Freedom’s Landing, By Anne McCaffrey

Earth has been conquered by the space-faring race Catteni. One day without warning the Catteni swooped down on earth, destroyed any resistance, and took away most of the population in 10 major cities. Kris Bjornsen was captured in Denver as she was going to classes, and taken to the spaceport/slave trading planet of Barevi where she is sold. Not one to wait around with futile wishes of freedom, Kris manages to steal a flitter and escape to the jungle where searchers would never find her. One day she sees another flitter crash in the jungle, it’s occupant jumping out right before it goes up in flames. Hoping to help rescue another slave from under Catteni noses, Kris investigates the survivor. Her shock is very great when she discovers that the crash landed man is, in fact, no ‘man’ at all. He is a Catteni, hunted by his own race for killing a patrol leader. If he survives until the next day, he is free. But before that day is over, both he and Kris are caught up in a riot in the city, gassed, and taken to an unsettled planet where they are dropped with only rudimentary supplies. This disparate group of aliens and humans must now work together to survive this strange world, and from the looks of things, that will not be easy. For who would trust a Catteni, even if he’d been dropped with the rest of them?

This is pretty much a clear cut adventure story. Add a dangerous/unknown world, few known supplies, different sorts of people, and it all equals an entertaining read. Kris is a strong character with her own ideas about how she should, and can, live. Mitford, an ex-sergeant, takes control of the dropped group of people and gets them to work together to survive. He’s great fun, and a great guy. We all wish that the government was run by people like him: it never is, except here in fiction. But he’s the type of guy that gets things done, can give good orders, and is not afraid of stepping down if no one wants him in charge anymore. But a real piece of work is Zainal, the Catteni. He doesn’t know much English at the beginning, so communicating is a bit difficult. His main usefulness is the bits of information he can remember about the planet they are on. Most people just want to kill him ‘cause he’s a Catteni, but Mitford sees the benefit in keeping him alive.

I love adventure. You’ve probably figured that out about me. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s science fiction or fantasy, or even some of the classics like Swiss Family Robinson, or The Mysterious Island. Science fiction can just give you your basic adventure with prettier trimmings. Freedom’s Landing is a strong book with good plot and well written characters. It’s a good read, and like most McCaffrey books can be understood and enjoyed by young adults as well as adults. My only cautionary about it is the sex. The idea pops up a lot, but there is definitely one mildly graphic scene. It’s easy enough to skip over when you know it’s there, but I’m warning you that it is there. Basically the book is written so that many ages of people can understand it, but only those of certain maturities should read it. In my humble opinion. But if what you’ve just read about it tickles your fancy, find it and pick it up! You’re in for a fun read.