To ride Pegasus by Anne McCaffrey

Henry Darrow knew to avoid the road that night, he had seen the future and knew that taking the road that night would lead to an accident - but even though he knew it was coming fate made sure that he didn't miss his date with destiny.  That fateful crash not only led Darrow to his future wife, it also lead to incontestable proof that psychic phenomena were real.  The Goosegg equipment in his hospital room captured the moment he saw the future, and led his future wife to discover that the Goosegg was also able to capture her own small Talent in action. 

Having scientific proof of his precognition should be the start of something new and exciting, but fate is not always kind and Darrow soon finds himself fighting battles on many different fronts as proof of precognition opens the way for psychics to be sued - and for the greedy tax man to come demanding his share of the money that is flooding into the newly created Parapsychic Centre.  Darrow may know what the future holds, but the journey to get there is challenging and not set in concrete.  The dawn of Talent is here, and for Darrow and his team the battles they fight now will echo far into the future.

To ride Pegasus was first published in 1973, and was a brilliant piece of speculative science fiction - and it is somewhat bizarre to know that events that are described in the book are now in our past!  To ride Pegasus is quite different from other science fiction written by Anne McCaffrey, one of the biggest differences being that it does not have a traditional chapter structure, with the book broken down into large sections.  I didn't really notice until I decided to stop at the next chapter and read most of the book!  This book is also more 'science fiction' than a lot of McCaffrey's other works, with a heavier focus on the technology and world rather than the people.  It lays the perfect foundation for the next book in the series, but it may be off putting for some readers as it seems a little more impersonal than her other works (don't let it put you off though because the series is brilliant and leads into the Tower and the hive series).

This is an interesting series, and makes you wonder just what could be around the corner.  We are making scientific leaps all the time, and it is very easy to see flying cars and scientifically proven psychics just around the corner.  I picked this series up because I had run out of library books to read and didn't want to stop reading until new books arrived so I browsed my own shelves and this series jumped out as something I hadn't read for a while.  If you have not discovered this series already then I highly recommend giving it a try.  The best part is that once you have read all three books in the Talents of Earth series, you can jump straight into the Tower and the hive series.

Talents of Earth series:
To ride Pegasus
Pegasus in flight
Pegasus in space

Tower and the hive series:
The Rowan
Damia
Damia's children
Lyon's pride
The tower and the hive


If you like this book then try:

• The crystal singer by Anne McCaffrey
• The ship who sang by Anne McCaffrey
• Decision at Doona by Anne McCaffrey
• Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
• Alien taste by Wen Spencer
• Sassinak by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon

Reviewed by Brilla