Dragonholder

Rating:
Summary: only for fans of McCaffrey
Review: Admittedly, this book is for fans of author Anne McCaffrey. Fans had been clamoring for her to tell her life's story, but she's been too busy writing her novels. Her second son, Todd, wrote this book to give the fans a little bit of what they want. That's the problem. It is a little bit. This is a very slim volume (coming in at not much more than 100 pages) and is not very well organized. We are not really treated to the entirety of McCaffrey's life and this is not a chronological book. Todd McCaffrey jumps around quite a bit and never stays on any one subject for too long. We get glimpses of the science fiction legend. We see a little bit of her early life and the problems she had growing up. We see her as a struggle writer, and a struggling singer/actor. We see how these experiences shaped her later novels (the singer problems translated directly into Crystal Singer), but we never really get a sense of who Anne McCaffrey is. Granted, I'm not expecting the depth of research that we would get from Robert Caro or David McCullough, but this is a very skimpy biography and is somewhat of a let down. Decent enough for fans of McCaffrey, but I can't imagine this would be of interest to anybody else.

Rating:
Summary: only for fans of McCaffrey
Review: Admittedly, this book is for fans of author Anne McCaffrey. Fans had been clamoring for her to tell her life's story, but she's been too busy writing her novels. Her second son, Todd, wrote this book to give the fans a little bit of what they want. That's the problem. It is a little bit. This is a very slim volume (coming in at not much more than 100 pages) and is not very well organized. We are not really treated to the entirety of McCaffrey's life and this is not a chronological book. Todd McCaffrey jumps around quite a bit and never stays on any one subject for too long. We get glimpses of the science fiction legend. We see a little bit of her early life and the problems she had growing up. We see her as a struggle writer, and a struggling singer/actor. We see how these experiences shaped her later novels (the singer problems translated directly into Crystal Singer), but we never really get a sense of who Anne McCaffrey is. Granted, I'm not expecting the depth of research that we would get from Robert Caro or David McCullough, but this is a very skimpy biography and is somewhat of a let down. Decent enough for fans of McCaffrey, but I can't imagine this would be of interest to anybody else.

Rating:
Summary: DragonHolder
Review: Amazing book. Todd blows us away with an indepth veiw of what went into Anne McCaffreys novels, short stories and other works. Anyone who reads anything by Anne McCaffrey will enjoy this book wholeheartedly.

Rating:
Summary: DragonHolder
Review: Amazing book. Todd blows us away with an indepth veiw of what went into Anne McCaffreys novels, short stories and other works. Anyone who reads anything by Anne McCaffrey will enjoy this book wholeheartedly.

Rating:
Summary: Anne McCaffrey fans will enjoy this.
Review: Anne McCaffrey's son Todd has given us a pleasant, entertaining book about his mother, the people and animals in her life, and her writing. There are many photos scattered throughout. Don't expect a detailed, chronological biography or extensive coverage of her books. Here's what you can read about here: her dogs (Wizard, Merlin, Angelo), cats (Thomas-cat, Maxwell Smart, Isaac Asimov), and horse (Mr. Ed). There's a delightful account of an unlikely friendship between Mr. Ed and a cat named Zeke. Other highlights include Anne's early acting and singing career; her culinary talents; how life experiences influenced her books; her family heritage of "second sight"; the world of SF writers, editors and conventions; her move from the U.S. to Ireland in 1970; and the success of her dragon series. Toward the end of the book, Anne acquires her County Wicklow home, which she would name Dragonhold because her dragons had bought it for her.

Rating:
Summary: I was hoping for more
Review: As a huge Anne McCaffrey fan, I purchase all things Anne, and I was looking forward to reading about her life. Although there are great (short) stories about different times in Anne's life, her son Todd has not assembled them in chronological order, and the book only hits the "highlights". The jumping about chronologically was distracting. I hope Anne writes her full autobiography. She's a much better storyteller. I'd recommend this only for true Anne fans.

Rating:
Summary: I was hoping for more
Review: As a huge Anne McCaffrey fan, I purchase all things Anne, and I was looking forward to reading about her life. Although there are great (short) stories about different times in Anne's life, her son Todd has not assembled them in chronological order, and the book only hits the "highlights". The jumping about chronologically was distracting. I hope Anne writes her full autobiography. She's a much better storyteller. I'd recommend this only for true Anne fans.

Rating:
Summary: Loved the subject matter
Review: I agree with the first reviewer that the book jumps around a lot. The changing viewpoint and the apparent lack of chronological order were disappointing. The subject matter was unparalleled. I am a FAN from way back; I embarrassed myself thoroughly when giving her a personalized car license plate at a book signing the only time I ever got to meet her. She was gracious then to a shy fan and it was great fun to discover tidbits about her family. (Her father was instrumental in rescuing the Lipizzan Stallions? ) She will always be my favorite author. And all I can say to both her and to Todd, is write more about her. We fans can never get enough. For those of us who buy "all things Anne"this is a must read!

Rating:
Summary: Loved the subject matter
Review: I agree with the first reviewer that the book jumps around a lot. The changing viewpoint and the apparent lack of chronological order were disappointing. The subject matter was unparalleled. I am a FAN from way back; I embarrassed myself thoroughly when giving her a personalized car license plate at a book signing the only time I ever got to meet her. She was gracious then to a shy fan and it was great fun to discover tidbits about her family. (Her father was instrumental in rescuing the Lipizzan Stallions? ) She will always be my favorite author. And all I can say to both her and to Todd, is write more about her. We fans can never get enough. For those of us who buy "all things Anne"this is a must read!

Rating:
Summary: Sometimes teasing, always affectionate, fans will love it
Review: It's not hard to understand why Todd McCaffrey might be fond and proud of his mother. Anne McCaffrey remains one of the finest science fiction authors in the genre today, over thirty years after she began writing. It's also not hard to see that he is indeed very fond and very proud of her when you turn the pages of this biography. Told from his own point of view as someone who was there for quite a lot of it, this story of Anne's life vivdly illustrates her family tree, her childhood, her activity in the worlds of theater and music, her less-than-satisfying marriage to Todd's father, and how she got started writing her marvelous books. Complete with family photos and written with ill-concealed amusement and love, this is the kind of book any mother would want her child to write about her.