Crystal Singer - Kirjakasa

English language

Published Aug. 12, 1982

ISBN:: 978-0-345-32786-4

(1 review)

The Crystal Singer, or Crystal Singer in the U.S., is a young adult, science fiction novel by Anne McCaffrey, first published by Severn House in 1982. It features the transition by Killashandra Ree, a young woman who has failed as an operatic soloist, to the occupation of "crystal singer" on the fictional planet Ballybran. The novel is based on short stories written in 1974 and is the first book McCaffrey set in her "Crystal universe".Alternatively, Crystal Singer is a trilogy completed in 1992 and named for its first book.Doubleday and Del Rey published U.S. book club and paperback editions within a few months of the first edition in 1982. WorldCat participating libraries report holding editions in French, Polish, and Hebrew languages, published in the 1990s.

4 editions

Thom reviewed Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey

Review of 'Crystal Singer' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Coming of age story with a lot of interesting world building, but no real conflict or denouement.

The idea of cutting special crystal with a blade tuned to your voice appealed to me, and using these tuned crystals to power an ansible-like network was a cool touch. I also enjoyed reading about the guild structured society that springs up around this. Perhaps there was a subtle political commentary here?

Our strong female protagonist learns a lot, but also spends a lot of time jumping into bed with various other members of the cast. Parts of this book do have a Romance aspect.

I read this originally as a youth, after reading 3 or more of the Pern books. I remember liking this setting better, perhaps because crystal is more believable than dragons? This book, at least, was a quick read.