Title: Lyon’s Pride (book 4 of 5 of the Talent & the Hive series. Book 7 if you include the Pegasus prequels as part of the same group)
Author: Anne McCaffrey
Publication date: 1995
My Grade: B+
My Review:
As many of you might already know, Anne McCaffrey’s The Talent & The Hive series is what gave me a love of Sci-fi/Fantasy. Its the reason I got into Star Trek, Star Gate and probably even why I gave Star Wars a chance.
My mother had bought earlier books and had them in a box that I stumbled upon. My first book was Damia, (although I later read The Rowan), and I made my way down the line, picking up the novels I didn’t already have.
This is the fourth book of the series, and continues the story of Damia’s oldest three children as they continue to deal with the Hiver situation. Laria, Damia’s oldest Daughter is Prime (leading telepath/telekinetic) on Clarf, the alien homeworld of the MrDini. Thian and Rojer are helping the joint naval organization of Humans & Mrdini track and and observe the Hivers, a group of insectoid beings who think of nothing but colonizing, destroying all other life forms in their path.
Given that this is part of a series, its hard to review without having alot to explain. Its very much a book of transition before the series finale, 2000’s The Tower & The Hive. We see the three main characters develop into adults. Rojer, the youngest at 16 at the start of the novel (perhaps 17-18 at the end of it), has the biggest emotional journey to go on as he is threatened by a MrDini Captain beat on annihilation of the Hivers. Laria deals with the complications that come with running an important Tower, including learning when to find better coworkers. Thian adjusts and settles more into his talents, leading his brother and several cousins in exploration of the Hiver Quadrant of the galaxy.
While Rojer has the most impactful story in this one, there is alot of information about the Hivers, who have been the antagonists since book one.
I recommend this book to anyone, mostly because its one of my favorites. I do however recommend you at least start with Damia, which is book 2. The actual first book is the Rowan, but some of the story is recovered in book 2 by Afra.
Sokorra Lewis 