Anne McCaffrey

"I must find my own kind!" Found as an infant drifting in space, Acorna, the Unicorn Girl, has become a young woman. She still has her tiny, translucent horn, and her "funny" feet and hands. And, she still has her miraculous ability to make plants grow and heal human sickness. But Acorna has strange dreams of a gentle folk who mind-speak by touching horns. With her "Uncle" Calum, one of the three grizzled asteroid prospectors who rescued, protected, and raised her, she sets off to find her people. No sooner does she leave than a mysterious craft appears, piloted by the Linyaari, a gentle race with telepathic powers. The Linyaari are roaming the galaxy, spreading the alarm about the deadly Khleev--And searching for a beloved little girl they had given up for lost, long ago...

A rich & varied collection of the best short fantasy fiction of the last two centuries. Escape into the fantastic worlds of Charles Dickens, J.M. Barrie, Graham Greene, Harlan Ellison, and others found in these 38 magical tales.

This is a collection of several short stories by Anne McCaffrey covering sciece fiction, fantasy and other areas. Each story is precluded by her into what her motivation was for the story and a bit about it. For a McCaffrey fan, this is solid entertainment.

For Carla Murdock, recently orphaned and recovering from a serious illness, the summons from her guardian to his windswept Cape Cod house came as the last straw. With her life in tatters and her spirits at a low ebb on Merlin, her alsatian dog, seemed to offer comfort. Then Carla began to learn the truth about her father's end and found herself swept into the intriguing mystery of a missing treasure. Encouraged by the strange and overwhelming love which grew between she and her guardian, Carla realised that her future was bright with promise. [from the cover]

From back cover Del Ray paperback June 1979: After the first human contact with the Siwannese, that entire race committed mass suicide. So the Terran government made a law -- no further contact would be allowed with sentient creatures anywhere in the galaxy. Therefore Doona could be colonized only if an official survey established that the planet was both habitable and uninhabited. But Spacedep had made a mistake -- Doona was inhabited. Now the colonists choice was limited. Leave Doona and return to the teeming hell of an overpopulated Terra. Or kill the catlike Hrrubans. Or learn, for the first time in history, how to coexist with an alien race...

An Anthology of Hugo award winners. The highest prize in Sci-Fi. Each of these stories, by different authors, was voted as the best novella/short story of a particular year. Asimov was also the editor or something. I have read it and loved it. Science Fiction at it's best.

From the wilderness of Sinai in the south to Mount Hermon in the north, the question of Yeshua of Nazareth's identity resounds across the ancient land of Israel. Even evil waits to hear the answer. It is in the very air, the storm, and the sea. Zahav, the lonely, unmarried daughter of an old rabbi, waits for the promised Messiah ... waits for love. Her heart is drawn toward Alexander and his young son, who is ravaged by evil forces. But can their forbidden love endure the trials that will face them? Susanna and Manaen struggle as they begin their life together. Bitter over an evil act of violence that left him blind, Manaen cannot accept a life of darkness. Will their relationship survive the overwhelming odds?

While running from a bully, Kaslin leaps into a cave, slides down a slippery slope, and enters a world ruled by an alien intelligence.

Grade Level 7-9

For more than thirty years, Pern has conjured visions of brave men and women mounted upon the backs of dragons. As anyone knows who has been touched by the storytelling magic of Anne McCaffrey, to read of the exotic world of Pern is to inhabit it--and to experience its extraordinary dragons is to soar aloft with them and share their dazzling adventures.Now, A Gift of Dragons brings together three beloved stories and a thrilling new tale of Pern in a single volume illustrated with beautiful artwork by Tom Kidd. In "The Smallest Dragonboy," Keevan is the youngest dragonrider candidate, determined to impress a dragon when the next clutch of eggs hatches. But what transpires will surprise everyone--Keevan most of all. In "The Girl Who Heard Dragons," a young girl's rare ability to communicate with dragons puts her family in danger and will bring her face to face with her greatest fears--and with her most secret desire. The "Runner of Pern" is a girl named Tenna, who follows family tradition by delivering messages--and who will find her destiny on the mossy traces that runners have used for centuries under the dragon-filled sky. And finally, a very special gift: an exciting new Pern adventure, published here for the first time, fresh from the imagination of Anne McCaffrey.From the Hardcover edition.

ix, 405 pages ; 18 cm840L Lexile

The Dragon Masters - novella by Jack Vance No Truce with Kings - novella by Poul Anderson Soldier, Ask Not - novella by Gordon R. Dickson "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman - short story by Harlan Ellison The Last Castle - novella by Jack Vance Neutron Star - novelette by Larry Niven Weyr Search - novella by Anne McCaffrey Riders of the Purple Wage - novella by Philip José Farmer Gonna Roll the Bones - novelette by Fritz Leiber I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream - short story by Harlan Ellison Nightwings - novella by Robert Silverberg The Sharing of Flesh - novelette by Poul Anderson The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World - short story by Harlan Ellison (variant of The Beast That Shouted Love 1968) Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones - novelette by Samuel R. Delany

They intherited their mother's legendary powers of telepathy. But Damia's children will need more than psionic Talent to face the enemy's children - an alien race more insect than human.