Crisis on Doona

Doona #2

by Anne McCaffrey, Jody Lynn Nye

1st Orbit 1993 paperback edition, vg++ In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ebooks, Aliens, Adventure

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

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

[Len · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could never really get into this story and at 476 pages that is a lot of disappointment. It has too much of the old fashioned 1950s science fiction written for the all-American boy. An alien planet colonized as an extension of the cattle ranching Old West. A young male hero with his loyal sidekick (in this case a worldly feline who seems to be there to play the sophisticated Greek teacher to his headstrong Roman tribune.) A square-jawed, honorable father who seems to be impersonating Gary Cooper in High Noon. A hard-working mom, happy to be preparing an endless variety of foods in the kitchen and serving them to the waiting menfolk. Young independent women portrayed as tomboys who will grow out of it, get married, and probably take their turn toiling in the kitchen. A permanently drunk old trooper who, instead of squatting on the toilet pooing liver pâté out of his backside as nature would insist, is a vibrant, loyal, quick thinking ally in any dangerous endeavour.

I appreciate the morals on display: fighting the good fight against corrupt politicians and businessmen; struggling for the supremacy of democracy; not only tolerating but embracing racial differences; respecting alien ecology – except for big snakes - I agree with the Doonans, I can't be having big snakes. It is just that all the well meaning philosophy and moral instruction sits uneasily in the structure of a juvenile SF story.

Judged as an adventure tale it is OK. Not brilliant, the characters are a bit wooden at times and always predictable, but readable when there is nothing more pressing on the horizon. Good for a quiet day on the beach or a long train ride. It has something in common with a long sermon: you might fall asleep half way through.

[Anya · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book put me seriously behind in my reading challenge. I had to keep forcing myself to come back to it instead of finding other things to do.

I suspect that Anne McCaffrey herself had very little to do with the book except to supply the world and characters. The book is written 25 years after the first and lacks her particular anthropological insight, crisp technology explanations and unique characterisations.

The characters in this book are colourless except for being white hats or black hats, to a western analogy. Any individuality they had in the first novel has evaporated to the point that I have trouble telling them apart.

The plot is obvious to the point of being meaningless. In fact it is declared in the first chapter what the plot is and who the villains are. All the answers come deus ex machina and the ending is an anticlimactic copy of the ending of the first book.

Part of the problem is that I've read Nye's interpretations of McCaffrey's worlds before, in the Brain Brawn series and this book reads exactly like those.

I'm unlikely to read the last book of the trilogy as I'm completely disappointed by this contrived sequel to a book that didn't really need one.

[Steven Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much like the first book in this duology, this paperback did not survive a deployment where I read it numerous times. Another old favorite, which I actually like a bit better than the first book.

[Thomas Knowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new release from Event Horizon EBooks, an e-book reprint of the original 1992 Ace paperback edition. Note that the rating is posted by the publisher

[Vampfiction · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was published in 1992, 25 years after Decision at Doona, and was co-authored with Anne, and Jody Lynn Nye.

The story itself, is also set 25 years after the Decision, and starts as the anniversary of the Treaty is due to end, and a more permanent Treaty signed.

Both Todd Reeve, and his Hrruban friend, Hrriss, have grown up in the service of Doona/Rrrala, and are still known for their honour and truth throughout the known worlds - but there are also still some Humans, and Hrrubans, who want to make sure that the new Treaty isn't signed.

When Todd and Hrriss are returning to Doona, after yet another a
Diplomatic Mission, they hear a distress signal, a Mayday, set just on the fourth planet of an interdicted system. Being the honourable young men that they are, they go into the system anyway, to rescue whoever is in trouble, only to find that they have been set up, and the Mayday was a recording, set onto an orbital beacon.

When they realise that they have been set up to break the interdicted law, they try to bring the beacon where they can bring it with them as proof, but realise that it has been rigged to blow up if they try.

As it was important that they get back to Doona immediately, as they were both serving as Hunt Masters for the annual Doona Snake Hunt, where the snakes made their annual progress between land and sea, to lay their eggs as they had always done.

The Hunt was a necessity, if the Human/Hrrubans wished to keep their livestock alive, so Todd and Hrriss had no time to spare when they landed, to do anything but report what had happened, and seal their ship, to be inspected after the Hunt was over.

Unfortunately, this was just what was planned, by those who wanted the Treaty to be broken and, just as the Hunt finished, the ship is examined by a senior lieutenant, Rogitel, the subordinate of their old enemy, Landreau, now Admiral of Spacedep.

What was so conveniently found in that search, was enough to have Todd and Hrriss under house arrest, until they could give proof, or not, of their innocence. This, because of the seriousness of the crime, could very easily stop the Treaty renewal.

This is then the start of a huge search, for both evidence of their innocence, and to find out just who was guilty of their setup, and it will take all the people of Doona, and their contacts and friends, to make things right again.

I enjoyed reading this book, although I did feel that a lot of what I love in Anne's writing was missing here. There was plenty of plot, and many new, and old characters involved, but I got the feeling throughout the story, as if it were more Jody Lynn Nye's words, rather than Anne's.

There was something missing throughout the story, that Anne always supplies - it was as if there were no real heart to it, so I couldn't enjoy it, as much as I usually do with her books, hence the 3 stars, rather than her usual 4.

Don't get me wrong. It was lovely to revisit Doona/Rrrala, and all the characters that id grown to love - or hate - but there was definitely a spark missing that I've always found in Anne's books.

I just hope I'll find it again in the third book of this series: Treaty Planet!

[Judy Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been 25 years since the events of Decision at Doona. It is time for hayuman and Hrruban to decide again. Will this experiment become permanent? Can two races live in harmony? Todd and Hrriss have been the faces of the experiment, and its ambassadors, traveling through the settled worlds teaching about their world. Then, with only weeks to go, Todd and Hrriss find themselves having to make a difficult choice, whether to enter an interdicted section of space in response to a distress call or ignore it, which would mean ignoring their own sense of honor. They couldn't know that this situation was a step in a long-ranging plan to threaten the success of Doona/Rrala.

Todd has grown up to be as good a man as his father. Hrriss was a shadow of Todd in Decision, but now he is his own man too, every bit as good as his own father. Both characters come to life. Their friendship is vital to them, but they are coming to a point in their lives where they are ready to make other decisions about their futures.

More time is spent with hayumans, but we do see Hrriss's life and learn more about Hrruban culture. I appreciated those glimpses. This is a very good book and a worthy continuation of the story of Doona/Rrala.

[Nikaty · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never read the original Doona book (picked this up second hand and didn't realise it was a sequel) and the only reason I could finish this one was because I wanted to see how they deal with all the really obvious antagonists by the end.
Honestly there's not really anything I can recommend for this, apart from the fact the original story outline seemed interesting. The writing is bad, with the author pressing too hard to point out that 'living on earth sucks and Doona is like a paradise' without providing any commentary or insight into it as you normally find in sci-fi. The characters are all 2D and uninteresting, and the antagonists are the worst. Kind of a spoiler but these people have supposedly found themselves in the middle of an intergalactic political scheme and they absolutely BUCKLE at the slightest accusation, and spew out their secrets instantly, despite the fact some of them are meant to be career politicians/military members. Like, I'm pretty confident you lie a lot in that line of work.
If you really liked the original Doona then maybe you'll fare better than me but you'll be ignoring a lot to reach the end.

[Al "Tank" · Rating 4 out of 5]

McCaffrey and Nye have done a good job of continuing the Doona saga. The bad guys (from both races) are trying to sabotage a renewal of the agreement that's coming up. Our old friends, Todd and Hrriss have grown up and are still tight friends and most of the controversy swirls around them.

Once the frame-up started to surface, I was so uneasy that I couldn't read it just before going to bed, so I'd read out of another book right before bed so I could get to sleep. Yes, the writing is that evocative and the "bad guys" are everywhere and good at being bad.

If you like suspense, this is a good way to get it.

[Frank McGirk · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never read (listened to) a full book by the famous Anne McCaffrey...and I still haven't.

I was about 10 and I tried reading one of her Dragonriders of Pern books...but didn't get far: the dragonriders fought strings that fell from the sky.

This book on tape was a bit of a cheaper affair, so besides a very pedestrian story of power jockeying, the lady reading seemed to have landed the job primarily for her ability to roll her R's when the "lion people" were speaking.

At first, I felt it was "good/bad"...but I could only stand about 45 minutes.

[Shari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne McCaffrey, was a favorite of mine when she was writing about dragon's, excellent reads!! But when I saw this on Amazon, I was surprised, I didn't realize she was writing other types of books! This is a futuristic look at earth in 200 years or less. She is spot on, with this book. It has something for everyone. I loved it. I believe there are two more in this series. I have read the second one and it gets better!
Thanks to McCaffrey for fabulous writing and please keep writing and I will read!!

[Carley Termeer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to see Todd and Hrriss grown up, and I enjoyed the twists and turns in the story. But the case against them was pretty darn complicated and a bit hard to believe they would be that elaborate.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty solid story. Eh, not for me.

[Mahek Mahendra Shah · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read many of Anne McCaffrey’s series. I’ve re-read this series more than once and still enjOy it!

[Joanne Airey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than Decision at Doona. The improvement in writing and the addition of a second author bumped up the quality.
I really enjoyed the how the conspiracy played out and the eventual outcome was very satisfying.
I am looking forward to the conclusion to the trilogy.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superior book to the first Doona novel focusing on the struggle to maintain the peace of the treaty from the first book. A lot of political activity, investigation, and even a little romance.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

1992 - PB - & Jody Lynn Nye - Have It - Keep It

[Mjhancock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Returning home to the joint colony Doona just in time for the annual Hunt, best friends Todd Reeve and Hrriss the Hrruban (think alien cat people)are in bigger trouble than having to corral a few giant snakes. Their friendship has come to symbolize the bond between the two races on Doona, and as the treaty allowing the colonies is set to expire, sinister forces frame the two in order to jeopardize the treaty's renewal. I have a lot of respect for McCaffrey as a writer; while not someone whose work wows me, she deserves a lot of credit for writing fantasy and sci fi featuring characters who developed over time, and female characters that are more than accessories for the men, in a time when fantasy and sci fi tended not to do either. Likewise, Nye has done good work with Aspirin on the Myth series, though there's some serious diminishing returns on the later books. And the book gets off to a reasonably good start; by setting a big chunk of the first portion during the Hunt, which has a heavy influx of offworld visitors, the authors can introduce the society to the readers, also as outsiders. And Todd and Hrriss' affection for each other really shines through. I can't say there's a lot about the rest of the book that really grabbed me, though. The climax seems to come a bit too easily, and the idea that the entire fate of both species comes down to two twenty year olds and the machinations of a few racist military generals takes a lot of effort to convince. I guess my biggest source of disinterest here was that the good guys and bad guys were so clearly differentiated that it's almost comical. Todd is so much the salt of the earth good hearted guy he might as well go around with a white hat for the whole book; Langreau, the military official most opposed to the Treaty, might as well be perpetually twirling his mustache and cackling maniacally. But it's a relatively short read, and if you want a break from space operas that require an index to keep all the characters straight, you could do worse.

[Timothy McNeil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read Crisis on Doona in March of 1992 over the course of a vacation to Alaska. (Actually, I mostly read it on the flights to and from Chicago, Seattle, and Anchorage.)

At the time, I thought it was an inventive and engaging sci-fi legal drama. I hadn't read the first book in the series, so I was coming in cold. Not that it mattered, as the cat-people were easy to imagine and the science was kept very light. But I liked it and was convinced it was well written.

Now, 21 years later, I am not as fond of the book after a second reading. There was a lack of developing any kind of real villain in Decision at Doona , so forcing the role onto the two figures who were against good ol' ranch life for the two species living together seemed like a poor choice, at least for a more mature audience. Essentially, one of the two major villains (the more developed one) is supposed to be acting out of malice, holding a grudge for a slight that has not affected his career or how he was seen anywhere -- except in the household of those he plots and rages against. It is also unclear how lightly populated Doona seems to (at times) teem with persons the major players do not know or just aren't worth being named.

More frustratingly, the ending simply happens. Granted, this is not dissimilar to the first book is handled, but it makes all of the machinations and investigations seem hollow. The book ends up being a 'root for these guys because they are the good guys' without giving us much in the way of example of them being such except that they try to prove that they aren't 'bad guys'.

I am not going to lower the rating, but it does serve to show me that my expectations at 37 are decidedly different than they were 16, even over a book a picked up simply because there were no other Sci-Fi books at the airport bookstore and I hadn't been thoughtful enough to bring one along before the trip.

[Brian Schiebout · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crisis on Doona by Anne McCaffrey and Jody Lynn Nye is the second book in the Doona trilogy. This book takes place twenty five years after the first book in the series. Todd Reeve and his best friend Hrris have both advanced quite honorably in service to AlRepDep but as this book continues they discover that they are the targets of a vast conspiracy by Admiral Landreau who still hates the colony of Doona because of the disgrace which he got during its founding time. This is all occurring at the same time that the renewal of the treaty between the Hrrbans and the Humans which allowed the colony to be founded is occurring. In many ways the story is a mystery where we as readers know a crime has been committed but the story tells how it was done. The other element of the story which is not unusual in McCaffrey's work is the romance that comes to both Todd and Hrris. While they are both under house arrest the mission to discover the truth is almost arranged by the two females who desire them. First Kelly Solinari who has been a friend of the pair of friends since childhood does many brave things trying to demonstrate to Todd that she has grown up and that he should love her. She also convinces the Hrrban that Hrris is to be bonded to help free her intended from the schemes which others have put into place to entrap him. I only hope that that both I can be considered as quality of a partner as Kelly considers Todd and that if a girl thinks of me in that way that I don't dismiss it in my ignorance. Overall it was a good book.

[Jeanette Greaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pastoral planet Doona was discovered and settled by two races who had previously never encountered another species at the same level of development. It could have gone so wrong, but as 'Decision on Doona' relates, things went very right, and for a quarter of a century, the two species have been sharing the planet as friends and neighbours.

But trouble is afoot, desperate and vindictive members of both races look upon the Doona Experiment and quail. Peaceful co-existence, cultural exchange, and cross species friendships are a threat to their view of the world, and they brew their plots and stir trouble.

The big idea in this novel is that of the big lie. Tell a lie that's outrageous enough and big enough, and its very existence unsettles your victims. Use fear and hate and xenophobia to push your agenda, and hateful ideas will gain purchase.

I enjoyed this as a political sf novel, particularly since the bizarre sexual politics of the first book have been toned down a notch or ten.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still good, but not as good. The characters that I liked in the first book are the same characters here, but some of the supporting cast is just...odd. The love interests in particular just sort of pop up out of nowhere. Kelly has some history, at least, but Hrriss is literally just "Mom wants me to find a mate, I'll go out and find one, ok, that one" and it's settled. I get the cultural differences she's trying to portray, but it just feels awkward.

The real problem though is that the book is a procedural for the most part, a mystery and a trial, and she, and by extension the characters, miss a lot of details that are obvious or that I questioned long before the characters did, if ever. This leaves the ultimate resolution less than satisfying. I don't hate it, but it got frustrating to read at times.

[Allynn Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though this is written almost thirty years after Anne McCaffrey's "Decision At Doona" (1969), it matched well with the time span of twenty-five years having passed on Doona itself. I did have a bit of trouble getting into the story but by chapter three I was drawn in and could hardly put it down.
The story was complicated and I read with bated breath as the mystery of how everything that was stacked against the now grown Todd and Nrriss would be solved. The only disappointment I had was how their main nemesis was dealt with in his last scene (I won't reveal it as other readers will have their own opinions). The story was resolved and life continues. The next book, "Treaty At Doona" is next on my reading list.
I have enjoyed this deliberate foray back to the authors of my fantasy and science fiction roots. It re-establishes why I write the way I do.

[Amalia Dillin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love Decision at Doona, despite the gender stereotyping--even the women who are specialists in their own fields are still the homemakers for their husbands, it seems, and their specialties are things like child psychology, etc, while the men do the real work of settling the land. (I feel like any homesteading woman would lol at the idea that they weren't doing just as much manual, physical labor as their male partners day to day but maybe that's just me.)

Crisis on Doona definitely has a lot more parity, and there is clearly an effort to give the women (new characters) a more active role in the story, which I appreciate. But overall, this is still more of a 3.5 for me. And I'm breaking with something else before diving into book three.

[Lynnda Ell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twenty-three years after Anne McCaffrey wrote Decision at Doona, she partnered with Jody Lynn Nye to write a sequel.

Crisis on Doona picks up the story 25 years after the first book. The citizens of Doona from both worlds want the experiment that began 25 years earlier to be formalized by a treaty. Not everyone from the two home worlds feel the same way, so the critics sabatoge the process and cause the two co-leaders to be accused of crimes they did not commit. Politics, again, play a key role in finding a satisfying solution. McCaffery and Nye did a find job of continuing the story.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crisis on Doona (Doona, #2)
McCaffrey, Anne
the the story of mans negotiation work of two separate colonies of separate species to settle all problems.
the story of mans negotiation with another race of beings with the similar technological level, the two best friends who found each other on Doona are faced with a desprate struggle to keep their people in peaceful realtions and their friendship intact.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skimmed it. Not as good as first book, could be collaboration doesn't work for me. I still like the characters but somehow, and it is likely a personal idiosyncrasy, too many enemies, too many bad guys, too much against our good guys and I just get tired of wading through bad guys getting away with so much shit for so long and the good guys finally triumphing in the last five pages. Maybe it is a function of my age but I do not have the patience.

[Roy DeRousse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally like Anne McCaffrey books better than this one. I enjoyed seeing the world and characters from "Decision at Doona" again, but there were plot points that I couldn't really buy into, and the story was basically a detective story with the "who, what, were, and why" already answered. The main characters only needed to answer the "how." It all wrapped up too nicely at the end as well. Recommended only to those who really want to seem more in the Doona universe.

[BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of my first books where I read aliens that weren't humanoids. Hrrubans are kind of humanoid in the sense they are like us yet cat like. I love felines. I remember reading this story and thinking, GAH! The humans are terrible and self centered. What is wrong with these people? I wonder if this is a social commentary.