Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful, but not her last I hope.
Review: This was a wonderful book. But I do think that Anne should have fleshed out some of the people that she just suddenly introduced into the story. I want to know more about Laria and Kincaid. What happened to what's his name, the guy that got thrown off Clarff by Laria, and what was the accident that suddenly gave him his power? Where in the world did Peter come from and what is he like? Is anything or anyone else going to threaten the family? Although Anne gave us a great story we want to know more about everything and everyone that she put in the last part of the book. Otherwise this is a great story all around and I enjoyed it completely.
Rating:
Summary: Last book? I hope not!
Review: Last book in the Rowan saga, it says. I hope not! There are _way_ too many loose ends hanging for me to want to stop here.This book features a contination of several story lines from previous books, and I suspect that it would be rather difficult for a reader to begin with this volume; there are at least four separate story lines, too. I hope McCaffrey changes her mind and does at least three or four more volumes!
Rating:
Summary: good but not her best by far
Review: This book is good but not her best. The plot was good but could have been expanded into much more. The pheremones thing got really old really fast, Anne you could have come up with someting better--especially when it came to that part of the Mrdini biology. While good to understand (somewhat) their biology, a little more could have been done to explain it. The book gives more an overview of many main characters, than just focusing on two or three, which allows for empathy and growth of the character. There was almost no character growth at all, and it was hard to sympathize with the plights of the characters. Don't believe the summary--the assisnation attempt wasn't that big of a deal. Also, there are a few discrepansies in the beginning, but another review points those out. It also says that the fate of the hivers is upon one mans shoulders, Pierre a T-10 perfume smeller. How come he was not introduced until the last 90 pages? There was no info on him, no empathizing with him, etc. Overall it was a good book, but early ones like The Rowan and Damia are far better. Read this book as an ending, it's not quite a filler book (but it's a little too close for comfort)
Rating:
Summary: Who wrote the introduction?????
Review: Did the person who wrote the introduction even read the books? Afra is not Damia's brother. No relation at all, in fact since they are married this is good. When Rojer's Drini are killed, it is his grandmother (The Rowan) along with his father who go to his aid. Then he goes to his great-grandmother's home to recover.
Rating: 
Summary: Great finale to a terrific series
Review: The Hivers attack on Daneb led to the marriage between Rowan and Raven, two of the most powerful parapsychics in the universe. Together, they successfully repel the invaders. Years later, the Mrdini race contacts their daughter and her future spouse. They ask for help in their two centuries old fight with the Hivers. The Terrans team up with the Mrdini to seek a way to defeat their mutual foe without resorting to killing off the entire species of Hivers. The Mrdini and the Hivers commonly share rapid population growth. Therefore, each needs new worlds to colonize. However, the Mrdini seem passive when compared to the Hivers and their vicious queens. Rowen, Raven, their daughter, son-in-law, and their grandchildren work together searching for a solution that will pacify the Hivers and find new worlds for the Mrdini to inhabit. If they fail, the universe could be in perpetual war. Their chance for success rests on the nose of one person. THE TOWER AND THE HIVE brings to a rousing conclusion an exciting series (see THE ROWAN, DAMIA, DAMIA'S CHILDREN, and LYON'S PRIDE). All the main characters from the previous books meet for one final triumphant curtain call. Anne McCaffrey remains one of the most talented authors of the latter half of the twentieth century due to her talent to make other worlds and races seem real. This skill makes this book and the entire series worth reading because rarely is it seen in such an exemplary way. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Was McCaffrey awake?
Review: Was Anne McCaffrey awake when she wrote this book? I have never encountered such a paint by numbers effort from this author. There was no character depth or development, and the plot was simplistic to the point of boredom. It does not end the series at all. I'll stick to the earlier books in the series and will never attempt this one again.
Rating: 
Summary: Tying up loose ends in Anne McCaffrey's Talent series
Review: When I was reading "The Tower and the Hive" I did not know it was intended to be the last volume in Anne McCaffrey's Talent series. Ideally I like to read a book without looking at what is on the dust jacket or hearing too much publicity; this is not always possible, granted, but I had picked up McCaffrey's book because it was part of the series and finally got around to reading it without hearing this was the end. Ironically, my primary feeling while reading "The Tower and the Hive" was not that McCaffrey was wrapping things up, but rather that she was setting something up for down the road. My mistake. The Humans and their Mrdini allies are still trying to find a way to deal with the Hiver menace. At the center of this effort are the Talented members of Federation Teleport and Telepath, especially those belonging to the Gwyn-Raven dynasty founded by the Rowan (of whom there is far too little). McCaffrey provides an introduction, "What Has Gone On Before," that will serve as an involved reminder for those who have been following the series but which will undoubtedly confuse newcomers who stumble on the book by accident, not knowing it is part of a series. I resisted the idea that "The Tower and the Hive" was about solving the Hiver problem, although the title is certainly a big clue in that direction. In retrospect, this book is essentially a collection of sub-plots involving "Lyon's Pride" the children of Afra Lyon and Damia, the Rowan's daughter: Laria finds love, Zara deals with the problem of Mrdini reproduction, and Thian is out with the fleet investigating strange Hiver worlds. At one point I thought the character of Vagrian Beliakin was going to shake-up things big time, but that proved not to be the case, and I am wondering if there is some subtle message to someone with the pivotal role played by Pierre Laney's unique talent in the novel's climax. Ultimately, I think the value of "The Tower and the Hive" is not as a culmination to the Talent Saga, but how the book stands in contrast to other noted science fiction sagas dealing with bug aliens, specifically Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" and Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game." Whether this is intentional or not on the part of the author, the comparisons seem both inevitable and fruitful. McCaffrey has always showed a talent for creative problem solving, which is one of the key elements at the heart of both the Talent and Pern series, so I would not dismiss her biological solution to interstellar warfare as mere pacifism. We should be mindful of the author's intended message when we notice that this series ends not with a big bang, but with a gentle fall of rain.
Rating: 
Summary: Rushed, disappointing end to the saga...
Review: The Rowan/Damia series, has to date been wonderful. But not here! In an ending I describe as "throw the material from two books into one and finish it up" this book looks VERY rushed, pushed and uncomfortable with itself. What a shame to end the series on such a note. People and events are refered to out of context to such an extent that you reread earlier parts of the book to make sure the pages aren't missing.
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