ACORNA’S WORLD

McCaffrey continues the series (note the new collaborator: Acorna, 1997, was with Margaret Ball) about the telepathic human-alien unicorn, Acorna, a Linyaari whose horn can purify water and air and heal injuries. In this episode, Acorna's zooming around the galaxy in a spaceship with Captain Joh Becker, McKenZ the android, and Acorna's fellow-Linyaari, Aari. Aari is depressed and withdrawn after being captured, tortured, and de-horned by the enemies of all sentient life, the giant-insect Khleevi, a species with habits designed to elicit the exclamation "Ew, gross!" But when Acorna and friends discover a planet covered with sentient vegetation whose corrosive sap dissolves the tough Khleevi exoskeleton, they develop a plan to trick the Khleevi into landing their armies on the planet; the plants, who also loathe the voracious Khleevi, actively cooperate. So, while Acorna and Becker plot, and McKenZ and Aari learn the Khleevi clicking language, will Aari find healing, regrow his horn, rediscover his self-respect, and get together with Acorna?

Cute and fluffy, not even remotely tense or gripping: a by-the-numbers, bash-the-nasty-aliens romp, breezy enough for uncritical fans of this popular duo (Power Play, 1995, etc.).