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divadiane's review against another edition
4.0
I can’t be sure if I read this story (novellette?) already or not, but at any rate, it is a lovely story. Set in the familiar world of Pern (before the SF shift) with familiar characters on the periphery. This made it a comfortable read, but I’m not sure someone coming in cold, not having read any of the previous Pern novels would understand it much or the significance of certain events as mentioned. But for this reader, having read everything set in PERN written by Anne McCaffrey herself, this was an easy, gentle, cozy read.
jovvijo's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't expect short stories but to be fair I just yoinked it off the shelf and ran with it so that'll teach me!
Mind the stories weren't all bad and one or two were actually very interesting.
Just ugh! Short stories!
If you dislike the story you're annoyed to have it in the book, and if you like the story it ends way WAY too soon and more often than not you end up with such a mixed bag you don't know if you like the book or not! Sob sob sob...
So I'll say it's worth a read if you're a ginormous fan of the author or a great fan of short sci-fi stories, otherwise tread carefully mortal, here be dragons!
Mind the stories weren't all bad and one or two were actually very interesting.
Just ugh! Short stories!
If you dislike the story you're annoyed to have it in the book, and if you like the story it ends way WAY too soon and more often than not you end up with such a mixed bag you don't know if you like the book or not! Sob sob sob...
So I'll say it's worth a read if you're a ginormous fan of the author or a great fan of short sci-fi stories, otherwise tread carefully mortal, here be dragons!
heidigina's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite parts of this were the Pern story and the horse story.
amalyndb's review against another edition
5.0
Collection of 15 short stories, set in various worlds. The titular Girl Who Heard Dragons is of Pern.
Velvet Fields is a near-horror tale of an agrarian space colony that unwittingly and unknowingly commits horrible acts against the original occupants.
Euterpe on a Fling is set on Earth, and is a tale of opera in NYC and Florence Foster Jenkins.
Duty Calls, A Sleeping Humpty Dumpty Beauty, The Mandalay Cure, are set in universe where there are brain/brawn and there is conflict with Khalians, a weasel-life species, and a Syndicate, warring with a trans-species alliance.
A Flock of Geese, and The Bones Do Lie are set on Earth, but an earth experiencing Time Storms, where people are getting ripped out of one time to another. Chloe is a young woman from the 18th century who has found a cave in the bedrock to weather the shifts, along with a changing array of cave companions. (Wish there was more of this, as this could conceptually go on)
The Greatest Love is set on Earth and deals with a first surrogate birth of an egg fertilized in one woman before being transplanted to another womb. It deals with societal, legal, and religious reactions to a woman delivering her brother (and his wife's) child.
A Quiet One is set on Earth in some distant future, where horses are being prepared for transportation to offworld colonies, and Linear Residences exist (possibly Pegasus / Tower and Hive universe?)
If Madam Likes You is set on a space station, in a universe with FTL (FTL is also in the universe with Khalians). On the station, something in the computer seems to be causing a 'ghost' - visual manifestations of a female, items left in places - and then seemingly conjuring up someone from a fantasy program.
Zulei, Grace, Nimshi and the Damnyankees is set around the American Civil War, and deals with a woman sold into slavery (and how did that happen? It was hinted within the story that there was a story there, being who her father was), and then manifesting intent in the world. Also, horses.
Cinderella Switch is set on a colonial world in space - a mysterious woman appears at a ball, captivating men, who discover there is more to her than a pretty face.
Habit is an Old Horse is from the perspective of an elderly horse, waiting for his mistress and watching the activity around her house as she passes.
Lady-in-Waiting is set on Earth, in England more specifically. Children playing dress-up find clothes their mother didn't know they had, and she discovers their source.
Velvet Fields is a near-horror tale of an agrarian space colony that unwittingly and unknowingly commits horrible acts against the original occupants.
Euterpe on a Fling is set on Earth, and is a tale of opera in NYC and Florence Foster Jenkins.
Duty Calls, A Sleeping Humpty Dumpty Beauty, The Mandalay Cure, are set in universe where there are brain/brawn and there is conflict with Khalians, a weasel-life species, and a Syndicate, warring with a trans-species alliance.
A Flock of Geese, and The Bones Do Lie are set on Earth, but an earth experiencing Time Storms, where people are getting ripped out of one time to another. Chloe is a young woman from the 18th century who has found a cave in the bedrock to weather the shifts, along with a changing array of cave companions. (Wish there was more of this, as this could conceptually go on)
The Greatest Love is set on Earth and deals with a first surrogate birth of an egg fertilized in one woman before being transplanted to another womb. It deals with societal, legal, and religious reactions to a woman delivering her brother (and his wife's) child.
A Quiet One is set on Earth in some distant future, where horses are being prepared for transportation to offworld colonies, and Linear Residences exist (possibly Pegasus / Tower and Hive universe?)
If Madam Likes You is set on a space station, in a universe with FTL (FTL is also in the universe with Khalians). On the station, something in the computer seems to be causing a 'ghost' - visual manifestations of a female, items left in places - and then seemingly conjuring up someone from a fantasy program.
Zulei, Grace, Nimshi and the Damnyankees is set around the American Civil War, and deals with a woman sold into slavery (and how did that happen? It was hinted within the story that there was a story there, being who her father was), and then manifesting intent in the world. Also, horses.
Cinderella Switch is set on a colonial world in space - a mysterious woman appears at a ball, captivating men, who discover there is more to her than a pretty face.
Habit is an Old Horse is from the perspective of an elderly horse, waiting for his mistress and watching the activity around her house as she passes.
Lady-in-Waiting is set on Earth, in England more specifically. Children playing dress-up find clothes their mother didn't know they had, and she discovers their source.
katiekatinahat's review against another edition
3.0
Finally continuing my read of the full Dragonriders of Pern series - although this only has the one Pern story in the short story collection. Some of these stories were great, but some weren't especially interesting to me.
sleeping_while_awake's review
2.0
The Girl Who Heard Dragons is a collection of short stories that vary in their content.
The titular story is the only Pern story in the collection. Aramina, the main character, is on the run with her family from their former hold of Ruatha. They are being pursued by raiders. Aramina can communicate with dragons, but her family wants to keep this a secret, as they don't want her sent to a weyr. This story takes place in the time of Lessa and F'lar. It has the typical theme of Pern, in which a young person that doubts herself becomes strong and worthwhile.
"Velvet Fields" was the other favorite I had in the collection. Colonists on a new planet begin living in abandoned humanoidlike structures. They cultivate the land, wondering what happened to the beings that came before them. It's an interesting concept of how alien cells can integrate into humans. I wish it had been explored farther.
Overall, the collection doesn't stand up to the test of time. Many of the stories contain horses, and it is clear McCaffrey had a great love for them, so I would say that is a redeeming facet.
One story, "Zulei, Grace, Nimshi, and the Damn Yankees" really struck me as outdated, as one can probably guess from the title. Considering that it was probably written about fifty years at this point, I am a little more forgiving, although I really disliked the story.
I wanted more Pern, but there was only one story, and none of the other stories can really measure up to that world.
The titular story is the only Pern story in the collection. Aramina, the main character, is on the run with her family from their former hold of Ruatha. They are being pursued by raiders. Aramina can communicate with dragons, but her family wants to keep this a secret, as they don't want her sent to a weyr. This story takes place in the time of Lessa and F'lar. It has the typical theme of Pern, in which a young person that doubts herself becomes strong and worthwhile.
"Velvet Fields" was the other favorite I had in the collection. Colonists on a new planet begin living in abandoned humanoidlike structures. They cultivate the land, wondering what happened to the beings that came before them. It's an interesting concept of how alien cells can integrate into humans. I wish it had been explored farther.
Overall, the collection doesn't stand up to the test of time. Many of the stories contain horses, and it is clear McCaffrey had a great love for them, so I would say that is a redeeming facet.
One story, "Zulei, Grace, Nimshi, and the Damn Yankees" really struck me as outdated, as one can probably guess from the title. Considering that it was probably written about fifty years at this point, I am a little more forgiving, although I really disliked the story.
I wanted more Pern, but there was only one story, and none of the other stories can really measure up to that world.
spectacledbear's review against another edition
5.0
Collection of short stories by McCaffrey, some in her established universes and some which stand alone. Well written and easy to read, as always with her books.