Book Review: Acorna's Quest by Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball

Image (c) HarperCollins Publishers

Acorna's Quest (Acorna #2) by Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball
Publication Date: December 2001
Format: Library Book - Hardback

"I must find my own kind!"

In all the universe of literature, there is surely no creature more wondrous, no being more beautiful, and no youth more adventurous than Acorna, the Unicorn Girl.

Found as an infant drifting alone in an escape pod in deep space, she was raised by three grizzled asteroid prospectors who hid her from the authorities, who wanted to cut off her "deformity" and make her "normal." Seeking refuge on the grim planet Kezdet, Acorna freed the enslaved children from the mines, winning their eternal gratitude.

Now Acorna has become a young woman, with all the youth's dreams and sorrows. She still has the tiny, translucent horn in the center of her forehead. She still has her "funny" feet and hands, her beautiful silver hair, as well as her miraculous ability to purify air and water, make plants grow, and heal human sickness. But Acorna has troubling dreams of a shining world with blue grass and green skies, and of a gentle folk who mind-speak by touching their horns together. She yearns for answers to questions about her past: Who taught her the alien language she has all but forgotten? Who gave her life and then abandoned her? Why was she left alone in a tiny escape pod?

With one of her "uncles," the gruff miner Calum, Acorna sets off on a quest to find her own kind. But even as the spaceship Acadecki sets off for unknown worlds, new developments back home are shaping Acorna's destiny. For a mysterious craft has appeared, piloted by the Linyaari, a gentle race with telepathic powers. These telepaths are roaming the galaxy spreading the alarm about the Khleev, terrible invaders devoted to torture and death. The Linyaari are also searching for a beloved infant they had given up for lost, long ago...

Anne McCaffrey's bestselling dragon stories are among the favorite fantasies of all time. In Acorna and Acorna's Quest, McCaffrey has been joined by fellow author Margaret Ball to create a continuing saga that will thrill readers f all ages. Here is a story for all those who feel, remember, or look forward to the magical dreams that live in the hearts of the young.

In this story, we get to focus more on Acorna trying to find her people. Understandably so, I think- it's hard to not feel so different when you're around others who don't share the same physical attributes with you. But, more importantly, why would her own people abandon her in a space pod to potentially die?


I like how most of this book was written, but there were many passages where I felt like I was reading a Physics/ some sort of complicated science college book. I felt the same way about the first book, Acorna, but I've felt too nervous to admit it because, come on, who wants to admit that something about a book doesn't click in their head? But when I read a book like this, I expect to be relaxing and enjoying a book. I don't want to re-read a page over and over just because something's not clicking in my head right away. I don't know if this is just a 'me' thing, and I'm just not as intelligent as I think I am, or... what. That's the only thing that I really didn't like about the book though.

I love Acorna. I love how she grew up and how you can tell there's this sort of attitude you can expect from a pre-teen. Although it feels like she was quick to shy away from that attitude. I don't know if it's because how people like her grow up quicker than humans? But even that seems far fetched to me. But, when you spend so much time helping others, healing, and finally meeting others of your species and realizing just how different they are from what you expected... I guess that could affect you a bit.

I know I was thrown off by Acorna's own people, Linyaari, for sure. I guess I'm just thrown off by how Acorna acts compared to them: they're a peaceful people but they run away from problems. They run from others trying to destroy them thinking that's the best way to handle them. And their attitudes on humans that they've never met (well, not that they've talked to humans before), they were very rude. But I think, by the time the book was close to the end, that experience helped them for the best. I hope that's reflected in the third book when I get to see more of the Linyaari.

Overall, though, my thoughts on this book are so jumbled that it just doesn't feel right to really give an actual rating for this book. I enjoyed this book but at the same time this really didn't keep my interest well enough. If you like sci-fi adventure books that work at its own pace, and enjoy reading through lots of details for each scene (I swear, this book could've been a little bit shorter if things were a bit simpler), this book is for you. It's not for me but, knowing me, I'm going to attempt to finish this series anyways just because I would really love to finish this series rather than just staring at it lovingly at the library.

(Also, on an irrelevant note, surely I'm not the only one bothered by the fact that the cover art has Acorna's hands as normal human hands instead of 'weird' hands that's been described in the book. I am? Alright... good...)

(Originally posted on A Court of Ink and Paper, previously known as Cosying Up With Books)