Third Watch

by Elizabeth A. Scarborough, Anne McCaffrey, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

Book Overview

The dramatic conclusion to the breathtaking saga of the children of Acorna and Aari.

Khorii, the rebellious daughter of Acorna, the near-mythic heroine of her people, has tried to follow in her mother's footsteps in this time of plague and terror. But the pressure on the courageous young woman to succeed is tremendous, and the legacy she is expected to fulfill is overwhelming.

The insidious enemy that has ravaged countless known worlds...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060525436
• ISBN13: 9780060525439
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.1" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Origins of the Plague

Third Watch (2007) is the third SF novel in the Acorna's Children series, following Second Wave. In the previous volume, Coco the pirate chieftain was disappointed at the lack of treasure on the Estrella Blanca, but accepted Mikaaye onboard the Black Mariah as a healer and pirate trainee. Khorii and Ariin returned to Vhiliinyar to visit their parents and friends within the quarantine pastures. In this novel, the twins and Khiindi the cat travel back in time to the wardrobe of Akasa, Ariin's former mistress among the Friends. Of course, the Friends know Ariin as Narhii, the name they bestowed upon her at birth. Since they look alike, Ariin wants Khorii to replace her so that she can go investigate something without the Friends noticing her absence. Khorii acts differently than Narhii, but the Friends would never notice. First the twins travel back even further in the past to drop off Khiindi with the Ancestors. He should be safe among the unicorns while Ariin does whatever she intends. Since this latest time is prior to the birth of the twins, Khiindi once more becomes the shapeshifting Grimalkin and makes friends -- as a unicorn -- with the female Ancestor Halili. Returning to the closet, the twins separate. Ariin hides while Khorii distracts Akasa. Khorii -- pretending to be Narhii -- asks the Friend to show her the way home as a ploy to get the Friend out of the house. Then Ariin sneaks out and goes her own way. Once outside, Khorii notices that the front door is shaped and colored as an eye. In fact, the whole front of the house looks like the upper half of Akasa's face. Akasa is pleased with the effect, but Khorii wonders at the degree of vanity that it indicates. In this story, Ariin gossips with the Friend technicians while Khorii wanders among the Friend hoity-toity. Ariin learns some interesting things, but Khorii meets the Friend Odus and learns that he is odious. Ariin travels through time to join the Friend Pircifir in his historic voyage of discovery. Pircifir is a venturer, traveling through time and space looking for items that might interest the Friends. Grimalkin -- as Khiindi -- returns to get Khorii and they too join Pircifir on his voyage. Eventually, the group finds a planet that contains snakes and tubes. The tubes are able to change their shape. When brought back to Vhiliinyar and properly trained, these tubes become the mutable houses of the Friends. This tale leads Khorii, Ariin and Khiindi to the source of the plague and finally to a way to eliminate it. The tale also suggests an origin for the Linyarri. This volume probably concludes the immediate series, but Acorna's children will almost certainly return for further adventures. Enjoy! Highly recommended for McCaffrey fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of the Linyaari, time travel, and mysterious plagues. -Arthur W. Jordin

Wonderful adition to the Acorna Series

This book, 3rd in the series, is about Acorna's daughter. It is like the other books in the Acorna series, filled with time travel, the Friends, and a people once again in Peril. Well worth buying if you like the original Acorna series.

Acorna Fan

I have read the entire Acorna series as well as her children's series. I enjoyed this particular book very much. I actually have enjoyed all the books. The only negative thing I can say is the ending seemed very rushed. I like that all loose ends were tied up but the solution seemed so last minute and easy that it just didn't feel believable. They went thru all the trouble to find the cause of the plague and cure it only to have something completely different solve everything. And all of this done in the last 6 pages of the story! I would have liked to have seen a little bit farther into their future as well. But for an ending, it was alright and satisfying in itself, all criticism aside.

Acorna Children Third Watch

I am a avid reader of Anne McCaffrey, as such when one of her books comes along I read it. As always I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I can recommend it to any sci-fi reader, and if they havent read any of her books before, maybe this one will tempt them to read her others. I am happy to add it to my collection, and look forward to the next book.

space opera at its most entertaining

The plague has decimated many planets and the federation has collapsed due to loss of personal. Khorii, the daughter of the revered Acorna, has stopped the plague but it now has mutated into organisms that eat up inorganic matter. Planets and populations lie in ruins and Acorna is helpless to assist her daughter because she has symptoms of the plague and is in quarantine with her husband. It is up to Khorii and her twin Arriin to find the cause of the plague and figure out a way to stop it. The sisters travel back in time to the homeworld of the Ancestral Friends, a self-absorbed, long lived shape changing and space faring race that used the unicorns from earth to create the Linyaari race. There they find mutable homes that change shape and resemble of the symptoms of the plague. The key to saving the galaxy turns out to be figuring out why the material from another planet turned deadly and analyze it to find a means to eradicate it. This is the third and final book in the "Acorna's Children" saga and its space opera at its most entertaining. Typical of an Anne McCaffrey plot is the arrival of surprising twists that readers will enjoy and know there is never a dull scene in this enthralling tale. All the loose ends are tied up and all the questions are answered. Although part of a trilogy, THIRD WATCH is a stand alone thriller. Harriet Klausner