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Crystal Singer #3
Crystal Line
Killashandra was the most gifted Crystal Singer on Ballybran.With her partner, Lars Dahl, she held the record for cutting the terrible, fascinating, and infinitely rare black crystals - crystals that could destroy the brain of a Singer if they were not properly controlled.Killashandra and Lars Dahl together were an invincible pair.
So when, on the distant planet of Opal, a new, beautiful, unfathomable manifestation was discovered, Lars and Killashandra were the team asked to explore the 'Jewel Junk'.All those who had previously encountered it had died.Only the Crystal Singers, with the immune system of Ballybran in their blood, were thought to stand a chance of survival.The 'Jewel Junk' was brilliant and mysterious, and became even more so when fed with some of Ballybran's precious crystals.But it was to be twenty-five years before the planet Opal released one of its secrets - a secret that was to prove the salvation of Ballybran and the Crystal Singers.
So when, on the distant planet of Opal, a new, beautiful, unfathomable manifestation was discovered, Lars and Killashandra were the team asked to explore the 'Jewel Junk'.All those who had previously encountered it had died.Only the Crystal Singers, with the immune system of Ballybran in their blood, were thought to stand a chance of survival.The 'Jewel Junk' was brilliant and mysterious, and became even more so when fed with some of Ballybran's precious crystals.But it was to be twenty-five years before the planet Opal released one of its secrets - a secret that was to prove the salvation of Ballybran and the Crystal Singers.
349 pages, Paperback
First published June 4, 1994
275 people are currently reading
2089 people want to read
About the author
Anne McCaffrey
463 books7,687 followersAnne Inez McCaffrey was an American writer known for the Dragonriders of Pern science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction (Best Novella, Weyr Search, 1968) and the first to win a Nebula Award (Best Novella, Dragonrider, 1969). Her 1978 novel The White Dragon became one of the first science-fiction books to appear on the New York Times Best Seller list.
In 2005 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named McCaffrey its 22nd Grand Master, an annual award to living writers of fantasy and science fiction. She was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame on 17 June 2006. She also received the Robert A. Heinlein Award for her work in 2007.
In 2005 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named McCaffrey its 22nd Grand Master, an annual award to living writers of fantasy and science fiction. She was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame on 17 June 2006. She also received the Robert A. Heinlein Award for her work in 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 269 reviews
August 23, 2024
Heh, I noticed that my rating is already the most liked "review" of this book despite (or perhaps because of) not being accompanied by any words.
The truth is I could give an extensive account of what I remember about this trilogy in one short paragraph. I do, however, remember that I enjoyed it when I read it back in the 90s.
I have 32 Anne McCaffrey books on my shelves and one Todd McCaffrey. My mother got me McCaffrey's very first Pern book shortly after it was published - I would have been around 10 or 11. Became a big fan.
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The truth is I could give an extensive account of what I remember about this trilogy in one short paragraph. I do, however, remember that I enjoyed it when I read it back in the 90s.
I have 32 Anne McCaffrey books on my shelves and one Todd McCaffrey. My mother got me McCaffrey's very first Pern book shortly after it was published - I would have been around 10 or 11. Became a big fan.
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May 19, 2011
Anne McCaffrey's books usually get a 3 from me, meaning "Don't expect to get much of lasting value from this, but it's fun." But this one falls below that line. Its plot is not really interesting or believable... in fact I can hardly remember it though I read it just a few months ago (& have been, since I signed up, reviewing books I read years ago which I remember just fine.) It seems as if this book exists simply to solve Killashandra's problems so she can live Happily Ever After. Apparently with emphasis on the "Ever".
This is also the book that made me fully aware of the worst flaw in McCaffrey's writing. There's a scene in which the strange, living substance the characters have discovered and nicknamed Jewel Junk is examined by a scientist, who calls it Fluid Metal or FM for short. He is repeatedly ridiculed by Killashandra and her friend for wanting them to call the stuff by his new scientific name, and he responds by being pedantic and whiny. It is ridiculously exaggerated. Basically he has been created as a target for their scorn; his whininess is to be despised by the reader, while it's clear Killashandra's mockery is to be interpreted as simply her being cool and mouthy.
This scene opened my eyes to all the other instances of the same thing throughout her work. Basically she has Chosen Characters. They are special, and other people hate them because they are special. (And the idea that some people are special and some are not is deliberately inherent in many of her sci-fi creations: dragonriders, Talents, crystal singers.) They are persecuted, but in the end they come out on top. All their decisions are right, and if they are ill-tempered (like Killashandra) or even do harm to others (like Piemur, who steals a valuable fire-lizard egg from a Bad Character) they never get called on it. They are never in the wrong. Acts which get roundly condemned if done by a non-Chosen Character (like gossip and backstabbing) are OK if done by a Chosen Character because they're just telling it like it is.
I don't like this trope one bit. I think it's morally harmful. When we read a feel-good book we do it to identify with the main character and enjoy the ride, and this ride includes identifying with the main character in the belief that we are special and anyone who finds fault with us is Bad. Then we come back to the real world... and treat that rival co-worker the way Anne McCaffrey treats, say, Kylara. Real great.
This is also the book that made me fully aware of the worst flaw in McCaffrey's writing. There's a scene in which the strange, living substance the characters have discovered and nicknamed Jewel Junk is examined by a scientist, who calls it Fluid Metal or FM for short. He is repeatedly ridiculed by Killashandra and her friend for wanting them to call the stuff by his new scientific name, and he responds by being pedantic and whiny. It is ridiculously exaggerated. Basically he has been created as a target for their scorn; his whininess is to be despised by the reader, while it's clear Killashandra's mockery is to be interpreted as simply her being cool and mouthy.
This scene opened my eyes to all the other instances of the same thing throughout her work. Basically she has Chosen Characters. They are special, and other people hate them because they are special. (And the idea that some people are special and some are not is deliberately inherent in many of her sci-fi creations: dragonriders, Talents, crystal singers.) They are persecuted, but in the end they come out on top. All their decisions are right, and if they are ill-tempered (like Killashandra) or even do harm to others (like Piemur, who steals a valuable fire-lizard egg from a Bad Character) they never get called on it. They are never in the wrong. Acts which get roundly condemned if done by a non-Chosen Character (like gossip and backstabbing) are OK if done by a Chosen Character because they're just telling it like it is.
I don't like this trope one bit. I think it's morally harmful. When we read a feel-good book we do it to identify with the main character and enjoy the ride, and this ride includes identifying with the main character in the belief that we are special and anyone who finds fault with us is Bad. Then we come back to the real world... and treat that rival co-worker the way Anne McCaffrey treats, say, Kylara. Real great.
December 4, 2018
Guh. Love this book and its emotional roller-coaster of events. I love Lars and Killa, but I really do love Shad Tucker, too, and Orric. This book is full of really fun secondary characters whose stories I wish were also told, somewhere.
Still five stars. Except for one small thing, it's perfect. and the small thing is really small and not worth even mentioning here.
Other reviewers talk about how this book is a mess of plot and not nearly as well written as the first two -- but I think part of the trouble they have with it, is that they're focusing on the wrong elements. This book is primarily about Killa and Lars, and exploring what it means to be in a relationship if you can't remember who you are or your shared experiences with that person -- Crystal Singing provides the context for the story and the situation Killa's placed in, but the book isn't about the Guild or the mystery of the Opalescence, it's about the challenges and conflict between Lars, who remembers everything, and Killashandra, who has chosen deliberately to forget as much as possible about her past, including even the experiences she's shared with Lars.
Consider: the book begins with Killa and Lars sailing on Ballybran, because they've lost their sled and didn't have the credit for a real holiday off planet. The opening thoughts from Killa are about how well she knows Lars and how automatic her responses are to him from long habit, more than anything else, and ALSO about how she can't wait to forget about how they lost the sled, which she finds to be a personally embarrassing. This sets up the focus of the story for the entire rest of the book.
What I have always loved most about Anne McCaffrey's work is that her books are very much character books, first. Crystal Line lives up to that designation.
Still five stars. Except for one small thing, it's perfect. and the small thing is really small and not worth even mentioning here.
Other reviewers talk about how this book is a mess of plot and not nearly as well written as the first two -- but I think part of the trouble they have with it, is that they're focusing on the wrong elements. This book is primarily about Killa and Lars, and exploring what it means to be in a relationship if you can't remember who you are or your shared experiences with that person -- Crystal Singing provides the context for the story and the situation Killa's placed in, but the book isn't about the Guild or the mystery of the Opalescence, it's about the challenges and conflict between Lars, who remembers everything, and Killashandra, who has chosen deliberately to forget as much as possible about her past, including even the experiences she's shared with Lars.
Consider: the book begins with Killa and Lars sailing on Ballybran, because they've lost their sled and didn't have the credit for a real holiday off planet. The opening thoughts from Killa are about how well she knows Lars and how automatic her responses are to him from long habit, more than anything else, and ALSO about how she can't wait to forget about how they lost the sled, which she finds to be a personally embarrassing. This sets up the focus of the story for the entire rest of the book.
What I have always loved most about Anne McCaffrey's work is that her books are very much character books, first. Crystal Line lives up to that designation.
April 6, 2015
I see this book and the last two getting a lot of flack for Killa being "too melodramtic." I don't disagree that she is dramtic, but it makes her character interesting, in the same way Blanche from "Streetcar Named Desire" or Scarlett from "Gone with the Wind" are interesting. Killa had to be a vibrant, passionate character or else the loss of her personality over the last century, the loss of her memories and her mind, wouldn't be such a tragedy. She is a strong, independent, passionate, dramatic, sometimes silly, talented woman, who makes us feel for her losses even more than she becomes capable of feeling. I love the lost sense of time in this book, where there would be missing decades between pages because Killa couldn't remember them. Don't expect classic literature here, but it is a fun read. Especially if you liked the first one.
June 5, 2011
I read this immediately after finishing the previous two in the series, over a couple of days during a particularly emotional few weeks - I can't really give a proper review of it because I'm not particularly objective as a result, but it struck a chord, I completely lost myself in it, and once I finished it, I cried and cried and cried. Wonderful :)
March 25, 2014
A portrait of the crystal singer as an old woman. Having read several of the reviews of this book I read it expecting Killa to be a total bitch and treat her partner horribly unfairly. I guess that says a lot about expectations of a woman's behaviour as compliant and sweet. Killa is grumpy, she's lost or is losing her memories, she's insecure and her lover's memory is a constant reminder of the damage she is suffering. As in real life, there are rows and irritating habits, a partner's hobbies that drive you wild. We see Killa struggle and feel betrayed, lose her way, try and fail to regain her youth and then almost kill herself. Not a profound book, but there's more depth here than in the other two. And, of course, a happy ending though I wish it hadn't involved Killa conceding everything so completely (I was wrong to want to pick a holiday once in a while & I will settle down and become your PA oh powerful male CEO).
June 28, 2014
My pet peeve with book covers is when the cover doesn't match the story, like this cover. Over and over again we're told about Killashandra's dark hair so who the hell is this on the cover!?
I really enjoyed this book. I like how Lars and Killashandra have risen above their misunderstandings and mostly her memory loss.
I really enjoyed this book. I like how Lars and Killashandra have risen above their misunderstandings and mostly her memory loss.
July 18, 2017
This was a fine ending to an otherwise great series. Killashandra goes through a sort of life crisis about how old she’s getting and how many memories she’s forgotten, and when her life in the guild starts to change, so goes through a full-out breakdown and cuts herself off from everyone she loves and cares about and only focuses on cutting crystal. There’s a brief side story regarding a new kind of substance found on a planet people have just started to explore, and while it comes full circle in the end, it didn’t add very much to the story overall.
I wish this story could have taken place in the middle book, because what this series has are two great books at the beginning and a mediocre book at the end that definitely wraps up loose ends and resolves the story overall, but it was much less interesting than the others because it was a purely internal conflict for Killashandra; it would have been much more interesting to have that breakthrough earlier in the series and then have something thrilling and exciting to end it with, but that’s just me.
Overall, it’s a fine ending. I don’t think you necessarily need it to finish the series, to be honest. But, I’m a completionist, so I truly understand if anyone hates the idea of not reading this last book. Just be prepared for mediocrity. It’s not terrible, but it’s a letdown from the rest of the series. I’m looking forward to moving on and starting another McCaffrey series, though!
Also posted on Purple People Readers.
I wish this story could have taken place in the middle book, because what this series has are two great books at the beginning and a mediocre book at the end that definitely wraps up loose ends and resolves the story overall, but it was much less interesting than the others because it was a purely internal conflict for Killashandra; it would have been much more interesting to have that breakthrough earlier in the series and then have something thrilling and exciting to end it with, but that’s just me.
Overall, it’s a fine ending. I don’t think you necessarily need it to finish the series, to be honest. But, I’m a completionist, so I truly understand if anyone hates the idea of not reading this last book. Just be prepared for mediocrity. It’s not terrible, but it’s a letdown from the rest of the series. I’m looking forward to moving on and starting another McCaffrey series, though!
Also posted on Purple People Readers.
June 10, 2012
It was a nice surprise to learn that there was a third Crystal Singer book. I think I liked the first two better, but it was good to read more about Killa and Lars even if the plot was a bit drawn out.
January 18, 2020
Crystal Singers are infected with a symbiotic life form that heals them and gives them longer life - but eventually they lose their memories. This story is told from the perspective of a much older Killishandra who has this poignant problem.
The story is one familiar to anyone who knows aging friends or relatives with Alzheimers or other degenerative conditions. Irritating, irascible, and yet loved and supported by her partner Lars Dahl, this novel can be at times painful to read. Stepping back, this is also a story about the growth of the crystal singers guild, and builds this interesting universe further. It also ties in with The Ship Who Sang, another McCaffrey book.
Unlike real life, the situation does get better here, and McCaffrey was sometimes criticized for these happy endings. Another criticism is a dual standard - characters misbehaving before or after criticizing others for the same behavior. Killishandra does this a lot, and though one could argue her seniority in the guild gives her the right, it is still irritating. This novel is a good conclusion to the series, but not as good a book as the second or first.
The story is one familiar to anyone who knows aging friends or relatives with Alzheimers or other degenerative conditions. Irritating, irascible, and yet loved and supported by her partner Lars Dahl, this novel can be at times painful to read. Stepping back, this is also a story about the growth of the crystal singers guild, and builds this interesting universe further. It also ties in with The Ship Who Sang, another McCaffrey book.
Unlike real life, the situation does get better here, and McCaffrey was sometimes criticized for these happy endings. Another criticism is a dual standard - characters misbehaving before or after criticizing others for the same behavior. Killishandra does this a lot, and though one could argue her seniority in the guild gives her the right, it is still irritating. This novel is a good conclusion to the series, but not as good a book as the second or first.
December 13, 2023
"Crystal! The worst addiction in the galaxy; difficult to live with and impossible to live without."
Killashandra Ree is back in this third and final book of the Crystal Singer trilogy. It was as great as the other two books but I hated to leave Ballybran and all the different worlds visited in the trilogy.
Killashandra does leave Ballybran again a couple of times in Crystal Line for some work and leisure but quite a bit of the story takes place on Ballybran, with its own politics and issues.
Killashandra is getting older in this story and is facing the memory problems inherent to crystal singers and that is sad.
I highly recommend this book and the entire trilogy.
Killashandra Ree is back in this third and final book of the Crystal Singer trilogy. It was as great as the other two books but I hated to leave Ballybran and all the different worlds visited in the trilogy.
Killashandra does leave Ballybran again a couple of times in Crystal Line for some work and leisure but quite a bit of the story takes place on Ballybran, with its own politics and issues.
Killashandra is getting older in this story and is facing the memory problems inherent to crystal singers and that is sad.
I highly recommend this book and the entire trilogy.
August 25, 2020
Crystal Line was a heart-render at times, so many characters that have featured in the previous books are dying from old age or have already passed on, and the book should have a warning I suppose of character death within it's pages...
Killashandra and Lars have made a happy duet for a very long time, singing crystal, vacationing together, the works. Up until they are asked by Lanzecki to go investigate a new planet just recently discovered, also covered in crystal formations, that could be of interest to the guild. Mostly he wants to know if Crystal Singers are immune to the deathly affects the planet seems to have. They decide after seeing how the planet reacts that it's actually sentient and feels pain when parts are removed, so the leave after attempting communication... and on a whim, Killashandra plants some broken off crystal shards in some of it's points to see what it does.
The rest of the book is pretty much her jumping from scene to scene in a disjointed fashion and it reads like it's all in one time-frame but there's clues as you go that indicate years have passed between one moment to the next. The book really gave you a look at what it's like to lose your memories from one moment to the next, whole decades just... gone. You sometimes struggle to figure out how much time has passed between the previous bit you just read and the current one you're in, but it's just a very well done display of her broken, fractured mind. The ending is ... happy but also VERY quick, I would have appreciated a bit more end to the book , to be honest.
Killashandra and Lars have made a happy duet for a very long time, singing crystal, vacationing together, the works. Up until they are asked by Lanzecki to go investigate a new planet just recently discovered, also covered in crystal formations, that could be of interest to the guild. Mostly he wants to know if Crystal Singers are immune to the deathly affects the planet seems to have. They decide after seeing how the planet reacts that it's actually sentient and feels pain when parts are removed, so the leave after attempting communication... and on a whim, Killashandra plants some broken off crystal shards in some of it's points to see what it does.
The rest of the book is pretty much her jumping from scene to scene in a disjointed fashion and it reads like it's all in one time-frame but there's clues as you go that indicate years have passed between one moment to the next. The book really gave you a look at what it's like to lose your memories from one moment to the next, whole decades just... gone. You sometimes struggle to figure out how much time has passed between the previous bit you just read and the current one you're in, but it's just a very well done display of her broken, fractured mind. The ending is ... happy but also VERY quick, I would have appreciated a bit more end to the book , to be honest.
December 11, 2014
Crystal Line is definitely the least of the Crystal Singer trilogy, as our heroine Killashandra has been alive for centuries and her long history of singing crystal has reduced her memory to so much mush. She spends a good half of the book in a brain-rotted tantrum, refusing to accept the death of the leader of her guild and the fact that her lover has risen to that position since then. Eventually she does get it through her scattered brains that she needs to remember how to remember, and the story ends off on a positive note. The middle part of the novel is pretty much garbage, though. Only McCaffrey's enormous talent keeps Crystal Line from getting less than three stars, and even then, I almost put it up and didn't finish it. If you have the patience, Killa does eventually pull her head out of her own ass, but if not, give this third book a pass and just enjoy the first two.
June 30, 2012
I read this book quite long ago, and recently I wondered how I had forgotten it completely, when the proceeding two books were so memorable. Reading it again clarified my absence of memory. The story is quite scattered and the writing less than stellar. The characters seem quite flat. Other reviews have referred to the main character as bitchy, and yes, in this book she is, and she is not particularly likable or even believable. However, the author has built a fascinating world and basis for great storytelling in the first two books. I want to know what happens to the characters. Perhaps I will look to fan fiction to find some satisfactory wrap or continuation to the storyline, because I don't get any sense of completeness here in this book.
January 6, 2018
Superior storytelling
Truly greatest climax to a superior trilogy.
New plot twists that create several storylines. A page Turner you will not want to put down.
Truly greatest climax to a superior trilogy.
New plot twists that create several storylines. A page Turner you will not want to put down.
July 2, 2018
*snort* *blub* *wibble*
Review to come - thanks Anne for doing a Hobb and steam-rollering over my heart a few times!!
Review to come - thanks Anne for doing a Hobb and steam-rollering over my heart a few times!!
March 26, 2025
This book was rough to read, with the main character going through dementia for most if it. There's a bit of deus ex machina towards the end, which I'm not fond of, but I think this book was an excellent finale for the trilogy.
Also, while not stated plainly, Killashandra and Lanzecki are [implied to be] bi (despite Killa only taking on men as lovers), and at least one character has a "like-for-like preference" (she's a lesbian). For 80s sci-fi? I'll take it.
Also, while not stated plainly, Killashandra and Lanzecki are [implied to be] bi (despite Killa only taking on men as lovers), and at least one character has a "like-for-like preference" (she's a lesbian). For 80s sci-fi? I'll take it.
September 15, 2022
Fantastic trilogy
July 31, 2017
i couldn't just leave the series un-re-finished!
May 5, 2025
Love love the ending. Mccaffrey was an absolute grand master of her craft.
December 2, 2024
What a wonderful end to this trilogy. Killashandra faces her memory loss and still cuts crystal. But Lars is ever on her mind. I loved the adventure and emotion. Anne is a masterful story teller.
July 18, 2008
I liked this better than the second book, which was forgettable. True, it ventures off the beaten path with meeting a strange sentient crystal planet, but I for one like how she developed the protagonist along the typical personality of the crystal singers which Killashandra meets in the first book. Killa may be determined to excel, but she isn't immune to the undesirable side effects of singing. There's only so much you can write about cutting crystal, and so I liked this foray off the main planet Ballybran.
The first book is still the best though :)
The first book is still the best though :)
February 11, 2019
I wouldn't say the ending was predictable, but I wasn't surprised by it, either. The timeline seemed a little off. I was under the impression that Killashandra met Lars just 2 or 3 years after joining the guild, but then events transpired which made me wonder at the timing. I probably just misread something somewhere.
December 26, 2021
While I enjoyed the premise of the series, Killashandra herself is an unpleasant character and she's at her worst in this last book. I don't for a moment understand why Lars, who is himself an unrealistic character, puts up with her.
February 14, 2022
Another re-read. The series is interesting, and I enjoy it, but there is some lack of consistency throughout the series. Still, this shows how change comes to the guild and I like seeing people mature and grow and change.
August 15, 2015
Library hardcover
February 16, 2016
I always hate reaching the end of a good series with fun characters, and this was no exception.
October 24, 2019
My favourite of the three books!
Clever sophisticated plots, wonderful Characters that anyone can relate too! Much joy in their re reading has been found.
Clever sophisticated plots, wonderful Characters that anyone can relate too! Much joy in their re reading has been found.
Read
December 20, 2020I've noticed a pattern in the Crystal singer series. Killa manages to get herself overwrought about something, storms off planet, and has some wild series of adventures as a result. I much prefer a character who grows and changes over time, and Killashandra seems emotionally frozen as a shrill and emotional wreck, at times. The other thing that seems to happen regularly when she departs in a rage is that she finds a man to attach herself to, and to sleep with. In this third volume of McCaffrey's series, she turns into a total slut. How disappointing.
Crystal Line starts off benignly enough, with Lars Dahl (from Killashandra) and Killa having partnered as crystal singers on Ballybran for a long time, usually quite successfully cutting enough crystal to get off planet and enjoy long sailing adventures together on a seemingly endless list of water worlds. Guild Master Lanzecki sends them off on a mission to investigate a new, possibly sentient, type of mineral or crystal that's been discovered on a barren world, and the first part of the novel is intriguing. I actually thought McCaffrey was going somewhere important with it, at first. This new discovery is totally ignored until very near the end of the book, when it performs a deus ex machina routine and cures Killa of her memory loss, so she and Lars can live happily ever after.
When they return, Lanzecki begins to take Lars under his wing, so to speak, and includes him in some of the day to day business of the Guild. Killa seems oblivious to this, except as it affects her time spent with Lars, and how it inconveniences her schedule. When Lanzecki, who has grown old in the Guild Master job, goes out into the Ranges and essentially commits "suicide by crystal thrall", Lars Dahl is elected as the new GM, and Killa refuses to accept both Lanzecki's death, and Lars' new position.
Lars Dahl has made a habit of recording his experiences dutifully, so he won't forget who he is, what he's done, or who he loves, when singing crystal messes with his memory. But Killashandra has been lazy about doing so, and there are some things that she decided long ago she'd rather forget (any failure on her part, for one thing, which reveals something not so flattering about Killa's character). Her memory is not so good at this point, and she becomes unable to distinguish between Lars and Lanzecki's tenure as Guild Master. There is a new techique for helping Singers to recover their memories, but Killashandra refuses to be treated, and cuts crystal by herself for the first time in decades, then runs away from the situation, ending up on a water world by herself.
Killashandra overstays her slutty welcome, and ends up with severe crystal withdrawal symptoms. She returns to Ballybran considerably weakened, and Lars takes her back out into the Ranges to cut crystal again, letting her symbiont heal. The Guild is in the middle of a crisis, with a decimated force of singers, mainly through attrition and low recruitment, and unfilled orders from the FSP worlds, that competitors are hoping to fill with their crystal substitutes. Together, they must double-handedly save the Guild from extinction, or perhaps merely irrelevance.
This was a series that began well, but faded out with a whimper.
Crystal Line starts off benignly enough, with Lars Dahl (from Killashandra) and Killa having partnered as crystal singers on Ballybran for a long time, usually quite successfully cutting enough crystal to get off planet and enjoy long sailing adventures together on a seemingly endless list of water worlds. Guild Master Lanzecki sends them off on a mission to investigate a new, possibly sentient, type of mineral or crystal that's been discovered on a barren world, and the first part of the novel is intriguing. I actually thought McCaffrey was going somewhere important with it, at first. This new discovery is totally ignored until very near the end of the book, when it performs a deus ex machina routine and cures Killa of her memory loss, so she and Lars can live happily ever after.
When they return, Lanzecki begins to take Lars under his wing, so to speak, and includes him in some of the day to day business of the Guild. Killa seems oblivious to this, except as it affects her time spent with Lars, and how it inconveniences her schedule. When Lanzecki, who has grown old in the Guild Master job, goes out into the Ranges and essentially commits "suicide by crystal thrall", Lars Dahl is elected as the new GM, and Killa refuses to accept both Lanzecki's death, and Lars' new position.
Lars Dahl has made a habit of recording his experiences dutifully, so he won't forget who he is, what he's done, or who he loves, when singing crystal messes with his memory. But Killashandra has been lazy about doing so, and there are some things that she decided long ago she'd rather forget (any failure on her part, for one thing, which reveals something not so flattering about Killa's character). Her memory is not so good at this point, and she becomes unable to distinguish between Lars and Lanzecki's tenure as Guild Master. There is a new techique for helping Singers to recover their memories, but Killashandra refuses to be treated, and cuts crystal by herself for the first time in decades, then runs away from the situation, ending up on a water world by herself.
Killashandra overstays her slutty welcome, and ends up with severe crystal withdrawal symptoms. She returns to Ballybran considerably weakened, and Lars takes her back out into the Ranges to cut crystal again, letting her symbiont heal. The Guild is in the middle of a crisis, with a decimated force of singers, mainly through attrition and low recruitment, and unfilled orders from the FSP worlds, that competitors are hoping to fill with their crystal substitutes. Together, they must double-handedly save the Guild from extinction, or perhaps merely irrelevance.
This was a series that began well, but faded out with a whimper.
July 8, 2021
Incredible conclusion to a fantastic, romantic sci-fi trilogy
MY RATING SYSTEM
5 stars--WOW
4 stars--would read again
3 stars--was good, won't read again
2 stars--read it, but didn't enjoy it
1 star--didn't finish, it was so awful
Do I need to read books before this one: yes
Cliffhanger: no
SUMMARY
Killa and Lars get back from sailing around Ballybran's largest continent. Lanzecki immediately calls them in, wants them to take a B&B ship to investigate a new substance in a part of space that's being explored. They need crystal singers because the symbiont protects them. Also, Trag had detected a resonance from the stuff, similar to crystal in the Ranges. All members of the initial team died from exposure but Trag, who has since died of pneumonia. Killa doesn't remember that.
They investigate with Brendan, the brain, while Boira, the brawn, recovers from an injury. Killa and Lars feel it's alive since it's grown and it pulses in patterns, so maybe sentient. They take a piece for lab study; that piece immediately stops reacting, and the rest of it withdraws. They feed it different stuff Brendan has, and watch it grow. They give back the piece they took. After a vacation on a non-water planet, they take a scrap piece of crystal back to Jewel Junk as a test; it eats it right away, and different caverns of it pulsate, too.
When they get back to Ballybran, Lanzecki spends a lot of time with Lars. They all go to cut crystal. When a storm comes, Lanzecki's new assistant can't break him from crystal thrall. Killa recognizes the signals Lanzecki's been giving recently, knows he's choosing to die, won't let Lars respond to the mayday. They fight, she wants to forget, so cuts crystal without Lars. When she finally has enough to get off-planet, she goes to a water world, but doesn't know why.
EVALUATION
The mystery of Jewel Junk grabs my attention immediately. McCaffrey affirms that professionals aren't the only people who have good ideas.
I love the different sciences McCaffrey toys with: life forms, B&B, regression, singing as an incising tool. She missed the mark on some things (Killa and Lars don't have portable video cameras, computer filming systems), but her imagination and writing more than make up for her seer skills.
I wept multiple times. McCaffrey creates characters that are easy to relate to because they do human things, react in human ways. They experience victory and defeat, love and loss, yet McCaffrey's overall theme is hope.
I feel McCaffrey left the world of crystal singing open if her collaborators wanted to pursue it, yet the story of Killa and Lars is resolved sufficiently, with hope for a better Guild in the near future. Killa definitely achieves an exit, triumphant, stage center.
Now as for Jewel Junk….
RECOMMENDATION
Everyone who's read books 1 and 2
POSSIBLE TRIGGERS (SPOILERS)
Sex: all off page
Language: 0 F words, 1 Lord's name in vain, 1 S word
Violence: slap
CRITIQUE (SPOILERS)
Why must non-singers stay on Ballybran?
MY RATING SYSTEM
5 stars--WOW
4 stars--would read again
3 stars--was good, won't read again
2 stars--read it, but didn't enjoy it
1 star--didn't finish, it was so awful
Do I need to read books before this one: yes
Cliffhanger: no
SUMMARY
Killa and Lars get back from sailing around Ballybran's largest continent. Lanzecki immediately calls them in, wants them to take a B&B ship to investigate a new substance in a part of space that's being explored. They need crystal singers because the symbiont protects them. Also, Trag had detected a resonance from the stuff, similar to crystal in the Ranges. All members of the initial team died from exposure but Trag, who has since died of pneumonia. Killa doesn't remember that.
They investigate with Brendan, the brain, while Boira, the brawn, recovers from an injury. Killa and Lars feel it's alive since it's grown and it pulses in patterns, so maybe sentient. They take a piece for lab study; that piece immediately stops reacting, and the rest of it withdraws. They feed it different stuff Brendan has, and watch it grow. They give back the piece they took. After a vacation on a non-water planet, they take a scrap piece of crystal back to Jewel Junk as a test; it eats it right away, and different caverns of it pulsate, too.
When they get back to Ballybran, Lanzecki spends a lot of time with Lars. They all go to cut crystal. When a storm comes, Lanzecki's new assistant can't break him from crystal thrall. Killa recognizes the signals Lanzecki's been giving recently, knows he's choosing to die, won't let Lars respond to the mayday. They fight, she wants to forget, so cuts crystal without Lars. When she finally has enough to get off-planet, she goes to a water world, but doesn't know why.
EVALUATION
The mystery of Jewel Junk grabs my attention immediately. McCaffrey affirms that professionals aren't the only people who have good ideas.
I love the different sciences McCaffrey toys with: life forms, B&B, regression, singing as an incising tool. She missed the mark on some things (Killa and Lars don't have portable video cameras, computer filming systems), but her imagination and writing more than make up for her seer skills.
I wept multiple times. McCaffrey creates characters that are easy to relate to because they do human things, react in human ways. They experience victory and defeat, love and loss, yet McCaffrey's overall theme is hope.
I feel McCaffrey left the world of crystal singing open if her collaborators wanted to pursue it, yet the story of Killa and Lars is resolved sufficiently, with hope for a better Guild in the near future. Killa definitely achieves an exit, triumphant, stage center.
Now as for Jewel Junk….
RECOMMENDATION
Everyone who's read books 1 and 2
POSSIBLE TRIGGERS (SPOILERS)
Sex: all off page
Language: 0 F words, 1 Lord's name in vain, 1 S word
Violence: slap
CRITIQUE (SPOILERS)
Why must non-singers stay on Ballybran?
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