The Rowan

I read this book for the first time when I was in high school and at least once a year since, for the last 25 years. Out of the hundreds of thousands of books I have read over my lifetime, I can honestly say that this is my favorite. From the very first page, you become invested in Rowan, as a character. The imagination of a new and different world combined with a comprehensive vocabulary make it a very mentally stimulating read.

Although there are actually about 3 "prequels" to this book including "To Ride Pegasus", "Pegasus in Flight" and "Pegasus in Space", the prequels are several generations before "The Rowan" but do give a nice background/foundation. I highly recommend reading the prequels as they are a nice series in and of themselves. The Rowan is orphaned at 3 years old on Altair during a horrible mudslide which wipes out her family and an entire mining camp except her. She is heard and rescued because she is a very strong "Talent" -- a person with strong psi skills and in this case, telepathing (as well as telekinesis and teleport as shown later in the book). Her mental crying and shouting is heard throughout the planet by even minor Talents. The Prime, Siglen, on Altair has an inner ear condition which makes her violently ill when trying to travel in space. Siglen has inhibited all of the Primes (a T-1 or strongest of the Talents) she has trained so far and when they propose to send the Rowan to Earth for training she scares her as does the Rowan's past experiences. Thus Siglen and a host of other nurse/psychologists/engineers train the Rowan until she is ready for a Tower of her own. She lands a post on Callisto, a moon of Jupiter, where there is a domed environment. The Rowan being very temperamental takes a few years to get her staff together finally setting on Afra of Capella for her T-3 assistant. She is contacted by a untrained Prime on the far out colony world of Deneb which is being invaded first by bio-warfare and then missiles by ruthless aliens. Even though she hasn't met this new Prime, she is drawn to him by his sense of humor and voice and charm. Jeff Raven, the new Prime, is not inhibited and can easily 'port himself to Callisto so they finally meet. The Rowan finally overcomes her fears when Jeff is very critically wounded by shrapnel from a leftover missile that landed on Deneb. I like the love story and actually found it believable -- but maybe I am naive. As a mom of 6, I also loved the feelings expressed by the Rowan for her impending motherhood and the beginning of her maturity and her nurturing nature and love of family. I recommend reading this and the books that follow!!

I loved the whole book. There wasn't a part I didn't enjoy! I've read and reread The Rowan so many times I've lost count! My favorite part is when Rowan falls in love with Jeff Raven. For us regular folk, falling in love is a long and often painful experience. We learn who they are and what they stand for, over a very long time period. And more often than not, we are fooled. But with the Rowans and Jeffs mind merge, they know every thought and feeling each has ever had. They know instantly what kind of person each is and what they stand for. There are no secrets. It takes time for us to fall in love because it takes time to learn what kind of person each is. But to know in an instant...Wouldn't that make falling in love a whole lot safer? I think Anne did a wonderful job with the romance part of the book. (she did great on the other too, but Ijust loved this part the best) She took all the months and sometimes years it takes to really know someone and showed us what it would be like if we knew everything in an instant.

The Rowan is my favorite science fiction book of all time. I can't tell you how many times I've read it. I own three copies, a new paperback, a paperback that's falling apart and a hardcover that took me forever to find. There is something about this book(indeed, about all Anne McCaffrey books)that reaches out and grabs you and makes you think, Oh, why can't I just leap into this book and meet those people!The book is set sometime in the future and humankind has spread out into space with the aid of the Talented, people with incredible mental abilities, like telepathy, telekinesis, and clairvoyance. The Rowan was the victim of a terrible accident as a child and a whole planet heard her telepathic cries for help. She has the potential to be the most powerful Prime Talent ever. As she grows into her amazing abilities, she grows away from others. She discovers that her powers isolate her from everyone around her. One evening, a telepathic distress call from an unknown Talent of Prime ability shakes her whole universe. And that's how she meets Jeff Raven, a charismatic young man from distant Deneb. The Rowan stands beside him against a mysterious alien threat to his planet and realizes she never wants to leave him, that she loves him, and he will move solar systems to have her in his arms.These characters are wonderful! The romance between the Rowan and Jeff Raven is so touching, yet it is written in such a way that it's not too sweet. It's practical and forthright, a wonderful narrative. And let's not forget gruff Reidinger and gentle Afra and Rascal, supporting characters that make the book what it is. I've read the entire series and not one measures up to this one. If I could, I would beg Anne McCaffrey not to end it with The Tower and the Hive, which I think is the last. The Rowan is the book that convinced me I wanted to be a writer. Read it. Read it many times and find in it what I've found. It's a wonderful story.

The Rowan begins a series of five books. It is an excellent series and "The Rowan" is the perfect beginning. I have purchased all five books and so love them that I am furbishing my library with the hardbound editions. My 15 year old daughter loves this book also. It bridges the often times hard-to-bridge gap from teen to adult. It was one of my favorites as a teen reader and is still on my list of favorites!

When my grandmother gave "The Rowan" to me (I love books), I turned it over and read the back. I was skeptical and not sure about it. I am not in to sci-fi but more into fantasy. I took it with me to my highschool testing and when I was done with it I took it out and started reading. When it was time to go on testing I couldn't put it down. I found the inter-space world Anne McCaffrey created had intwined me and caught me in its wondrous atmosphere. The story of a young powerful teleknetic orphan held me on the edge of my seat. The emotions and experiences of the young girl soon known as the Rowan wow'd me and made me see sci-fi in a new light. I keep it among my other favorites such as: Dragonlance series, the Chronicles of Narnia, and the Myst series. Amazing like no other book I couldn't believe how it still held my attention months later as I wondered about some of the events. The advanced world of earth and outer colonies was the future and AM had brought it to life with the powerful teleknetic minds of the FT & T it made me wish for more. The colorful worlds and wonders of the Rowan and her story is a true work of art. If you want to start a great series start reading the "Rowan" series. Truly excellents books probably Anne's best works ever.