Rating: Summary: Very Very good Review: I loved this book best, of all A MC's work. You sympathise with the character, you feel what is happening through the powerfully written words, reinforced with the imagery evoked by lyrics from Dylan, who is held up as a future Icon. (well hell, he is one now!) We love Nyal and his inadequacies as a person, and identify with the ship... I read it too long ago to be sure I even get the names right, but I can darn well remember the feel of them! It's a great book and well worth reading, the first of the "ships who..." stuff, and the best. More scifi than fantasy.
Rating: Summary: A song that doesn't fade Review: I read The Ship Who Sang when it first came out in the late 60s, and have read it a frightening number of times since. As a teenager I was entirely captivated by the wonderfully real Helva, one of the most genuine characters I had ever come across in SF at that time. She got mad, she exulted, she loved, she mourned, while all around her cardboard SF characters were moving in their puppet dance. There are scenes in this book that have stuck in my imagination for 30 years, powerful images of a world sprung from the mind of the author - but I never associate this work with the writer. It is too vibrant in its own right to need any other references. Anne McCaffrey has created, in The Ship Who Sang, an enduring classic of Science Fiction. This is a work with a brilliantly realised idea of a particular future, combined with enough passion to ensure that the characters will outlive all of us. Brava, Ms McCaffrey, and thank you.
Rating: Summary: Undulate? Review: I recently read The Ship Who Sang, by Ann McCaffery, as as a component to a college course where we composed questions and judged a literary festival. While at first put off by the title as well as the cover, I forced myself to read it in hopes that there was some redeemable quality held within its pages; some morsel which would make it worthy to use in a literary festival. I believe I may have found several such morsels. One of these morsels was the reference to Shakespearean Drama; not an easy pill to make teenagers swallow. Another such morsel was the loyalty Helva showed to even those people whom she hardly knew. The most important redeeming quality that I found within this book was the premise that even though Helva is severely disfigured, supposedly beyond repair, she still has value in this society. This is something that everyone should come away from this book from. However, this book's redeeming qualities were far outweighed and overshadowed by the harlequin romance quality and arcane sexual innuendo used by the author. Being that it was written in the sixties, I'm willing to give her some leeway, but not that much. The professor for my fiction writing class gave us a list of words at the beginning of the semester that we were never allowed to use. One of these words was undulate, a word Ann McCaffery used three separate times within this book. At one point, the character of Ansra, an actress was described as being "erect" in stature, while she "undulate[ed] down the corridor"(112). I don not see how it is possible for someone with ramrod straight posture to undulate, whether if she was in zero gravity or not. I believe that while this book did have some redeeming qualities, they were not enough to carry the book. While not being the worst novel I have ever read, it certainly ranks at the lower end of my scale. I do not see how it could have ever been recommended for a literary festival when so many science fiction novels oh higher caliber are existent. One suggestion I can personally provide is The Giver. On the other hand, if a reader is insistent on reading this novel, and can find something overwhelming positive about it, I certainly hope that my review will discourage them.
Rating: Summary: For those who misunderstand Review: I've read many of these reviews, and a lot of them seem to be about censorship.If you want to censor what people read, go ahead, but giving a book one star because it contains the word "undulate" is ridiculous. The sexual passion in the book is essential to the plot, if you don't understand that, I suggest you don't teach. A great book, especially for it's time. The followup novels help to bring this book full circle.
Rating: Summary: Pass the cheese, please! Review: It amazed me that McAffrey's "The Ship Who Sang" could even be considered suitable for high school and middle school aged children to read. I am a 22-year-old senior in college and it took me four hours to get through the first three chapters and I couldn't force myself to go any further. The book is filled with explicit sexual undertones and so much "cheesy" writing that I was embarrassed to read it. I can't imagine a 13-year-old girl doing the same. Personally, I would never recommend this book to anyone, let alone attempt to teach it in a classroom situation.
Rating: Summary: GREAT ON MANY LEVELS Review: It never occured to me to write, or even read a 'customer review' of Anne McCaffrey. I've enjoyed her since I was eighteen years old. Simply, She is one of two SF/Fantasy authors I buy in hardback. I'm enjoying reading the thoughts of people just discovering her, and also the controversy! That said, THE SHIP WHO SANG is marvelous on many levels. Ms. McCaffrey has said that what she does best are love stories and Helva is as heroic yet soft-hearted as anyone could wish. As a silly little escape from the realities of the working world, this book succeeds. As a homage to her father, she overwhelms. In a purely sci/fi vein, McCaffrey took the concept of cyborgs to a great extreme at a time when artificial heart valves and kidney transplants were in their infancy. The first functional pace maker didn't debut until 1960. The first of the Helva stories that make up this book came out in 1961. THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN didn't appear until twelve years later, when Helva and her peers (shell people) were already the elite of space exploration, single-handed managers of major metropolis's and coordinators of space mining platforms. STAR TREK didn't boldly go here until 1966! While it's not Jules Verne, this ain't too shabby! I see the Helva stories as perfect to spark high school discussions. McCaffrey's unified galaxy, Central Worlds presaged our current move to a global economy by forty years. Her social consciousness emphasizes the need for the arts in a civilized society and serious issues like euthanasia, drug use and civic responsibility are all major themes. The entire concept of social protestors evolving into 'Dylanists' should set the stage for historical discussions of the Viet Nam Era and extrapolating Shakespearean universality into alien societies should do the same. Her use of language has also greatly improved my vocabulary! (I won't even start on the military's way of honoring its members with parades and such and hypocritical senators who fight for NEA cuts. Attending a Memorial Day parade should be enough to convince ANY of them!) I greatly enjoy the way the author took short stories and incorporated them into one book. I like her characters, their intelligence, their strength, their firmness of conviction, especially her women. Yes there are stereotypes, yes there's implied sex but the only 'graphic' passage has to do with overcoming one's baser instincts, a positive in my opinion. I also greatly admire the way McCaffrey's works overlap. Helva turns up briefly in the Crystal Singer series, where other brain ships play a major role, which I think is great fun. Look at this book from any view point, and it should turn out to be enjoyable. I give 4 stars, because, written as it was in the 60's it's slang seems dated now!
Rating: Summary: GREAT ON MANY LEVELS Review: It never occured to me to write, or even read a 'customer review' of Anne McCaffrey. I've enjoyed her since I was eighteen years old. Simply, She is one of two SF/Fantasy authors I buy in hardback. I'm enjoying reading the thoughts of people just discovering her, and also the controversy! That said, THE SHIP WHO SANG is marvelous on many levels. Ms. McCaffrey has said that what she does best are love stories and Helva is as heroic yet soft-hearted as anyone could wish. As a silly little escape from the realities of the working world, this book succeeds. As a homage to her father, she overwhelms. In a purely sci/fi vein, McCaffrey took the concept of cyborgs to a great extreme at a time when artificial heart valves and kidney transplants were in their infancy. The first functional pace maker didn't debut until 1960. The first of the Helva stories that make up this book came out in 1961. THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN didn't appear until twelve years later, when Helva and her peers (shell people) were already the elite of space exploration, single-handed managers of major metropolis's and coordinators of space mining platforms. STAR TREK didn't boldly go here until 1966! While it's not Jules Verne, this ain't too shabby! I see the Helva stories as perfect to spark high school discussions. McCaffrey's unified galaxy, Central Worlds presaged our current move to a global economy by forty years. Her social consciousness emphasizes the need for the arts in a civilized society and serious issues like euthanasia, drug use and civic responsibility are all major themes. The entire concept of social protestors evolving into 'Dylanists' should set the stage for historical discussions of the Viet Nam Era and extrapolating Shakespearean universality into alien societies should do the same. Her use of language has also greatly improved my vocabulary! (I won't even start on the military's way of honoring its members with parades and such and hypocritical senators who fight for NEA cuts. Attending a Memorial Day parade should be enough to convince ANY of them!) I greatly enjoy the way the author took short stories and incorporated them into one book. I like her characters, their intelligence, their strength, their firmness of conviction, especially her women. Yes there are stereotypes, yes there's implied sex but the only 'graphic' passage has to do with overcoming one's baser instincts, a positive in my opinion. I also greatly admire the way McCaffrey's works overlap. Helva turns up briefly in the Crystal Singer series, where other brain ships play a major role, which I think is great fun. Look at this book from any view point, and it should turn out to be enjoyable. I give 4 stars, because, written as it was in the 60's it's slang seems dated now!
Rating: Summary: A Great Book Indeed Review: It was just fun to read, interesting story, and I liked the caracters, what more can I say...
Rating: Summary: Undeveloped in several areas Review: Ok, right off the bat you have a brain separated from its body. How such an organ operates without sensory input is, well, better left to the science fiction writers. Anyway, the brain not only thinks but talks and even sings, with the "voice of an angel". Yes, I know this is a physical impossible without a mouth but hey, this is the space age and anything goes. While exploring and practicing for the Met, Ms Brain (Helga) suddenly discovers Mr. Right who, unfortunately happens to be a "real" person who is "really" attached to his brain. You'd think with all her great powers she could simply invent the perfect mate and do bad things in cyberland. But she wants the real McCoy and on the way battles a lot of bad guys. What can you say? It's like a combination of the worst of the original Star Treks (gorgeous aliens and cardboard rocks) and one of those "books for the wellbred teenage young lady". Belongs in the Romance Section.
Rating: Summary: Undeveloped in several areas Review: Ok, right off the bat you have a brain separated from its body. How such an organ operates without sensory input is, well, better left to the science fiction writers. Anyway, the brain not only thinks but talks and even sings, with the "voice of an angel". Yes, I know this is a physical impossible without a mouth but hey, this is the space age and anything goes. While exploring and practicing for the Met, Ms Brain (Helga) suddenly discovers Mr. Right who, unfortunately happens to be a "real" person who is "really" attached to his brain. You'd think with all her great powers she could simply invent the perfect mate and do bad things in cyberland. But she wants the real McCoy and on the way battles a lot of bad guys. What can you say? It's like a combination of the worst of the original Star Treks (gorgeous aliens and cardboard rocks) and one of those "books for the wellbred teenage young lady". Belongs in the Romance Section.
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