If you’ve read my review of Nimisha’s Ship, you’re probably aware of my distaste for the direction Anne McCaffrey has taken in some of her more recent novels. I approached the reading of Skies with a certain amount of trepidation.

I’m pleased to say that this book does not suffer from many of the problems that have plagued her other recent works. The things that happen, even if they are a bit “out there,” do make sense within the bounds of the known world of Pern. In fact, almost everything in the novel is built upon various elements of earlier Pern novels like All The Weyrs, Dolphins and even the mostly-damnable Masterharper. It seems as though Pern really is her native element, and she moves as beautifully through it now as she has at her best moments in years past.

The key romance in the novel is telegraphed from the get-go, but if you’re a regular McCaffrey reader you know that this has always been her style. The primary conflicts are more or less based on previous events, so having read the full series is generally a good idea. What’s interesting is that it isn’t actually necessary, since background data is presented in such a way that it makes sense even to non-fans, but it also does a wonderful job of evoking the relevant part of the previous work in just the right way. I was often pleasantly surprised at how well one reference or another was handled.

Overall, I recommend this novel to anyone, long-time fan or no, who likes a pleasant mixture of adventure, science, fantasy and romance. It obviously helps to be somewhat familiar with at least the original Dragonriders series, if not fully versed in the series entire. I think that a non-fan could get the gist of the story and enjoy it on its own merits, however.

It’s out in paperback now, so pick it up and give it a read.