Freedom's Choice

Abducted by the alien Catteni, Kristin Bjornsen was one of many humans brought to the planet Botany as part of an experiment to see if it could support life. Enslaved and forced to colonize a world not their own, the settlers have accepted Botany as their home—a home worth fighting for…Kristin’s people have learned that the aliens responsible for their imprisonment are merely mercenaries, subjugated by the parasitic Eosi Race, and that Botany is being farmed remotely by some unknown species—a species that may be sympathetic to the colonists’ struggle for freedom.The “Farmers” refuse to join the humans in their rebellion against the Catteni, but they agree to use their technological skills to shield Botany and hide it from its enemies—buying Kristin and the settlers time to build up their forces and liberate their world…From School Library JournalYA?In what may be her best series since the early "Pern" novels, McCaffrey has created yet another winner. While conquering and colonizing the universe, the alien Catteni take the misfits and troublemakers they encounter and dump them on empty planets. If they survive, then the Catteni move in. Freedom's Landing (Putnam, 1995) introduced a human/alien group struggling just to stay alive. In this second book, these Botany Bay-like survivors have overcome hardships to establish a society of sorts. Zainal, a renegade Catteni, and his fellow dumpees have begun to strike back at their oppressors. They are also trying to uncover the identity of the original residents of the planet and enlist their support. McCaffrey has developed another exotic world peopled with interesting, well-developed characters. This book stands alone but works better with the first novel.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalContinuing the storyline from Freedom's Landing (LJ 4/15/95), this second book in the series finds the human and aliens on the penal planet Botany planning a rebellion against their slavemasters. After the Catteni subdue and transport to penal colony planets people from Earth and other civilizations for their Eosi masters, one Catteni, Zainal, chooses to remain on Botany. His plan? To join his fellow slaves in convincing the absentee owners of the planet to turn against the Eosi and free the colonists. McCaffrey is at her best with interspecies interactions and uniting for a goal against a common enemy. Highly recommended for sf collections.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.