Anne McCaffrey – författare

She was just a little girl, with a tiny horn in the center of her forehead, funny-looking feet, beautiful silver hair, and several curious powers: the ability to purify air and water, make plants grow, and heal scars and broken bones. A trio of grizzled prospectors found her drifting in an escape pod amid the asteroids, adopted her, and took her to the bandit planet Kezdet, a place where no questions are asked and the girl might grow up free.

But Kezdet has its own dark secret. The prosperity of the planet is based on a hideous trade in child slave labor, administered by "The Piper" -- a mystery man with special plans for Acorna and her powers. But free little girls have a way of growing into freedom-loving young women, and Acorna has special plans all her own. . .

But Acorna has strange dreams of a gentle folk who mind-speak by touching horns. With her "Uncle" Calum, one of the three grizzled asteroid prospectors who rescued, protected, and raised her, she sets off to find her people. No sooner does she leave than a mysterious craft appears, piloted by the Linyaari, a gentle race with telepathic powers.

The Linyaari are roaming the galaxy, spreading the alarm about the deadly Khleev--And searching for a beloved little girl they had given up for lost, long ago...

Beloved by millions of readers, Anne McCaffrey is one of science fiction''s favorite authors. Writing with award-winning author Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, she has created the bestselling Acorna series focusing on the adventures of the brave unicorn girl.

Now the exciting saga of the next generation begins.

First Warning

Khorii, daughter of the near-mythic Acorna and her lifemate, Aari, must contend with an overwhelming legacy to forge a path of her own through a universe filled with new adversaries and adventures.

A simple journey home to visit her parents turns into a race against time when Khorii happens upon a derelict spacecraft drifting in space, its crew dead in their seats. But this gruesome discovery is only a dread harbinger—a deadly plague is spreading across the universe and not even the healing powers of the Linyaari can slow its horrific advance. Khorii, one of the few unaffected by the outbreak, must find the nefarious perpetrators and a cure before the disease consumes all in its path—including her beloved parents.

It is difficult growing up in the shadow of heroes revered throughout the galaxy. But that is the lot of young Khorii—daughter of the legendary Acorna and her lifemate, Aari—who must now follow her own destiny through a fantastic universe of wonders and perils.

Khorii became a hero in her own right as she fought to save the universe from a mysterious, deadly plague that not even the healing powers of the Linyaari could stop.

Now, confined with the rest of the survivors on Paloduro, the home planet of the disease, it seems as if the danger may be fading, and Khorii and her friends may be able to stem the tide of death and disease . . . until ominous signs indicate that the perpetrators are near and that the epidemic is only beginning. As old enemies reemerge and a shocking family secret is revealed, Khorii must unlock the malevolent mysteries of the deadly pestilence with the aid of her android "brother" before their unknown foes complete their covert mission to cripple the entire star system.