FREEDOM'S CHALLENGE

Third in McCaffrey’s series (Freedom’s Landing, 1995; Freedom’s Choice, 1997) about planet Botany and its diverse population of humans and aliens, including ex-Earth Girl Kris Bjornsen and her aristocratic, renegade Cattani lover, Zainal. The Earth, you see, has been conquered by the catlike Cattani, but the Cattani are themselves dominated by the parasitic alien Eosi. Intended as a do-or-die prison colony, the Botanists have freed themselves from Cattani domination, aided in part by the planet’s alien landlords, the Farmers, powerful but benevolent beings who’ve screened the planet from Cattani spacecraft. Now, Kris, Zainal and the others have ambitions to liberate Earth from the Cattani and the Cattani from the Eosi. McCaffrey provides a useful plot recap, and this entry—somewhat more conclusive than its predecessors—offers proven allures for series fans.