The Wings of Pegasus

The Talent #1-2

by Anne McCaffrey

As director of the Jerhattan Parapsychic Center, telepath Rhyssa Owen coordinated the job assignments for psychically gifted Talents. And though she had her hands full dealing with the unreasonable demand for kinetics to work on the space platform that would be humankind's stepping-stone to the stars, she was always ready to welcome new Talents to the Center.

Feisty and streetwise, twelve-year-old Tirla used her extraordinary knack for languages to eke out a living in the Linear developments, where the poor struggled to make ends meet and children were conscripted or sold into menial work programs. Young Peter, paralyzed in a freak accident, hoped someday to get into space where zero gravity would enable him to function more easily. Both desperately needed help only other Talents could provide.

With the appearance in her life of one extraordinary man with no measurable Talent at all, Rhyssa suddenly found herself questioning everything she thought she knew about her people. And when two Talented children were discovered to have some very unusual—and unexpected—abilities, she realized that she would have to reassess the potential of all Talentkind....

From the Paperback edition.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Paranormal, Own, Adult

446 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 1990

About the author

Anne 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.

Reviews

[Book2Dragon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Anne McCaffrey usually. Maybe her fantasy more than her science fiction.

I couldn't wait to finish this book. The characters were flat and unsympathetic. The plot was listless. The reference to Pegasus a stretch.

Sorry, Anne.

[Deb]

"I really liked this one. I like the contrast between the characters of Peter and Tirla, not only their personalities, but their origins and interactions with others. I also enjoyed how the rumor mill and fears (and hopes) of Tirla's people were dealt with - yes, I can well imagine the poor would be convinced that people in authority were out to get them for no good reason. I did like the view that only the rich would get to emigrate off-planet, leaving Earth to be taken over by them (the poor).[return][return]And watching the beginnings of T&T emerge (the space launches) was a good precursor to The Rowan and the rest of the Talent series."

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realized I had this book after finishing "To Ride Pegasus", so I only had to read the second book in this omnibus title, and it went quickly. A little too much and a bit too little describes this second story. Too many subplots were included and not enough information was given about some of the characters. Why was there information that Peter's older sister was jealous of him? It really doesn't seem relevant unless it comes up in one of the future series of books, perhaps. While Tirla was a great character, I'm not sure why she was included except perhaps as backstory for the future series (future meaning chronologically according to story line, not publication date). Having an adult madly in love with her is pretty creepy, even if she is 12 going on 32. Even if the adult is willing to wait for her, it still is a bit creepy. I'll agree with comments on other books that McCaffrey is pushing the sex implications more than seems appropriate, even if she does marry them off in a future book. Having said this, the book did hold my attention and I enjoyed it. I am going to have to see if the library has the third book since I don't own that one. This is more of a 3.5 but I'm rounding down for the creepy factor.

[Annette McIntyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a bit disappointed in this book because I thought it was full of stories I hadn't read, but it turns out that it is just an omnibus edition containing the short stories from the first book - To Ride Pegasus, and the second one - Pegasus in Flight.

However, that disappointment does not detract that these stories are holding up well to the passage of time and are just as good a read as they were when first published.

[Coral Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

These two stories are the beginning of the Talent series. Henry Darrow founds the psyonic Talents, and Peter the next huge leap.

[Allison Woolhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again McCaffrey delivers a story that keeps you enthralled with the development of psychic powers in a world that both desires and fears what they bring.

[Tom Nixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm approaching the end of my Wheel of Time re-read (and first time read for the last few books) so I wanted to start another series- and these times of quarantine and pandemic, I couldn't think of anything better than the origin story for McCaffery's 'Talent' saga.

Beginning in the not-to-distant future (at the time, anyway)- The Wings of Pegasus tells the story first of Henry Darrow, who when he's in a car accident gets proof that ESP is actually real and changes the world forever. Soon he's founded a center for these 'Talents' and manages to get them a permanent home before his death and the work of achieving professional immunity then passes to the second generation and Daffyd Op Owen- who must contend with rogue 'Talents' that seek to derail their hard won victory for professional immunity and a new talent more powerful than they've seen. (And all that is just in 'To Ride Pegasus.')

'Pegasus In Flight' skips ahead even further to the next generation where we meet Peter Reidinger, a quadraplegic teenager who develops a new Talent- using kinesis in gestalt with machines to enhance his power- which comes in handy when the Talents are forced to send their strongest kinetics to help build the great space platform of Padrugoi Space Station so humanity can take to the stars.

I kind of wonder how McCaffery is viewed these days, becase there are aspects of this book that feel curiously dated to me. Don't get me wrong: this is pandemic comfort reading and I love it- but at the same time, her vision of the future is curiously dark. ("Illegal" kids get sterilized whether they want too or not, because their births were against the law, there's a thriving trade in illegal kids, with sickos using them for slave labor/organ donation/sexual perversion. There's also a little matter of AI being used for initial court appearances- which was an odd touch I didn't pick up on the last time I read these books. There's also fake nicotine, which is "better for you.") With Tirla's story in 'Pegasus in Flight' we sort of see a glimpse of day to day life for regular folks- and I'd be curious to see more from the 'ground level' as it were, because aspects of it feel kind of fucked up in many ways.

Also, can we talk about Sascha and Tirla? Tirla is 12. Sascha is not. Sascha 'pre-cogs' that he's going to marry Tirla--- and while in the book, Sascha realizes this and thinks, 'well, damn I gotta wait 8 or 9 years here'- which is responsible and less creepy-- the end of the book is like, "shit, they 'ripen faster' in Tirla's culture, so she'll be ready to be married in four years." At sixteen years old...

It's sketch. And a little uncomfortable, to be honest. But... okay then. (The words 'she's very heteronormative' spring to mind and there's a thing here where Talents gotta breed with Talents to make more Talents which is also kind of... uncomfortable- but at least vaguely in line with population controls already well established in McCaffery's world here. (Lagos/Ruth Horvath need to apply for permission to reproduce which strikes me as... sketch as well.)

But still: COMFORT READING IS AWESOME AND I LIKE THESE BOOKS.

[Paul (formerly known as Current) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book consists of two separate publications. The first, called To Ride Pegasus is from 1973 (with two sections of it dating to earlier publications in 1969). The second, called Pegasus in Flight is from 1990. The stories together show a founding history and then a later generation of a commune/community/union of people with psychic "Talents". In terms of overall story line, the later book was, in my mind, the better story as the conflict has multiple layers to it of both personal events and politics. The first book, although tied together, still has a feeling of separate stories conjoined and it seems to focus more heavily on the political side of things.

Enjoyable reads. But...

1. I don't find the use of Pegasus in the titles and as referenced in the stories apt at all.
2. This has an awful lot of the Heinlein style of granting the central characters superhuman abilities--they have a huge amount of money, they are brilliant, and they have powers. The good intentions of the key characters seem to overcome many of the problems of how people behave badly in ways that are lacking any depth.
3. It is interesting to juxtapose this story line with the X-Men comics. Although both the comics and these novels just indicate that these powers appear (no real explanation or science behind their rise) the Pegasus books stick with the Superman style of a socially embedded morality of doing good in the world, whereas the X-Men deal constantly with the flaws of their characters. The Pegasus books propose that the Talents themselves are used to resolve psychological problems and seem to have an underlying thesis that humans are "good" especially if all the bad psychology has been fixed. Both X-Men and the Pegasus stories work extensively with the "outsider" and "frightenly strange" aspects of people with powers/talents. On a larger scale, one always wonders whether these societies would become dominating powers of their cultures with extreme dictatorships and fascist tendencies, wiping out the normals/untalented and those considered bad-seeds.

[Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

4.5*

First time read the author's work?: No

Will you be reading more?: Yes

Would you recommend?: Yes


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the future, we've figured out how to test for psychic abilities and the couple that stumble across this create a center to help find and teach the various 'gifted' and we follow their progress from discovery, to how they change the world to the beginning of space travel.

Part speculative sci-fi, part political maneuvering and part X-men, this is a fun series.

McCaffrey has a bit of trouble juggling the big cast. Each story has three fleshed out characters and a bunch of people that are just there and get a little to do.

[Al]

From Publishers Weekly

McCaffrey continues to develop her future world in which psionic Talents, once feared and despised, are by now necessary to the comfort and conduct of society. Following the events in To Ride, Pegasus and set a generation or so before The Rowan , this era finds mankind not yet having settled planets outside the solar system. Even with officially mandated birth control, the world teems with too many people. Essential to the construction of a space station being built to serve as springboard to the stars are the services of the Talents--particularly the telekinetics, who can move objects by mental power. Telepath Rhyssa Owen, a top official of the Center for Parapsychic Talents, must contend with the station's construction manager, who treats Talents brutally and otherwise discourages them from working for her. Meanwhile two youngsters are found to be unusually Talented: Peter Reidinger overcomes paralysis to develop the first gestalt with electrical generators (this becomes the basis for future space travel), while Tirlap, an illegal child from the vertical slums, facilitates communication among a wide variety of cultures. Meanwhile, kidnappers prey on children for pederastic pursuits and for spare parts. McCaffrey's world of the Talented is as vivid as that of Pern and its dragons.

[Sherrill Watson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a good thing they put two books together, or I wouldn't have read them both. Anne McCaffrey is an excellent writer, but seems to have missed with these.

The first book sets up the premise that there are PSI Talents, and how negatively the general public reacts to them. The second book takes Peter and Tirls through their discoveries about themselves and is much more interesting. There are no animals AT ALL, (what happened to "pet the kitty?"), only confrontations between stupid people and unlearned people. And the Russians aren't the bad guys anymore. Sorry, this one doesn't make it.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of this trilogy, this is probably my least favorite, but it is a good introduction to the trilogy about discovering that some people really do have psionic powers/skills. It is not about superheros, but regular people who have a little extra. This book is how it all really gets off the ground as a legitimate enterprise.

[BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this book and finding the bracelets a wondrous way to track amount of credit. I specifically liked reading about the paralyzed Peter who learned how to move again. I found it very sad that his family preferred him damaged than independent. I wish I was like the little girl who could speak all those languages so quickly. That would be a dream of mine.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pegasus in Flight and to Ride Pegasus 2 Best Selling Novels
McCaffrey, Anne
a great story collection of mental powers
the greater extention of humanity in telekinesis and telepathy, allowing people to reach the stars with augmentation, and proper use of their given ability. The book shows the struggle and triumph of people trying to be acknowledged for their ability, and put to a good use.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wings of Pegasus
McCaffrey, Anne

the building of tn t and the creation of a world wide organization of talented minds
a story of over coming adversity. the struggles of peter to control his new powers,and amplify them

a story of over coming adversity

[Jessie]

The Wings of Pegasus by Anne McCaffrey (1990)

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

although it's impressive how she sets up a whole new way of doing things, it shows a lot of her flaws.

[Randall]

Hatdback

[Dominick Cosolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, relatable characters.