Crystal Singer (1982)

Killashandra Ree is an inspiring opera singer who gets diverted into a secretive and very exclusive guild when her Opterian teacher finds an "unacceptable" burr in her voice. However, a whole new world is now open to her, albeit with some quirky restrictions. Must read all three books in the series! ( )

An interesting universe with the main driver of technology being crystal, particularly from a single planet.
MC is a female power fantasy (which is fine, plenty of male power fantasies out there, like peter hamilton)
only downside is there is no real challenge for the MC to overcome.
I have the omnibus that has all three stories, the trend continues, with only minor challenges given the the main character.
After reading some of the other reviews that mention the musical knowledge comes from the authors personal history, it does seem to me a self insert.

Characters arent particular memorable, and worlds are lacking a bit of description, with some side characters having more flavour than the main cast.

i don't regret reading the series but i wouldn't say it's a must read. ( )

Chapter 1: Main character can't be #1 in her field, rage-quits after 10 years of training despite infinite other career possibilities in the field

Chapter 2: Main character physically restrained by stranger, thinks it's not yet time to call for help despite help being readily available because she's apparently somehow not technically in "personal-liberty infringement" zone yet

Me: Nope ( )

Anne McCaffrey was the first female fantasy/sci fi writer I ever read and as such she holds a special place in my heart. Her books are always wonderful, well written, and perfectly characterized. All of her series are great but I especially like the Crystal Singer series because of its action and clever look at the near future. ( )

As a late teen I devoured Anne McCaffrey's works. Strong women, interesting sci fi concepts and I loved this series above others. Still a wonderful read. ( )