Review of SASSINAK by Anne McCaffrey (see her website) and Elizabeth Moon (see her website)

PLANET PIRATES: VOLUME ONE

Baen, March 1990

When her planet is raided by slavers and her parents killed, Sassinak vowes that somehow, some day, she'll have her revenge. Thanks to a marooned Fleet NCO and a bit of luck, Sassinak is finally able to gain her freedom. Through hard work and native talent, she becomes an officer in the Fleet, finally commanding a cruiser. But the higher she rises, the more she realizes that the slavers have powerful friends--friends within the federation, even within the fleet.

Sassinak's tasks are further complicated by the distrust and prejudice that exists between the races of the Federation and even within the human race between those bred for heavy gravity planets and those who are adapted for Earth-type gravity. The heavy-worlders are resentful of the prejudice and this resentment further encourages the normal-gravity humans to think of them as likely to rebell.

Authors Anne McCaffrey (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by McCaffrey) and Elizabeth Moon (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Moon) combine to write exciting action and strong statements about the dangers of prejudice and slavery. Sassinak's suffering as a child makes her likable despite being a bit too perfect once she becomes an officer. I would have liked to see a bit more into the motivations of some of the other characters, however. We know slavers are evil, of course, but how do they justify their actions to themselves.

If you're looking for space opera and kick-ass female protagonists, you'll enjoy SASSINAK. It isn't the best book written by either author, but it's enjoyable.

Three Stars

Reviewed 10/30/04

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