Those already familiar with the fictional universe of Anne McCaffrey will be coming to this short story collection with preconceived notions of what to expect. The real test of is the reaction to someone who has not yet or only partially entered into her futuristic world vision. Can this selection of hand-picked stories by the author stand up to that test of interest and entertainment?
Likely the answer is a qualified yes. Qualified by several aspect of the book, the least of which may be whether they are science fiction fans. Of course, certainly, it helps to be steeped in the conventions of that genre. Coming to McCaffrey’s science fiction is not exactly the same as watching Star Trek, but if that is what drew one into the genre, it is close enough. The bigger problem here may be related to the period of composition of these stories: 1959 to 1973. That was a time when the world was undergoing great chance. The countercultural revolution changed everything, including science fiction. It seems, however, to have passed by McCaffrey to a certain extent.
The reality is this: one could well be forgiven for thinking these stories were written by any of the many notably misogynistic male authors which dominated the world of science fiction so long. The stories here are patriarchal, paternalistic, and sexist almost as template. The problem at hand is determining whether this oddly off-kilter right-wing male perspective is the result of sincerity or irony. If the author is being ironic, the stories are brilliantly satiric. If not—and that seems to be the case—then they are simply problematic. The key work here speaking to this problem is “Daughter” and it is particularly appropriate as the epicenter of what is not quite right about these stories.
“Daughter” reveals that McCaffrey was definitely ahead of her time in seeing into the future. Another story here predicts the invention of the “cloud” as a concept for mass data storage. Likewise, “Daughter” foresees the misogynistic chauvinism toward female programmers that runs rampant still today. But here is where things get interesting. While far worse happens to other females in the stories (the term “rapey” is not routinely applied to describe the feeling of the collection for nothing), it is the way that “Daughter” plays out that is the most distressing. The father of this daughter is situated as absolute patriarchal perspective personified. His son is the programmer of the family, not the daughter. Even when she is accepted into college and they meet with the Counselor who struggles vainly to convince the father of just what a brilliant daughter, the father maintains his ground. The end of the face-off doesn’t really arrive with the end of this story, however, as the very next tale continues the story of the daughter as she goes off to school. Taken together as a whole, the moral ultimately seems to be—it is as hard to tell as whether it is intended ironically or not—that her father’s insistence she was born to breed is the correct attitude, after all.
The stories were written in a time not all that long ago chronologically, but what seems to be a century in the past socially. So even if the misogyny and patriarchal subservience is not ironic at all, it would not be particularly surprising or even unexpected. Those already familiar with the author will certainly have already been exposed to this aspect of her work. Those coming in fresh should take note and be prepared.
