Book Review: "Acorna's People"

This book by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough is the third in the series about Acorna, the unicorn girl. It is an easy read without being particularly noteworthy.

The plot, in brief, is that certain of the Piper's associates from the first book are looking for ways to get revenge on Acorna. They would also like to make a great deal of money using the healing powers of Linyaari horns. The Red Bracelet mercenaries, seen in the second book, are recruited to capture as many Linyaari as possible. They do so while posing as members of the Federations armed forces. This plot comes to light slowly as the book progresses, and Acorna learns what it is like to live with those Linyaari that would never normally go into space. Eventually she leaves the Linyaari homeworld in the company of Aari, a Linyaari that survived being tortured by the Kleevi, the insectoid race that likes to destroy worlds, and Joe Becker a salvage expert to go to the aid of Hafiz Harakamian, her "uncle". They arrive, save Uncle Hafiz, and learn of the larger plot. A chapter later a plan has been devised in put into motion allowing Acorna to turn the tables on the Red Bracelet mercenaries. Real Federation soldiers arrest the mercenaries and the universe is again made safe for the Linyaari.

As I said at the beginning it is an easy read. It's pleasantly written with several very memorable characters, notably Becker and the over the top, and underhanded, Hafiz. However the villains are hardly ever seen and they are so swiftly overcome they seem almost like an excuse to get Hafiz into space so that the reader can see him and his new bride being outrageous.

This was neither the most interesting book these authors have written, nor was it the most memorable, but it was a quick, easy, and pleasant read.