Freedom’s Challenge, By Anne McCaffrey

Botany has finally been visited by the Farmers, and the Farmers are protecting Botany from the Eosi. But with all their power, they do not condone species injury, and they will not destroy the Eosi themselves. But their impervious Bubble surrounds Botany, protecting it while the colonists make their next moves. For they will not tolerate the Eosi any longer. Not only have they destroyed planets, but they have started to destroy the minds of the people of Earth as well. Renowned scientists, politicians, newscasters—all mind-wiped by the Eosi and rescued to Botany. But the Eosi have a weakness, and Botany will find it. It is only a matter of time, but time is a precious thing.

Apart from my really cliché last sentence, this is a decently accurate summary of the book. Of course, I forgot to mention the Catteni resistance, and the friends that Zainal brings to Botany. Oops. I mentioned it. But that’s kind of fun too. I didn’t really get very attached to them: it’s hard to get attached to people who only show up for one book in which we already have loved and well established characters. Especially when they don’t do or say very much. There was also a second visit to Catten, and a rescuing of Zainal’s two sons. They had been mistreated by their relatives because of Zainal’s defection, but no more. They now live on Botany. But within the second trip to Catten is a slightly amusing, slightly annoying thing that McCaffrey did. Kris gets pretty drunk trying to cope with the doubled gravity, and Chuck also gets massively drunk by another Catteni trying to get him to give away trading secrets. It’s an amusing scene when Chuck gets back to the KDL. What happens next I won’t really say, some of you can probably guess it. But I will say that you probably won’t guess what McCaffrey does pull: that makes it almost bearable. But not quite.

I do enjoy reading these books. They’ve got some great plot, interesting people, and the first one was really good. I’ve got a thing with finishing series even if the later books aren’t that great. You should hear me talk about Jordan. The main reason I like these books is because I like Freedom’s Landing, and then I had to finish the series. I don’t like how Kris turns out in the later books, and the quality has definitely gone downhill. But I have to complete the story. Even if it’s bad, I have to know what happens next. I guess it’s the eternal hope that what comes next is not as bad as what went before. Call me the optimist, but I do love reading series. Even slightly bad ones.