Crystal Singer - Anne McCaffrey

Ah Anne McCaffrey.  One of her side series, non-PERN related.

Killashandra Ree spent 10 grueling years training for a musical career until the fateful day in her senior year when her final test they told her her voice had a unpleasant burr in higher registers that would prevent her from being a soloist.  Unpleasant burr?!??!  After all the encouragement she received.  If she couldn't bea top soloist she would walk away from it all.  At the space port she runs into a crystal singer on leave.  Pulled into his wonderful world she forgets about her unpleasantness for awhile and starts to think maybe crystal singing might be her calling.  Or is it?  Why is it that Ballybran, the only world with crystals on it, is rated a class 5 and extreme caution is needed.  Why is it that only crystal singers leave the planet and no one else?  Is she brave enough to change her destiny despite everyone urging her not to?

This is another favorite series of mine that Anne wrote.  Only 3 novels (really, really wish there was more!) it's one of those series that you can't put down.  I have read this series so many times I've had to replace the books multiple times.  And yet no matter how many times I read it, Killashandra is still a new but old favorite character.  Her journey is amazing especially as once again Anne creates this whole not just world of Ballybran but also universe where the crystals being cut on Ballybran make communications, interstellar travel and other things just as amazing.

So, so worth it to pick these up.