Nerilka's Story & The Coerula
En samling av: Anne McCaffrey ©1983
Corgi (UK 1993-00-00), pb 191 sider
ISBN: 9780-552-12817-9
Fantasy dobbeltbok
Dobbeltboken inneholder en forkortet ? utgave av «Nerilka's Story» fra Pern© og «The Colura» en ekstra fin stand-alone novelle av fantasy mesteren Anne McAffrey.
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Nerilka's Story
En novelle av: Anne McCaffrey ©1983
Lady Nerilka fra Fort hold, datter av Lord Tolocamp av Fort, mister sin mor og eldre søstre i en epidemisk pandemi når den bryter ut i Ruatha hold. Når faren bryter karantenen og vender hjem vendes Nerilka's om fra det priviligerte livet hun har ført. Snart befinner hun seg i en interneringsleir for de syke på flukt fra familien. Derfra fortsetter hun videre mot ruinene av Ruatha der hun mistet sin mor og søstre.
4 av 5 stjerner * * * *
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The Coelura
En novelle av: Anne McCaffrey ©1983
Caissa er en ung og samvittighetsfull dame som ønsker å redde de fantastiske lokale dyrene coelura som nå har vært tabu i over hundre år.
De ble utnyttet innen høyste mote før de forsvant,sammen med industrien og samfunnet rundt dem.
Anne McCaffrey har skrevet en meget hyggelig historie med en fascinerende vending.
5 av 5 stjerner * * * * * ( )

Nerilka's Story

This is a parallel story to Moreta : Dragonlady of Pern; I read these two consecutively, and I think I benefitted from doing so.

In Moreta, the people of the planet have to deal with a pandemic outbreak of a mysterious disease, against which they have no immunity - the disease having been eradicated before migration to the northern continent.

Essentially, Nerilka's Story is part of the story from Moreta told from the point of view (unusually, in the first person) of a character who is only mentioned a few times in the larger book. Though dragons themselves barely feature, the story-telling is as rich as in other books about the dragons of Pern. It covers events that happen in two other (strategic) locations - Fort and Ruatha Holds - in the same time frame, and finishes the stories of those at Ruatha, which Moreta left open.

The series in general is well written (especially, I think, the first eight or ten books), with a fairly unique premise of telepathic dragons. It doesn't hurt, either, that there are so many strong female characters - especially with the first story being written as far back as 1967.

I'll give this 3 and a half stars ****

The Coelura

Lady Caissa is the body-heir to Baythan, the Minister Plenipotential to Demeathorn, whose secret mission may be about to be accomplished. As she investigates the mystery, Caissa is drawn into adventure.

I like the story, which is sic-fi rather than fantasy, but at just over 50 pages, it's a bit rushed. For a story-line based on emotions, there isn't enough time for emotions to develop, so I didn't find it completely credible - especially when the main character suddenly experienced intense emotions, because there was no build-up or reason for the intensity. This novella seems to be in the same series as Nimisha's Ship, which I haven't read; maybe reading both together would fill in some gaps.
I'll give this 2 and a half stars ***

Averaging out: 3 stars ( )

Nerilka's Story
This basically covers the same ground as Moreta but told from the point of view of one of the minor characters in that story.

It's the first one in the series with a first-person narrator, and I found it a bit clumsy at first. Whether that was McCaffrey having problems with the form or whether it was deliberate to show that Nerilka was unused to writing her own story rather than keeping the Hold's Records up-to-date I'm not sure.

Be that as it may it fleshes out the series a bit more, with a picture of what life is like in a Pernese Hold, which is interesting in itself without the tragic background.

The Coelura
Fascinating picture of a society I'd like to know much more about -- much more interesting than the actual story. ( )