Acorna's Quest - Softcover

Mccaffrey, Anne

3.69

6,298 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0552147486 ISBN 13: 9780552147484

Publisher: Corgi, 1999

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Found as an infant drifting alone in an escape pod in deep space, Acorna was reared by three young asteroid prospectors who raised her as their mascot, their miracle girl, and saved her from those who would destroy her mysterious powers. But now Acorna has become a young woman who has dreams of a shining world with blue grass and green skies. She still has the translucent horn in the middle of her forehead - she still has her powers to make things heal, and grow, and purify, but she longs to know where she came from - what world in the galaxy was her home? With one of her old protectors, she sets off on a quest to find her own kind, but even as she leaves a strange craft appears in the skies, peopled by gentle and mysterious telepaths who bring, not only terrible news of a frightening race of invading space killers, but also the memory of an infant, lost in space, long ago...

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Review:

This SF team's earlier novel, Acorna, introduced the alien girl Acorna, an orphan rescued and reared by space-faring humans. Though generally human-shaped, she shares some features with the unicorn of myth--notably, a forehead horn that can heal and purify. Now Acorna blasts off with human friends in search of her own race, who shortly turn up looking for her. These gentle, horned nonhumans are fleeing other aliens who are wanton murderers and torturers that resemble huge cockroaches. Meanwhile, a starship full of dispossessed human miners picks up a scientist whose devastating system of planetary weather control inspires some on-board criminals to stage a coup and use the weather machine to blackmail whole planets; Acorna stumbles into this conflict. Meanwhile, a spacefleet of killer roaches is on its way.

These storylines mix romance, light comedy, and some violent action, which is generally downplayed or dealt with offstage. Of course, the verminous villains find humanity a tougher proposition than nice unicorn-folk and complain bitterly: "They are barbaric and vicious beyond belief; when attacked, they actually fight back!" Happy endings emerge, with room for more sequels. Overall, Acorna's Quest feels like a romping, uncomplicated SF adventure intended for younger readers and Anne McCaffrey devotees. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk

From the Back Cover:

"I MUST FIND MY OWN KIND!"

Found as an infant drifting in space, Acorna, the Unicorn Girl, has become a young woman. She still has her tiny, translucent horn and her "funny" feet and hands. And she still has her miraculous ability to make plants grow and heal human sickness.

But Acorna has strange dreams of a gentle folk who mind-speak by touching horns. With her "Uncle" Calum, one of the three grizzled asteroid prospectors who rescued, protected, and raised her, she sets off to find her people. No sooner does she leave than a mysterious craft appears, piloted by the Linyaari, a gentle race with telepathic powers.

The Linyaari are roaming the galaxy, spreading the alarm about the deadly Khleev -- and searching for a beloved little girl they had given up for lost, long ago. . . .

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