“No dragons, but [Crystal Singer] has all of [Anne] McCaffrey’s gifts for world-building and characterization . . . an excellent book.”—Chicago Sun-Times

Her name was Killashandra Ree; and after ten grueling years of musical training she was young, beautiful—and still without prospects. 

Then she heard of the mysterious Heptite Guild on the planet Ballybran, where the fabled Black Crystal was found.

For those qualified, the Guild was said to provide careers, security, and the chance for wealth beyond imagining. The problem was, few people who landed on Ballybran ever left.

To Killashandra the risks were acceptable . . .

The Reviews

Paige Turner
5.0 out of 5 stars 
Engaging Sci Fi- Sheer Joy
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2009
Verified Purchase
I absolutely love this book. I'm already a fan of Anne McCaffrey from her Pern series, but I think this trilogy is even better. My favorite of the trilogy is this book, the first of the series. In this book we learn what the Crystal Singers are as Killashandra, the lead (female) character enters the Guild after failing to become a musician. This is sci-fi at it's best - fast-paced, interesting, fanciful, future-looking, and most important, it contemplates real issues. In the midst of an engaging story that is easy to escape in, the author challenges us to think about real dilemmas. For example, a side effect of "singing crystal" is extraordinary longevity and loss of memory. I found myself thinking, "do events still exist if we can't remember them?" and "how will our lives be affected if we have extraordinary longevity but our friends and family do not?"

I read this book as a teenage boy 2 decades ago, and just re-read it last week. I find that good works of fiction affect me in different ways at different stages of my life, and Crystal Singer was no exception.

As an adult, I understand Killashandra's challenges, and understand her relationships more fully than I did as a teenager. As a teenager, I was "along with her," discovering Crystal Singing for the first time. Her entry into the Heptite Guild had many parallels with my entry into West Point. For example, the Guild appears to discourage new recruits from joining, but this is actually a subtle psychological technique to recruit a certain type of individual. (West Point does the same thing) This made the story, despite the futuristic setting, more realistic.

Anne McCaffrey develops the character of Killashandra in a brutally honest way - we love her and also see her making mistakes. This is engaging Science Fiction - I think McCaffrey doesn't get enough critical acclaim - she's considered "pulp" sci fi by many but in my opinion she's right up there with Isacc Asimov and Harlan Ellison. She's not in the same league as Frank Herbert, but no one is.

Cheryl Stout
5.0 out of 5 stars 
Great first book in Crystal Singer trilogy
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2023
Verified Purchase
I loved this book when I first read it years ago and I loved it just as much this time around. I went through quite a McCaffrey stage when I was younger, reading all her dragon books, and then I happened across Crystal Singer and I was so glad I did.

Killashandra Ree trained for ten years to be a top-ranked concert singer on the planet Fuerte and then wasn't accepted because of a minor burr in her voice. Her perfect pitch and eidetic memory didn't help her there. But then she hears about the Heptite Guild of the planet Ballybran, and despite many warnings, she is intrigued by what she hears about Crystal Singers on that planet.

This first book in the trilogy takes Killashandra to Ballybran, through many adventures and leaves me ready to re-read the second book in the trilogy right away Killashandra.