I like Anne McCaffrey’s works because of her straightforward, no-nonsense writing style, and To Ride Pegasus definitely met my expectations. The four short stories included in To Ride Pegasus are very fast-paced and driven by the storyline, and McCaffrey created clear-cut protagonists and antagonists that are very likable and hateable, respectively. This collection was a light, simple read that (presumably) sets the scene for the next few books of the series, and I was happy to not have experienced any angst and ALL THE FEELS moments. IntroductionTo Ride Pegasus is a collection of four short stories that take place during the installment of the North and East American Parapsychic Centers. In the first story, To Ride Pegasus, Henry Darrow, an astrologer, meets Molly Mahony, a nurse at the hospital where Henry landed after getting into a car accident. By chance (or destiny?), both of them happen to be aware that they have mind-based super powers, which could be detected by the hospital’s “Goosegg”, the latest high-tech super-sensitive EEG machine. They realize that there are probably other people in the world who have super powers too, so they set forth to establish the first Center for the Talented: the North American Parapsychic Center. A Womanly Talent moves forward in time as Daffyd (Dave) op Owen, the director of the now-established East American Parapsychic Center, tries to get a bill passed in order to get professional immunity for Talents registered with the Center. The last two stories, Apple and A Bridle for Pegasus, continue with Dave’s excursions and the new Talents he finds. DiscussionI was seriously captivated from page one – To Ride Pegasus hits the ground running and starts right at Henry’s car accident, and the quick pace continues throughout the book. The only thing that felt a bit rushed (or maybe brushed aside) is the romance, but I was too busy reading an action-packed sci-fi book, you know? Each of the four stories centers around a particular goal or problem; if I had to draw a plot diagram, I’d draw four little mountains because these stories have proper action, climax, and resolution components, with none of that cliffhanger stuff.From the reader’s point of view, the characters in all four stories are very much interpreted by their actions. The third-person is kind of like watching a movie in that I can’t get into Henry or Molly or Dave’s head… but even though there’s not a whole lot of introspection on the characters’ parts, I still ended up having feelings (of like or dislike) for all the characters because they’re simple to understand and easy to categorize as good or evil.The concepts used throughout To Ride Pegasus were also interesting and predictably science-fiction-esque, from the Goosegg to the symbol of Pegasus for the Talented. I enjoyed the whole premise of mind-based powers, the formation of a society, and the realistic backlash from the unTalented; I think anything with that premise will bring out the super-power rebel in all of us! “The Talented form their own society and that’s as it should be: birds of a feather. No, not birds. Winged horses! Ha! Yes, indeed. Pegasus... the poetic winged horse of flights of fancy. A bloody good symbol for us. You’d see a lot from the back of a winged horse...” ConclusionIf you don’t want to invest too much emotion into a book and are in the mood for fast-paced stories and #romancewhatromance science-fiction, you should give To Ride Pegasus a try! If you’ve ever dreamed of having useful telepathic powers (like I have, when I squirrel-watch), this book has it all! Paper Breathers (Book Reviews & Discussions)
I just finished reading To Ride Pegasus, by Anne McCaffrey, for about the 20th time. It never gets old to me, and I know this won’t be the last time I read it. Yes, I’m one of those people who can read a book or watch a movie over, and over, and over. Part of the reason is that if it’s a great book I tend to read it way too fast and I miss things, so I read it again later to pick up all the things I missed. This time through Pegasus I tried to focus on exactly why I love it so much. It might be the writing. The characters, even the minor ones, are so three dimensional that I feel like I know them. They are my neighbors and my friends. The world she sketches is vibrant and to me a logical extension of our own. It’s us, on steroids. Or psychic Talent, as it were. Mind you, when she wrote it 1997 seemed like far enough into the future to make all the futuristic things logical. Have we become what she envisioned? No. But we still might, maybe 100 years from now. It might be the story. It’s an epic plot line, by which I mean it spans several lives and years rather than focusing on one small moment in time. The story is an overview of how Talent came to be, and how it got organized. I think even those who don’t normally read Sci-Fi will appreciate the politics of a minority group trying to make their place in the world. At the base of it, the plot is about people trying to navigate through a society that doesn’t always accept them. A pretty universal theme, I’d say.Somehow I think it’s more than the story, the characters and the great writing (which is enough to keep me in just about any book). This story has a little something extra. A spark. It holds a fascination for me that I find in most of McCaffrey’s books, and that few others duplicate. It’s like she weaves pixie dust into every line. In this particular story, it’s the idea that we humans might evolve our latent parapsychic talents. The idea that telepathy might be something we eventually happen upon and grow into has always fascinated me. We’ve all had those moments…that freaky moment when you know the phone is about to ring with bad news, and then it does. The odd sensation of deja ‘vu when you just know you’ve seen this or been there before, even though there’s no possible way you could have. Or even that feeling when you let go of the ball and just know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it is going into the net and you will win the game. Whatever the moment was, you probably just brushed it off as intuition. But what if it’s more than that? What if…That’s why this book fascinates me so much. McCaffrey takes that question, the what if, and draws it out in a way that captivates me and makes me want to walk right into the story and live there. If you’ve never read her books, do yourself a favor and pick one up. The most famous are the Pern series, but I’ve read them all and you can’t go wrong with any of them. If you like hard core SF, try the Ship Who Sang. If you like a bit of fantasy with your SF, try the Pern series. If you love dreaming about how our world might grow into something different, try To Ride Pegasus, and then the rest of the Talent series, especially The Rowan. What the heck, try them all!
What do You think about To Ride Pegasus (2000)?
Oh my gosh, how I adored this book and its sequel as a teen. I just thought Henry Darrow, Daffyd op Owen and the gang were the coolest, best people that I'd want to hang out with any day.It's quite a shock to come back and revisit this book at 30, in the year 2015, when sensibilities have progressed light years ahead of Anne's time and now I'm old enough to think critically about what I'm reading. We have to remember this book was released in 1973 (and takes place in Anne McCaffrey's vision of the future, set in the year - wait for it - 1997). Today we react with concern and even cringe a little when we're asked to accept that Ruth Horvath, (view spoiler)[ the posessor of "a very womanly talent," (hide spoiler)]
—Callista Hunter
I don't know about more recent editions of To Ride Pegasus, but the cover of the 1973 mass market paperback is incredibly misleading. The cover makes it look like some cheesy fantasy novel while the back makes it sound like a mail-order-bride romance or something. In actuality, To Ride Pegasus is a surprisingly good collection of speculative short stories about the difficulties that would arise in legitimizing psychic powers after they have been proven scientifically, and the social/political problems that would occur in a society distrustful of a powerful minority. The world of To Ride Pegasus is an interesting near-future in which people's basic needs, food, clothing, housing and even entertainment channels, are met, but in which the possibility is still present for explosive discontent. Although To Ride Pegasus lays the groundwork for Anne McCaffrey's Talent novels, beginning with The Rowan, the short stories contained within it are speculative and more cerebral than the later series, and less space opera.
—Jennifer
When an old man is in a serious road accident, a young nurse with an innate talent for healing accidentally discovers a means to test scientifically for telepathy, telekinesis, and other special talents . This accidental discovery leads to the formation of a centre for psychically gifted and talented people. Daffyd op Owen is chosen by the dying founder to run the centre after he is gone, but op Owen soon realises that he will make many enemies along the way, both talented and normal.[return][return]I was recommended this book by a friend, and while it was interesting to read, it did not grip me and leave me wanting more (despite the fact this is the first book in a trilogy). The writing in some places could have been better I felt, and I felt little empathy towards the characters. The idea was interesting, but the plot was cumbersome and didn t really flow. I would not personally recommend this book, but that is just my opinion, and others have enjoyed this book far more than I did.
—Steve
