In a triumphant career spanning more than thirty years, Anne McCaffrey has won the acclaim of critics, the devotion of millions of fans, and awards too numerous to mention. Her bestselling Dragonriders of Pern® series is counted among the masterpieces of modern science fiction, a work whose popularity continues to grow as new generations of readers discover the literary magic only Anne McCaffrey can provide. Now that magic is back, displayed as breathtakingly as ever in the exciting and long-awaited addition to McCaffrey's classic Pegasus series—and the perfect link to her bestselling Tower and Hive saga . . .

PEGASUS IN SPACE

For an overpopulated Earth whose resources are strained to the breaking point, there is only one place to look for relief: straight up. With the successful completion of the Padrugoi Space Station, humanity has at last achieved its first large-scale permanent presence in space. Additional bases are feverishly being built on the Moon and on Mars, stepping stones to the greatest adventure in all history: the colonization of alien worlds. Already long-range telescopes have identified a number of habitable planets orbiting the stars of distant galaxies. Now it's just a question of getting there.

But there are those who, for selfish motives of their own, want Padrugoi and the other outposts to fail. People who will stop at nothing to maintain their power or to revenge its loss. Standing in their way are the Talented, men and women gifted with extraordinary mental powers that have made them as feared as they are respected—and utterly indispensable to the colonization effort.

There is Peter Reidinger, a teenage paraplegic who happens to be the strongest telekinetic ever, his mind capable of teleporting objects and people thousands of miles in the blink of an eye. Yet all his power cannot repair his damaged spine or allow him to feel the gentle touch of a loved one . . . Rhyssa Owen, the powerful telepath and mother hen to Peter and the rest of her "children"—and a fierce, unrelenting fighter against the prejudice that would deny the Talented the right to lead happy and productive lives . . . and Amariyah, an orphan girl who loves two things in the world above all others: gardening and Peter Reidinger. And woe to anyone who harms either one of them—for the young girl's talent may prove to be the most amazing of all.

Now, as sabotage and attempted murder strike the Station, it's up to the Talented to save the day. Only who's going to save the Talented?

**

Amazon.com Review

Anne McCaffrey is best known for The Dragonriders of Pern, but her loose Talents series about superpsychics has been running almost as long. It began with the near-future To Ride Pegasus, continuing a couple of generations later in Pegasus in Flight. Book 2 introduced a crowd of new characters, notably the paralyzed boy Peter whose telekinetic talent can move not only his body without help from his ruined nervous system, but--with practice--even lift payloads into orbit.

Pegasus in Space follows directly, with mayhem and mutiny, at the opening of a manned space station, which Peter and talented friends helped build. Further hassles ensue during his training for space haulage work: obstructive bureaucrats, crooked suppliers, murder attempts, and skillful sabotage. McCaffrey specializes in feel-good adventure SF, full of romance, warm friendships, and hearty meals. Somehow her villains never quite convince, though, and their evil deeds are so rapidly annulled that the story rarely builds up much suspense. Meanwhile, the orphan girl Amiriyah who's adopted into Peter's family has a mysterious, subtle talent of her own, one that we soon guess will change his life. Our young hero's ambitions foreshadow later far-future books in the series (beginning with The Rowan) in which "kinetics" hurl cargo across huge interstellar gulfs. While most people think his talent needs careful conservation, Peter has already teleported supplies to the moon and has secret plans for Mars, the asteroids, and the moons of Jupiter. It all makes for an agreeable, lightweight read. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk

From Publishers Weekly

The next in McCaffrey's popular Saga of the Talents series (Pegasus in Flight, To Ride Pegasus), this novel follows the adventures of a group of psychically gifted scientists who nobly improve Earth's future by making space exploration and colonization possible. Paralyzed adolescent Peter Reidinger has learned how to move himself and some amazingly heavy objects psychokinetically through space. Peter lives with the grandmotherly Rhyssa, who protects him and nurtures the growth of his psychic talents. Rhyssa also takes in prepubescent Amariyah, an orphaned girl who has a talent for plants and healing. When a group of psychically gifted people sneak onto the corruptly run Padrugoi Space Station during its inauguration, it is young Peter who saves the day by using his burgeoning psychic abilities to vanquish the comically evil Space Station Construction Manager Ludmilla Barchenka as she attempts a coup. This impresses Admiral Dirk Coetzer, whose life is saved by Peter's quick thinking. The admiral encourages Peter to consider a career in space, and he happily complies. Treachery, assassination attempts and medical disasters ensue, but the novel's primary focus is on McCaffrey's vision of science and psychic abilities meshing so that humanity can inherit the stars. Cheerful, upbeat and chock-full of fun facts on space stations and space exploration, the novel features cartoon villains and nobly one-dimensional protagonists, making the space station and colonies McCaffrey's real heroes--for they show actual growth and development as her vision of the future progresses. (Apr.)
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