as The Rowan (1991) and Damia (1993, both Ace). Nevertheless, libraries that own the previous titles will want to purchase this one.-John Lawson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

School Library Journal

In this fourth book in the ongoing saga that began with "The Rowan" (1990), McCaffrey continues to spin a good tale, taking up here where "Damia's Children" (1992) left off. The human-Mrdini Alliance is still pursuing Hive spheres, hoping to learn more about the combative creatures that, in a search for new planets to settle, destroy the indigenous life forms on any planet they select. McCaffrey is a master at creating aliens that are distinctive and believable and in faithfully maintaining their identities throughout; her human characters, particularly the Talents who are the focus, are equally well developed; and the alien-human interactions, both friendly and hostile, are convincing. The space battle scenes are vivid and exciting, and the various plot threads are interwoven successfully so that readers can follow the exploits of the various Talents on their various missions. The ethical concerns addressed in the earlier books are heightened here as the clash between those who would annihilate all Hivers and those who would try to find ways to study the Hivers in the hope of learning to communicate with them and, perhaps, work out ways of co-existing in peace intensify. All in all, a rich, compelling novel, which, happily, begs yet another sequel.

Sally Estes

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