Larger	The Girl Who Heard Dragons Author: Anne McCaffrey
	Book Information Publisher: Tor Book Type: Hardcover Rating: 22 ISBN-13: 9780312931735 - ISBN-10: 0312931735 Pages: 352 Book Reviews

Anne McCaffrey's dragons are the stuff of which SF/Fantasy legends are made. All of her dragon books for many years have been national bestsellers. She is one of the most popular writers ever in Fantasy and Science Fiction.

The Girl Who Heard Dragons is a feast for McCaffrey fans and for all readers - a big, satisfying compilation of her fiction never before collected in book form. Best of all, it opens with an original short novel of Pern, "The Girl Who Heard Dragons." In addition, the book contains 24 beautiful black and white drawings by award-winning artist Michael Whelan, who also designed the cover art.

Romance, humor, colorful description and affecting characters are Anne McCaffrey's hallmarks and the fifteen stories herein have these virtues in abundance. No wonder the Chicago Sun-Times described her as a "master of the well-told tale."

"The Girl Who Heard Dragons" is the story of Aramina, a teenage girl of Pern who hears dragons - a skill which does not seem likely to help solve her family's problems. They are "holdless," and must constantly roam the land, trying to hide from bandits. Aramina's mother fears losing her daughter completely to the life of a dragonrider, but McCaffrey has another fate in mind for her young heroine.

Table of Contents w/ brief synopsis:

11 Introduction: So You're Anne McCaffrey
Some biographical information and anecdotes

21 The Girl Who Heard Dragons [Pern] nv
Aramina's family were 'holdless.' Driven out of their home after the massacre at Ruatha, they were forced to roam the land, seeking shelter and protection wherever they could. And now, after a period in the Igen caverns, they had to flee yet again - for the evil holdless Lady Thella had discovered Aramina's unusual gift - she could 'hear' dragons - and Thella planned to exploit this gift for her own ends. At dead of night the little family began their flight through the forests and mountains of Pern - pursued by Lady Thella. But this time the dragons were to play a part in Aramina's destiny.

65 Velvet Fields ss
Humans colonising a seemingly deserted planet learn to their cost that the natives are still present, waiting to mature.

77 Euterpe on a Fling ss
The live audience give an opera singer a standing ovation; the radio audience disagrees.

89 Duty Calls [Fleet] nv
Brainship Bil Hansing and new Brawn B'ghra Hrrunalkharr, a Hrruban, camouflage themselves to gather vital information from an informant.

119 A Sleeping Humpty Dumpty Beauty [Fleet] ss
Surgeon Bardie performs a brilliant operation on wounded pilot Roger O'Hara to save his life. But then he won't wake up.

139 The Mandalay Cure [“Mandalay”; Fleet] ss
A shipload of war-weary soldiers desperately require some R&R before their next battle.

153 A Flock of Geese• ss
Chloe controls the cave, the only safe haven during the devastating time storms.

169 The Greatest Love
Peter Kellogg's wife, Cecily, can't have children. So his twin sister Patricia agrees to be a host mother. But Cecily's mother is surprisingly hostile to the procedure.

227 A Quiet One nv
Peri desperately wants to ride a real horse. The only way is to try for a job at the Working Farm.

255 If Madam Likes You... ss
"Carmen Miranda's Ghost is Haunting Space Station Three."

269 Zulei, Grace, Nimshi and the Damnyankees nv
A plantation slave uses her powers to save her owners during the American Civil War.

295 Cinderella Switch ss
Who is the intriguing guest at the Fomalhaut ball? And what is the secret of her fascinating hi-tech costume?

309 Habit Is an Old Horse ss
Knock stands in his paddock, wondering why his mistress no longer visits him.

319 Lady-in-Waiting ss
Recently widowed Sally discovers that the old chest in the box room contains a surprise.

333 The Bones Do Lie ss
Vale slowly comes to realise that Chloe has her own plans for him.