Anne McCaffrey: A Critical Companion

by Robin Roberts

Overview

The first woman to win the Hugo award (given annually by the World Science Fiction Convention) and the Nebula award (given annually by the Science Fiction Writers of America), Anne McCaffrey has invented many worlds of science fiction that have made her work enormously popular. Her series The Dragonriders of Pern has become one of the most widely read series in science fiction history. This is the first complete critical study of her work. It examines all of her novels to date, both individual and series, and reveals why she deserves the critical recognition and popularity her works have received. Roberts explores the range and complexity of her novels and recurrent themes that have attracted so many young adults to her work: the heroine as outsider, the need for tolerance and the acceptance of difference, the importance of living harmoniously with nature, and the value of art and literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781573566438
Publisher:	ABC-CLIO, Incorporated
Publication date:	05/28/1996
Series:	Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	251 KB

About the Author

ROBIN ROBERTS is Associate Professor of English and Women's and Gender Studies at Louisiana State University. She is the author of A New Species: Gender and Science in Science Fiction (1993), Ladies First: Feminist Music Videos (forthcoming), and numerous articles on science fiction.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword by Kathleen Gregory Klein
The Life of Anne McCaffrey
The Genre of Science Fiction
Dragonflight
The Dragonriders of Pern
Brain Ships and Crystal Singers
The Rowan Series
The Planet Pirate Series
Restoree
The Doona Series
The Powers Series
Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

A critical companion to McCaffrey's science fiction novels exploring the themes of heroine as outsider, tolerance for difference, the importance of living with nature, and the value of art and literature. The volume serves as both an extrapolation of the work and an introduction to critical writing, written with an eye toward McCaffrey's young adult audience. Roberts (English, Louisiana State U.) discusses genre, plot, theme, and character development, using a variety of critical approaches and including a biography and complete bibliography of fiction, reviews, and criticism. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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