Dragonholder

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.

Rating:
Summary: Charming Fragments of a Life
Review: The only criticism possible for this biography of Anne McCaffrey by her son, Todd, is that it is too short. The book is a must-read for any Anne McCaffrey fan, but will leave any such fan saying "More! More!" It tells in brief her family background and the story of her life in a series of family anecdotes and his own favorite memories of growing up with his mother. What is in the book is lovely and charming and interesting and often quite touching, but it is disjointed and reads more like a sketch than a real biography. What you are left with is a sense of what an interesting person she is and how much you'd like to hear more, to have a really well-rounded portrait. That lack is why I gave it only four stars instead of five. Still, you are left with a new awareness of how incredibly brave Anne McCaffrey was and is. She wrote her wonderful dragon stories under the worst possible conditions -- an unhappy, difficult marriage, raising three children, one quite ill for some years, frequent moves, the death of her father, serious money worries. Through it all, she kept writing and was clearly an excellent mother. That alone makes her an inspiration. Read the book knowing its limitations and enjoying learning some charming fragments of a life.

Rating:
Summary: Charming Fragments of a Life
Review: The only criticism possible for this biography of Anne McCaffrey by her son, Todd, is that it is too short. The book is a must-read for any Anne McCaffrey fan, but will leave any such fan saying "More! More!" It tells in brief her family background and the story of her life in a series of family anecdotes and his own favorite memories of growing up with his mother. What is in the book is lovely and charming and interesting and often quite touching, but it is disjointed and reads more like a sketch than a real biography. What you are left with is a sense of what an interesting person she is and how much you'd like to hear more, to have a really well-rounded portrait. That lack is why I gave it only four stars instead of five. Still, you are left with a new awareness of how incredibly brave Anne McCaffrey was and is. She wrote her wonderful dragon stories under the worst possible conditions -- an unhappy, difficult marriage, raising three children, one quite ill for some years, frequent moves, the death of her father, serious money worries. Through it all, she kept writing and was clearly an excellent mother. That alone makes her an inspiration. Read the book knowing its limitations and enjoying learning some charming fragments of a life.

Rating:
Summary: Charming Fragments of a Life
Review: The only criticism possible for this biography of Anne McCaffrey by her son, Todd, is that it is too short. The book is a must-read for any Anne McCaffrey fan, but will leave any such fan saying "More! More!" It tells in brief her family background and the story of her life in a series of family anecdotes and his own favorite memories of growing up with his mother. What is in the book is lovely and charming and interesting and often quite touching, but it is disjointed and reads more like a sketch than a real biography. What you are left with is a sense of what an interesting person she is and how much you'd like to hear more, to have a really well-rounded portrait. That lack is why I gave it only four stars instead of five. Still, you are left with a new awareness of how incredibly brave Anne McCaffrey was and is. She wrote her wonderful dragon stories under the worst possible conditions -- an unhappy, difficult marriage, raising three children, one quite ill for some years, frequent moves, the death of her father, serious money worries. Through it all, she kept writing and was clearly an excellent mother. That alone makes her an inspiration. Read the book knowing its limitations and enjoying learning some charming fragments of a life.

Rating:
Summary: Survival in Difficult Times
Review: Tod tells a story of his Mother's struggles, not only to write, but just survive in a period when it was difficult to keep a roof over her head, child support moneys running out, and ESP episodes which proved out to be true.No wonder that PSI forms a major part of her writing (Pegasus series, & Dragonriders of Pern) A good read!, but I have to agree that the sequencing is a little irregular.

Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Todd, for this lovely book!
Review: Todd McCaffrey - you remember him from "Decision at Doona" don't you? - writes an incredibly lovely book about how his mother came to be one of the most-loved authors (you DID know she writes genres other than science fiction, didn't you?). The pictures of Ed and Zeke, of Isaac Asimov (both man and cat), of Andre Norton and Harlan Ellison, would make this book a must-have, in themselves. But, Todd does a masterful job of telling Anne's story, and his own, and I truly enjoyed it. Don't expect a 1,000 page treatise. This is just the right length to be enjoyed over and over - and I will!

Rating:
Summary: The blood will show...
Review: Todd McCaffrey has provided us with a well-written and interesting glimpse in to the life of his mother. There are some questions not answered, and much left unsaid -- but it is clear that this is done out of respect and consideration for his mother. The book is short, but once you pick it up you can't put it down. This book is as much a biography of Anne McCaffrey as recollections of Todd's own childhood. Through Todd McCaffrey and this book, you can appreciate and understand the problems that Anne McCaffrey overcame to achieve what she has achieved. And this is certainly an excellent book for aspiring writers who believe that if they can just get one book published, they've got it made, and not to give up if the first book or story story is declined. Todd McCaffrey did a great job!