When Kris Bjornsen and her fellow slaves were dumped on an uninhabited planet by the alien Catteni overlords, they would surely have died-without the help of Zainal, a renegade Catteni exiled by his own people. But they did survive on the planet they named Botany, and in time they drove the Catteni away from Earth and neighboring planets. Technologically limited but rich in natural resources, Botany must find its place in the newly configured universe. A trip to Earth shows Kris and Zainal how desperately the devastated home planet needs what Botany can give. Other worlds too have had their wealth skimmed by the Catteni regime; the nearby planet of Barevi is little more than a corrupt bazaar, where bits and pieces of Earth's once powerful technology can be traded for with grain and mineral ores. Earth needs food. Botany needs technology-and, some say, the will to protect itself from being overrun by refugees. As alien influence fades, the people of Botany must decide what kind of world they will become. Freedom's Ransom is the fourth novel in Anne McCaffrey's Freedom series, also known as the Catteni Sequence. The sequel to Freedom's Landing , Freedom's Choice , and Freedom's Challenge , Freedom's Ransom will please some fans of this star-spanning science fiction series, but others will find the book slow-paced, talky, and lacking in action. Freedom's Ransom ends conclusively, with no major unresolved plot lines, yet leaves space for at least one sequel. The planet Botany was settled by a mixed group of humans and aliens, slaves of the alien Catteni and their alien masters, the Eosi. But one Catteni was dropped on Botany with the slaves: Zainal, who helped them win their independence. Now Botany must establish trade with other planets in order to survive. But the other worlds have been ravaged by the Catteni, and once-proud Earth has been reduced to primitive poverty, its technology stolen by corrupt Barevi merchants. To save Botany, Zainal and Kris Bjornsen, his human lover, must find a way to help all the worlds. While the preface of Freedom's Ransom crisply summarizes the preceding books, this series has so many characters, races, and planets that newcomers should start with the first book, Freedom's Landing . Sophisticated SF readers aren't likely to enjoy the series, but it should hook young adults; if you're looking to broaden a child's reading beyond Harry Potter, try Anne McCaffrey's Freedom series and Dragonriders of Pern series. --Cynthia Ward Newly liberated from their Catteni masters, the residents of the planet Botany now struggle to make their former prison a thriving home and to establish trade and contact with other planets holding survivors of the Catteni conquest. When the planet Barevi, a Catteni stronghold, refuses to release supplies looted from Earth, Kris Bjornsen and her Catteni lover, the rebel Zainal, make plans to travel to Barevi to "ransom" their rightful property. McCaffrey's latest entry in her "Freedom" series (Freedom's Landing, Freedom's Choice, Freedom's Challenge) relates the struggle to deal with the aftermath of war and the maintenance of peace. The author's ability to tell a rousing, good story remains undiminished. Expect a demand from series and McCaffrey fans. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. McCaffrey is masterly at creating universes and characters somemorable that readers can slip comfortably back into a world theyhaven't visited in four years and greet the inhabitants like oldfriends. In Freedom's Challenge (1998), the colonists on theplanet Botany, who were initially dropped there as slaves, freedthemselves from the Eosi-dominated Cattani overlords. Now it is timeto reestablish contact with Earth and "ransom" Earth's stolentechnological materials, which are in warehouses on the Cattani planetBarevi. Zainal and Kris head an expedition to a decimated anddevastated but slowly recovering Earth to trade for items to use inbartering with shifty Barevi merchants. Those items saliently includeroasted coffee beans and dentistry equipment, for the Cattanis havedeveloped a passion for the tasty bean-brew and for replacing lostteeth with gold ones. Zainal, a renegade Cattani, is determined to notonly equip Botany with technology but also help restore Earth, inhopes of eventually making humans and Cattanis allies rather thanfoes. Full of humorous events as well as excitement, the fourth entryin McCaffrey's Freedom series will be relished by fans, who will alsobe pleased to note that the series remains open to anotherinstallment. Sally Estes Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Anne McCaffrey has held the esteem and affection of readers for many years, and shows no signs of losing the storytelling skills that are her particular speciality. She has always shown a remarkable consistency of inventiveness and achievement in her high-flying fantasy tales, incorporating genuine science in her lengthy series of boo