Rating: 
Summary: Spectacular!
Review: I was surprised that the Rowan was such a great book. Being a huge fan of the Pern series, I'm just starting to read some of McCaffrey's other works. I think that the Rowan would be a great bridge for others wishing to cross over from Pern into other new and interesting worlds. The Rowan is an original story that provides new characters and ideas with McCaffrey's wonderful style. One of my fears with this book was that it would be too "sci-fi" and my right-brained self wouldn't be able to understand scientific mumbo jumbo. I have no idea what gave me this idea, but fortunately I was mistaken! It is just a plesant, interesting read that anyone could easily understand and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: This book was absolutely marvelous !!!!!
Review: I'm an ardent fan of Ms. McCaffrey's Pern books but I didn't know how well I'd like these (The Rowan,Damia, Damia's Children,and Lyon's Pride)but they're fantastic!!! When I read I become totally absorbed in my books, and they become reality. A couple of times I've caught myself trying to 'path my parents to tell them something!!!!
Rating:
Summary: I loved the book, but why did Lusena have to die?
Review: Lusena took care of The Rowan since The Rowan was a little child. She didn't deserve to die because she helped The Rowan and taught her everything she knows. Other than that, the book was great. It was very interesting and was written really well. Anne McCaffrey is a great writer and I hope to read all of the sequels from the book THE ROWAN in the future and I hope they are as great as the book I've just read. I recommend this book to anyone who loves romantic,yet serious,yet funny,yet sad, yet interesting,soothing books. A 5 star rating.
Rating: 
Summary: The Author is a Bigot--Her Book IS A Woman Hater
Review: McCaffrey is a bigot and this book proves it! Is this book SUPPOSED to be pro-women? Don't think so. In her book the ideal woman meets certain criteria: she dissed any female characters who were insectile, virgins, or fat. Perhaps the author is really a man.Someone in McCaffrey's childhood must have been a hulking nightmarish bully who made her life difficult: her hated characters turn out to be petty and overbearing JUST BECAUSE they are fat. Her writing offended me because my addiction and obesity were forced upon me as a little girl, and I was forced to stay locked indoors. In her book, just how or why the women ended up being fat is never mentioned. But she finds more ways of discriminating against women...a fleet of female alien foes are insectile women from another planet, whose children are captured by humans and taken to science labs for dissection (yikes). And one character, an older woman who has chosen to stay chaste for life, (I paraphrase here) is sent by The Rowan a harsh telepathic message that she is "a shriveled up old virgin"! I'm surprised that a pro-women book would have The Rowan displaying such ardent, feverish hatred towards other women. The universe of The Rowan is a place most women would not be wanted or welcome. I suggest to McCaffrey, just re-title it "Pretty Popular P**ssed-Off Princess With Petty Pink Problems". Happy Bigoted Reading! cuddlygirl, age 26, NYC
Rating:
Summary: The Author is a Bigot--Her Book IS A Woman Hater
Review: McCaffrey is a bigot and this book proves it! Is this book SUPPOSED to be pro-women? Don't think so. In her book the ideal woman meets certain criteria: she dissed any female characters who were insectile, virgins, or fat. Perhaps the author is really a man. Someone in McCaffrey's childhood must have been a hulking nightmarish bully who made her life difficult: her hated characters turn out to be petty and overbearing JUST BECAUSE they are fat. Her writing offended me because my addiction and obesity were forced upon me as a little girl, and I was forced to stay locked indoors. In her book, just how or why the women ended up being fat is never mentioned. But she finds more ways of discriminating against women...a fleet of female alien foes are insectile women from another planet, whose children are captured by humans and taken to science labs for dissection (yikes). And one character, an older woman who has chosen to stay chaste for life, (I paraphrase here) is sent by The Rowan a harsh telepathic message that she is "a shriveled up old virgin"! I'm surprised that a pro-women book would have The Rowan displaying such ardent, feverish hatred towards other women. The universe of The Rowan is a place most women would not be wanted or welcome. I suggest to McCaffrey, just re-title it "Pretty Popular P**ssed-Off Princess With Petty Pink Problems". Happy Bigoted Reading! cuddlygirl, age 26, NYC
Rating: 
Summary: More about CHARACTERS than SCIENCE ...
Review: Not hard core sci-fi. The whole setting is assumed, and requires unqualified acceptance. However, once a reader accepts space teleportation (with help from gestalt) and the blazing mind power of Talents, it is very absorbing. The characters are very attractive - The young Rowan herself, with her mane of silver hair and Afra Lyon the humourous if methody green Cappellan, play the major roles in the book. The romance between the Rowan and Jeff Raven is almost a convention. In this and the other books in this series, it is possible to respond quite emotionally towards the characters, as we are privy to thier innermost thoughts, while they telepath, broadcast to thier hearts' content! If nothing else I admire McCaffery for her splendid characterisation. PS. I LOVE the book, but am trying to be objective here! PPS. Keep an eye on your own reactions to POWER and RANK (T-1, T-2, T-3 etc.) while you are reading this. It is quite revealing.
Rating:
Summary: An engaging book
Review: The characters in the book are well developed, and McCaffrey does an excellent job of drawing the reader into their lives. Unlike many portrayals of telepathic people, McCaffrey considers the issue of raising a child with significant telepathic powers. The book contains some irritating inconsistencies (where were the editors?), and the powers of the characters seem to expand and contract at the convenience of the author. Despite all of this, it is an enjoyable book, I can recommend it without hesitation.
Rating: 
Summary: A benchmark for the rest of the series
Review: The first book in the second half of McCaffrey's Talents series, The Rowan gives us all something to look forward to. With a rather cliched orphan-telepath storyline to work with, McCaffrey produces a surprisingly good tale taking us through her life, as she struggles to come to terms not only with who she is, but what she must do - namely, fight off a terrifying alien force with the help of a quixotic Talent called Jeff Raven. With McCaffrey's trademark descriptive prose mixed with her easy divisions of good and evil, it makes for interesting reading as well as a precursor for the better novels in the series.
Rating:
Summary: A must have for teens to adult age readers
Review: The Rowan begins a series of five books. It is an excellent series and "The Rowan" is the perfect beginning. I have purchased all five books and so love them that I am furbishing my library with the hardbound editions. My 15 year old daughter loves this book also. It bridges the often times hard-to-bridge gap from teen to adult. It was one of my favorites as a teen reader and is still on my list of favorites!
Rating:
Summary: The ROWAN is Amaizing!!
Review: The ROWAN is a book like no other. It tells of our future. Of mind powers that we elove called Talents. Rowan is a story of one Talent who is left alone in the world, is taken under federaltion, and has a lonely childhood. Growing up, she discovers how powerful she really is. After almost ten years of running her own tower, she meets the Raven of Deneb. He is the only other talent as powerful as she is. A long-distance telekinetic romance blooms, but an old child-hood fright makes Rowan unable to ever travel through space to Deneb. Finally, a major accident mortally wounds Raven, and in her dexperation to reach him, the Rowan must travel through the darkness. But will she be to late? Excellent Book!
| 
