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This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.
That said, on to the review!
Petaybee has asserted its sentience and won itself a reprieve from outside interference...or so everyone thinks. There are those in the galaxy who, displeased at having their plans and agendas thwarted, now plot the downfall of Petaybee and those dwelling upon it. This time, however, the schemes are much more nefarious and subtle. Tourists arriving without approval and landing discreetly in the wilderness. Pharmaceutical corporations lured to the planet with hints of miracle drugs and anodynes. Religious cults determined to find in Petaybee an omniscient and omnipresent being. But none of these can compare to the blow aimed at the planet's human administrators: a kidnapping of Major Yanaba Maddock, who bears within her the offspring of one who is especially close to the planet! What effect will these events have on the planet's future? And what will Petaybee do when it learns of the abduction?
Castmates from Powers That Be and Power Lines join with a handful of new characters for this last installment in the Petaybee series. We have new heroes to cheer on along with a handful of villains, including the most enigmatic and problematic one of all, Dinah O'Neill a.k.a. the pirate Onidi Louchard. Now there is a character you'll have trouble entirely hating or entirely liking. It's really hard to like someone who deals with the series' villains so readily, but it's also really hard to hate someone who's had such a terrible childhood and upbringing. Leave it to two great authors to create such a complex character. On the other hand, I really enjoyed it when Matthew Luzon and Torkel Fiske got theirs.
This novel is much different from its predecessors. Seeing the planet's first steps towards being accepted as a sentient being was wonderful, but there are moments of awkwardness and confusion as we see the planet more obviously demonstrating its sentience. Before there was always the middleman (or -woman) there to interpret the planet's actions or to guide it along. The planet's more direct reactions, responses, interactions, and interventions were mildly unsettling to behold. Overall, though, they emphasized that the planet was a sentient being with a will and mind of its own. The only part I found disagreeable was the planet actually speaking to its inhabitants with words...but the explanation for why the planet could speak was reasonably plausible, so I'm not going to make an issue of it. Judging by the success of the books, no else did, so why should I?
This third collaboration between Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough wraps up the Petaybee books. It's a good place to end, what with the planet's greatest opponents being incarcerated for an undisclosed amount of time. The planet has come into its own, so what better place to stop than that? Well, I could ask for a new Petaybee series, but...it's fine for now!
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