Book Review: Sassinak - Anne McCaffrey

I’m a huge Anne McCaffrey fan and, as such, have read a number of her books – often several times over. I’ve loved almost every book that I’ve read of hers, with very few exceptions.

A Collaboration with Elizabeth Moon

Written by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon, Sassinak is the first book in the Planet Pirates trilogy and is a continuation of McCaffrey's Ireta series, which started with 1978's Dinosaur Planet. The book was published in 1990.

So, I guess Sassinak is actually the third book in the Ireta Series…no wonder I was confused at times. Occasionally, there were references to other books that I hadn't read yet.

The Story

The novel follows Sassinak, a woman orphaned in a slaver raid on her home planet at a young age. When she is eventually rescued, she attends a military academy and joins the navy to begin her quest to hunt pirates in the depths of space.

Pros and Cons

It’s a revenge story with a lot of heart to it, and although it’s part of a series, it reads well as a standalone novel. You really feel for the characters and can relate to them without much difficulty, which makes the surprisingly dark moments just that much darker.

I also like the fact that McCaffrey and co-author Elizabeth Moon leave a lot to our imagination. They give enough information that we know what’s going on without saying too much – leaving it to our imaginations to fill in the blanks.

If I had any major gripes with the book, it would likely be that sometimes the two authors’ styles just don’t mesh that well…though admittedly it could just be me. I also, as stated earlier, got a bit confused with certain elements of the story.

Sassinak is the third book of the Ireta series, and there are several references to the earlier books – Dinosaur Planet and Dinosaur Planet Survivors, which kind of threw me off a little bit.

Final Thoughts

This book is a little confusing if, like me, you haven’t read the other two Ireta books, but it’s not strictly speaking necessary to read them either. If you haven’t read this one, I highly recommend it.

If you have read it, I’d like to know what you thought of it.

Thanks for Reading!