(no subject)

[skygiants]

At Readercon genarti and I succumbed to the lure of an incredibly cheap copy of Anne McCaffrey's first-ever novel, Restoree, which neither of us had read, because .... I don't know. I have no rational explanation. It's been fifteen years at least since I read a McCaffrey and it would have been so easy to keep the streak going, and yet.

Restoree involves plucky young New York City girl Sara getting abducted by aliens, undergoing terrifying surgery, and awakening in what seems to be a strange sort of asylum where she's tasked with caretaking an apparently catatonic patient.

On the downside, she has no idea what has happened to her, there's been a horrifying violation of her bodily autonomy, and she's surrounded by sinister doctors who have her in their complete power and don't seem to expect her or her patient to have any mind of their own.

On the upside: the aliens really fixed up her nose! she's always hated her nose but her parents would never let her do anything about it ['only Jewish girls get nose jobs' ... ah, 1967] and she is JUST thrilled about the new one :D

Sara quickly realizes that her patient is an important political figure on this planet of alien humans [?] who is being kept drugged so everyone will think he had a mental breakdown; she manages to sneakily stop him from receiving any more drugging and, once he's awake, immediately realizes he's hot. His name is Harlan, and there is no reason to assume this is a nod to Harlan Ellison, that would be a completely wild thing for Anne McCaffrey to do, and yet the thought keeps haunting me.

Anyway, Harlan hears Sara's story and immediately figures out that she was probably kidnapped by the Mil, evil people-napping skin-flaying aliens who've been coming to his planet and hunting his people Since Time Immemorial and now have apparently branched out to Earth. He also Sara that she must not tell ANYBODY about this, because trying to restore people who have been kidnapped and skin-flayed by the Mil is ILLEGAL and people will hate and fear and be grossed out by her and possibly try and put her to death.

Anyway. They break out! They make out! It turns out Sara can sail, which is crucial to both the breaking out and the making out -- Harlan loves that she can sail, he keeps telling everybody how lucky it is that he got him a girl who knows how to sail a boat, which honestly is perhaps the cutest thing in the book. He also explains that on this planet women are highly valued for their fertility and tells her that he's claimed her, which is much less cute but one hundred percent on brand for Anne McCaffrey. Anyway, Sara is unbothered by this.

She's also relatively unbothered when the next part of the adventure involves her sneaking into the palace and accidentally becoming the Teen Warlord's Fake Girlfriend because it's very important that everyone know that he's not Teen Impotent, as has been Rumored, Much To His Devastation. Honestly Sara thinks this is all kind of funny, which, you know what, fair. This is actually the second Teen Warlord because the first Teen Warlord has been being slowly poisoned and decides to abdicate for ill health and then spends the whole rest of the book sitting back eating popcorn like 'thank God I'm out of all that,' which, you know what, mood. He's my favorite character in the book.

We find out that the villains have been drugging and kidnapping just loads of people and sending them off to the asylum under the claim that there's a tragic mental health epidemic, which obviously is Bad but also frankly kind of fascinating as a plot point that everyone is just like "oh, yeah, checks out, our best and brightest ARE under a lot of strain, it makes perfect sense that they're all abruptly going catatonic with PTSD." We also learn that that there's a planet of gentle and pacifist aliens that Harlan found and colonized but, like, in a nice way, and then is appalled to learn that his political enemy betrayed them to the Mil in order to do a land grab and now they're all dead. Sara absolutely does immediately think about the colonization of North America and it is exactly as well-meaningly condescending as one might expect.

Throughout all of this Sara is constantly hungry and constantly demanding that we get to the next meal, which I was convinced was a sign of some kind of restoree monstrosity that would eventually be revealed to explain why we're so down on restorees, but apparently just seems to be a charming character quirk. It is really frankly never explained why we're so down on trying to restore people who have been tragically skinned by aliens except 'mostly doesn't work.'

There's politicking! The Mil invade! The Mil are defeated! The Teen Warlord claims his true love! Sara is honestly not deeply involved in any of it and also it's not that interesting! Around the edges of this there's an ongoing conversation about what to do about the sinister scientist who restored Sara and was involved in the drugging-Harlan coup, and the answer ends up being 'not much, it's fine, now that he achieved his scientific coup of successfully restoring Sara he probably won't drug any important political figures again.' So that's all good. As far as the restoree problem which has been looming all book goes Harlan is just like 'uhhhh Sara IS from an alien planet and WAS kidnapped by the Mil but fortunately escaped before anyone could skin her alive, this is absolutely the nose that she's always had, do Not worry' and everyone is cool with that and they live happily ever after.

Is it a good book? Not particularly. Is it the weirdest book Anne McCaffrey ever wrote? Absolutely not. Is it the worst book Anne McCaffrey ever wrote? Also absolutely not! She will reach much greater heights and depths over the course of her career, but my understanding is that she wrote this book in order to take a Strong Stand That Women Can Do Things In Science Fiction Novels and, you know what, fair play. Sara does do several things. She knows how to sail!

Comments

[thistleingrey]

This is the book for which teen me found and learned the term "Stockholm syndrome." Teen me also wondered ignorantly, a whole 20 years after the book's publication, why this thing was still in print. It suffered a bit in comparison because I'd just read The Lady (also teen me: why is a paperback by a writer I have heard of (for Pern) at the supermarket checkout?? intriguing), which at least acknowledged that being sidelined as a woman who wants to Do Things might lead to issues with Valium and so on. Current me is a little proud of McCaffrey for updating her character arcs across those 20 years (though the tropey arcs and the plots they were bound to basically fell off a cliff 8-10 years later and kept falling, from my POV).

[sovay]

because I'd just read The Lady (also teen me: why is a paperback by a writer I have heard of (for Pern) at the supermarket checkout?? intriguing)

That was yet another novel I read expecting something supernatural or at least mildly paranormal to occur and was phenomenally disappointed. R. A. MacAvoy's The Grey Horse (1987) worked out much better for me on that front.

[skygiants]

I'm trying to remember if I ever read The Lady -- I do have a very strong memory of the cover, and picking it up multiple times at the library, and I think every time I re-discovered that there were no dragons or spaceships and was like 'what! why would I read this then!' and put it back down. But it's nice to hear she'd had Growth!

[sovay]

This is actually the second Teen Warlord because the first Teen Warlord has been being slowly poisoned and decides to abdicate for ill health and then spends the whole rest of the book sitting back eating popcorn like 'thank God I'm out of all that,' which, you know what, mood. He's my favorite character in the book.

I'm glad there's someone like that in this book! Restoree is one of the McCaffreys I can't remember ever getting into, even when I was reading everything else of hers that wasn't nailed down.

It is really frankly never explained why we're so down on trying to restore people who have been tragically skinned by aliens except 'mostly doesn't work.'

You could at least have made up some cultural taboo about bodily integrity!

[skygiants]

I was pleasantly surprised to meet him, all the other men in this book are so much about being Manly in what I generally recall as a frequent McCaffrey mode that it's nice to have a youth who simply doesn't care.

I was soooo convinced there had to be some terrible consequence that usually happens but instead it really does just seem to be "people get traumatized by being skinned and that stresses us out!"

[brownbetty]

You can get such a pure and unfiltered look at an author's id through their first novel.

OTOH, reading this, I was like, "ah yes, I too was once fourteen," but if my math is correct, she was thirty-eight.

[skygiants]

I think in a part of her heart Anne McCaffrey was always fourteen. Forever young!

[bookblather]

Oh yeah, early books are so much fun. You can see everything they're obsessed with in the rest of their career but like, rawer.

Also, I vaguely remember reading this book and thinking that Sara and Harlan (Ellison) (genuinely thanks for that) were very romantic. I suspect I would feel differently now.

[skygiants]

There ARE parts that are very cute! And she does seem into him and giving the thumbs up about everything that happens the whole way through which is NOT always guaranteed, with Anne.

[asakiyume]

Well now I need to know what the weirdest and worst things Anne McCaffrey ever wrote were! Please? (I have only read the Harper Hall trilogy and the Dragonrider trilogy, plus The Ship Who Sang.)

the first Teen Warlord has been being slowly poisoned and decides to abdicate for ill health and then spends the whole rest of the book sitting back eating popcorn like 'thank God I'm out of all that,' which, you know what, mood. He's my favorite character in the book. --LOL! I love this.

"oh, yeah, checks out, our best and brightest ARE under a lot of strain, it makes perfect sense that they're all abruptly going catatonic with PTSD." --This somehow seems like it would be possible in our today's world? Like I feel like every third news story I hear is about our mental health crisis--it would only be a little more surprising if catatonia were involved.

And way to go, Sara! Doer of several things!

[sovay]

Well now I need to know what the weirdest and worst things Anne McCaffrey ever wrote were! Please?

She admits in the foreword of Get Off the Unicorn (1977) that "The Thorns of Barevi" did not succeed in its attempt to cash in on softcore trends in sf of the '60's and '70's, and indeed, as an exercise in romance/porn, it's grisly.

[skygiants]

okay I can't speak categorically but the things that live in my memory as Weirdest and Worst:

- the bit of Dragonsdawn where a woman is determined to marry a guy who is only interested in caves, so she seduces him in a cave, and they get married, but he's STILL not really into her until she gets kidnapped and is being held hostage in a spaceship and he suddenly realizes that he loved her all along, which gives her the strength to crash the spaceship

- the bit in one of the Pegasus books where a ten year old has a psychic future vision that she's going to marry a full adult man and then spends the next six years telling that full adult man that they're going to get married, until they do

- the bit of The Rowan where has her first teen sex but unfortunately learns that she's SO telepathically strong that if she bangs anyone who isn't an equally strong telepath she'll burn their brains out mid-coitus

-

[chestnut_pod]

Would you say the boat foreshadowed the dragons in any meaningful way?

[skygiants]

you know what, I do think that Anne McCaffrey thinks the sexiest thing a woman can possibly do is successfully drive some sort of vehicle

[raven]

I started reading this and was like... powerful political figure in an asylum, didn't I just write a story with this plot? And then I kept going and was like, NO, I DID NOT WRITE A BOOK WITH THIS PLOT.

(WAS she skinned alive? Is that was the terrible surgery was? why??)

[rachelmanija]

She was skinned! Then re-skinned. I think because the aliens were going to eat her?

[themis1]

I seem to recall Annie (who used to be a regular guest at UK Trek cons) saying she wrote it somewhat tongue-in-cheek and was vaguely surprised that people took it in any way seriously.

[skygiants]

It really does have the energy of being halfway to parody, which honestly is the most charming thing about it.

[osprey_archer]

This is far from the wildest novel McCaffrey ever wrote but it IS still wild, I'm glad she came right out of the gate already doing her own bizarre thing.

[skygiants]

She has always been absolutely and inimitably her own self!

[oracne]

I only read this one twice, the second time mainly to see if I liked it more. I did not.

[skygiants]

it was possible! it was possible that it could have improved in retrospect! but I'm unsurprised to learn that it didn't.

[conuly]

I'm always afraid to read the books you review because I'm sure there's no way they can possibly live up (down?) to my expectations.

[skygiants]

I strive only to report the truth.

[rachelmanija]

I remember this book! I actually like the opening a lot. It's very gripping. Once they're out of the asylum, my interest takes a nosedive.

I thought the prejudice against trying to save skinned people was that they normally end up badly scarred, which I guess horrified other people so much that it was banned? But very confusing why anyone would still care since Sara was not scarred.

[skygiants]

Yeah, the endless politics in the middle where Sara is mostly just observing events really drags!

The prejudice I think is less about the fact that they're physically scarred than about the fact that they usually just stay catatonic even after getting re-skinned -- I think the doctor is trying to prove that it's not inevitable that they stay catatonic and that it's all psychological, but even then it's the same question, I don't know why people would care about/be horrified Sara since she's so clearly not catatonic!

[ehyde]

I think I read this when I was about fourteen (thanks, mom-or-possibly-dad's bookshelf), which on the one hand was probably the correct age, but on the other hand, I simply did not have the context to appreciate the sheer wtf-ery of it.

[skygiants]

Fourteen is DEFINITELY the right age and is indeed the age at which I read a lot of Anne McCaffrey ... and at the time I was just like "huh! I guess that's just what books are like!" But they do live more powerfully in my memory than the many books I read that did not have that degree of sheer wtf-ery.

[lizbee]

I was low-key obsessed with this book when I was 14 and reading every McCaffrey I could get my hands on -- I was very, "Yes, this is Extremely Early Feminism," but it hit my id in a way that a terrible novel can only do when you're 14. (Actually, I think this might be the source of my love of "We saved your life/brought you back from the dead, but now your body is different in ways you didn't choose or consent to" as a Problematic Trope.)

[skygiants]

Sometimes you just gotta read the right bad book when you're 14! It's an important stage of development!

(now your body is different. it's hotter. the nose .... cuter.)

[lokifan]

the first Teen Warlord has been being slowly poisoned and decides to abdicate for ill health and then spends the whole rest of the book sitting back eating popcorn like 'thank God I'm out of all that,' which, you know what, mood. He's my favorite character in the book.

Ahahaha, LOVE this.

[skygiants]

Really just a huge win for him!

[vass]

I (vaguely) remember that book! My high school library had it! So I must have read it 26 to 29 years ago!

The only thing I remember is that there was a lot of body horror and this moment when she's giving evidence at a trial and they were arguing based on her speech that she must have a brain injury, and she tried to explain that this isn't her native language, she has an accent.

[skygiants]

The body horror is shockingly non-horrirish for the setup ... after the initial '!!!' she's incredibly chill with it .... she is MUCH more upset about the arguments that she must have a brain injury when indeed it is just that she has an accent (and really speaks/understands the alien language remarkably well given that she seems to have picked it up just on osmosis.)

[nishatalitha]

I was about 14 when I read Restoree and was exploring the SFF in my local library. I think The Lady must be one of the few McCaffrey I haven't read, other than not bothering with all the Petaybee books or Freedom's whatsit (the Baravi novels).

The copy of Restoree my library had had cover art that could have come from a romance novel - he is holding her in his arms, her legs are straight out and she is wearing some flowy white thing. There are spaceships in the background. There is a lot of leg (both his and hers) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Restoree-McCaffrey/dp/0345302796

I remain nostalically fond of Restoree, but the commentry on Get Off the Unicorn makes me think that McCaffrey might be due for a revisit and possibly weeding some out of my collection.