When The Rowan was three years old, she lost her family in a mudslide. She was only spared because her mother had left her in the hopper, while she ran through the rain to get some groceries inside. It had been raining for weeks, and no one knew, the mud avalanche was building. Not one precog had foreseen it. The whole planet heard her mental cries for days, until she was found.As a Ward of Altair, and a very powerfully Gifted child, The Rowan (named after the mining community she was born in, as she could not remember her given name), should be in the care of Altair’s Prime, Siglen. But Siglen didn’t care much for children, and Lusena, who got the care of The Rowan, kept making excuses for letting her stay with her and her children for as long as possible. But at the age of twelve, The Rowan had to go live with Siglen, to be trained as a Prime, in the responsibilities of operating a Tower. Every major planet in the Nine Star League has a Tower, and a Prime, or perhaps a pair of T2’s, to take care of business. Sending cargo, messages, freighters and passenger ships from one planet to the other, by means of telekinesis, and with the help of mighty generators. They are the most important assets a planet has. Of course they earn a lot of money, but the responsibility and work ethic is drilled in them from a young age. The work is hard, and there is no one else who can take it over, so they don’t have a lot of free time themselves. The Rowan is lonely, totally without a family of her own, except for Lusena, and Geraloman, who takes care of the generators in the Tower. And her special pukha, named Purza. An upgrade to a normal stuffed animal, a being programmed to offer comfort and reassurance to a lonely child. But there are no children to play with, or time to be a child. Earth Prime Reidinger has concocted a scheme to bring her in contact with other Talented children, out of whom she someday has to form her own Tower personnel. At first Rowan tries to blend in, but she soon discovers that as she is the Prime, her word is law. They will have to listen to her, and respect her. Some she likes, some not, but none of them is becoming anything close to a friend.When Rowan looses her Purza thanks to a jealous cousin of Lusena, she is inconsolable. Siglen is unfeeling about it, she should have been weaned from that toy a long time ago! But thanks to Geraloman, Rowan gets a barquecat cub, which is a huge honor, as they normally only live aboard spaceships. They are better and faster then the humans in finding minute leaks and fissures in the ship hull and conduits. When The Rowan has turned 18, Earth Prime Reidinger (who is a distant grandson of the original Peter Reidinger in the Pegasus books), assigns her her own Tower, on the moon Calisto. And there she lives and works hard for the next 10 years. Her agoraphobia is preventing her from travelling to Earth or any of the other planets in the league. This hurts, as all the other Talents, except the Primes, have no difficulty whatsoever with travelling through space. Then someday, out of the blue, she gets contacted telepathically by a stranger, from the most recently colonised planet Deneb VIII, which is supposedly under attack by aliens! Jeff Raven needs help, and he wants her to alert Earth prime and send in the cavalry. But of course, military decisions are not made quickly, until Jeff deflects a few missiles to Earth, and they suddenly believe him. And so Deneb is saved for the moment, and Jeff Raven has come to Calisto to meet The Rowan, and thank her for her help. They have an instant connection, and know they are meant for each other. Due to the mindmeld with all the other Prime Talents in the Nine World League, they already know each other intimately, even though they are still strangers. Of course Deneb has to pay heavily for the help they have gotten, and thanks to the weeks of biological attacks, and the fact that 2/5 of their population has been killed, they are virtually bankrupt. Jeff has been drafted by Earth Prime, but Deneb has not yet earned the privilege of their own Tower with a Prime. Will their relationship last, when The Rowan is unable to travel to her beloved?I’ve read this series so often now, and I still highly enjoy it. Especially this book. And I absolutely adore that cover! Every time I read it, I stare at it for a few minutes.The book is divided in parts, detailing a part of the life of The Rowan (Rowan for short). Her childhood and youth, her time on Calisto, the Deneb part, and of course, the last part ;)You have to love and admire Rowan, she is such a great character, such a strong little girl to cope with everything that comes on her path. Her path is not easy, and often very lonely, until she meets Afra, a young Capellan boy who comes to work in her Tower. Afra also becomes her closest friend and confidant. But she is still lonely, longing for a soul mate. If you like sci-fi with some romance thrown into it, with great characters, I heartily recommend this series. There is no need to read the Pegasus series first. Anne McCaffrey has a very distinct writing “voice”. Very descriptive, a great pace, the books are never boring, though sometimes a little too much techno talk for me to follow. 10 stars.
The Rowan is the first book in "The Tower and the Hive" series (also known as "The Rowan" series) by Anne McCaffrey. It is set in the universe of the "Pegasus" trilogy, against a backdrop of a technologically advanced society in which telepathy, psychokinesis and other psychic Talents have become scientifically accepted and researched. Telekinetic and telepathic powers are used to communicate and teleport spaceships through space, thus avoiding the light barrier and allowing for the colonization of other solar systems.The Rowan tells the life story of a young orphan, of Prime Talent, from the moment the child's community is wiped out in a mudslide to the time when she becomes a Prime and after a life of loneliness falls in love with a previously undiscovered Prime in a far away star system being attacked by aliens.The central section of the book is based on McCaffrey's earlier short story "Lady in the Tower"This book is a bit slow to start But Keep Reading as it and the ones that follow are well worth reading. Don't worry if you haven't read the short story before this as you get most of the back story in this book. I hope you enjoy this set of books as much as I and other members of my family do
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I can't help it, I love these books. I have read this one four times now over a 17 year period. I highly recommend the Pegasus series followed by the Rowan series.Told in the timeless style of Anne McCaffrey, The Rowan is the first installment in a wonderful trilogy. This is sci-fi at its best: a contemporary love story as well as an engrossing view of our world in the future.The kinetically gifted, trained in mind/machine gestalt, are the most valued citizens of the Nine Star League. Using mental powers alone, these few Prime Talents transport ships, cargo and people between Earth's Moon, Mars' Demos and Jupiter's Callisto.An orphaned young girl, simply called The Rowan, is discovered to have superior telepathic potential and is trained to become Prime Talent on Callisto. After years of self-sacrificing dedication to her position, The Rowan intercepts an urgent mental call from Jeff Raven, a young Prime Talent on distant Deneb. She convinces the other Primes to merge their powers with hers to help fight off an attack by invading aliens. Her growing relationship with Jeff gives her the courage to break her status-imposed isolation, and choose the more rewarding world of love and family.
—Jim
This was the first book I ever read by Anne Mccaffrey. And I was hooked from the very beginning! A great science fiction with just a touch of romance. The series focuses heavily on telepathy, and psychokinesis. Those that have these abilities are known as Talents. Rowan is one such person. The story starts the the girl (to be known as Rowan) at a very young age. This book follows her training as a talent and continues there her young adult years. The Rowan is found to be one of the strongest Talents (known as T1 Primes). Her only companion (besides her 'mentor/guardian/ Siglen)was a toy cat named Purza. She remembers nothing of her past prior to being found by the Talents. Her journey is a great one to read.
—Jamie
Ugh.I am so annoyed I wasted a whole day on this book. But, I am even more annoyed that is was voted the book of the month under Women in Sci-Fi. This is space romance. Telekinesis and TElepathy joined in one person, albeit on a space station, does not Science Fiction make, even if there is an alien invasion. And no, I do not beleive in 'Love at first mind-brush'. To be fair, this book starts well. A small child is the only survivor of a landslide, and her anguished mental state calls for her rescue among the telepaths of the universe. Amazed at such powers in such a young child, she is trained up to be the strongest 'talent' there is.In a remniscence of Weber's Harrington novels, she even gets the honor of being adopted by a Barquecat.OK, good premise, could lead to something very interesting. But NOOOOOOOOO. A raw talent in a nearby colony calls out for help, and the Rowan is instantly in love. What? Seriously? They immediately get together and start making babies. What? Seriously? and the guy pretty much immediately starts getting massages and griping about where to live. and the Barquecat? Oh, she gave that away. Explained off in one sentence. Seriously?Because of their love they are able to brush away some hive-type beetle invaders. Ta-da. Family and love wins out. In like a paragraph. Seriously?Ugh. Women in Science Fiction? I need a shower....
—Maggie K
