The City Who Fought

By Anne McCaffrey and S.M. Stirling

Book Overview

SHELLPERSON WITH A MISSION Simeon was bored. Not with being a shellperson -- like Helva, The Ship Who Sang, and Tia, The Ship Who Searched, he rather pitied softshells their mayfly lives and absurdly limited senses -- but with running the mining and processing station that made up his body. So when the arrival of an out-of-control refugee ship interrupted his latest wargame (Simeon's hobby) the excitement was welcome. Then the refugees told their story: attack by space barbarians. Soon, long before any help could arrive from Fleet, Station SSS-900 would be in the Fist of High-Clan Kolnar, and nobody would be bored, least of all Simeon. If anyone was to survive, somehow he must transmute his hobby into the real thing, and become --

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 067187599X
• ISBN13: 9780671875992
• Release Date: April 1994
• Publisher: Baen Books
• Length: 435 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Simeon is Great

This is very different from the other “brainship” stories. The shellperson is stationary (a station), rather than a mobile ship. Consequently the story starts a bit slower, as the station brain gets a new brawn. Just as you’re getting to know the characters, all hell breaks loose. I truly hate reading about violence and torture and the Kolnari are very violent. Although by today’s standards the violence was not described in minute detail, it still spoiled the story for me. Otherwise I would have given it 5 stars.

Excellent Brain/Brawn tale....

I've been a McCaffrey fan for over a decade, I've read 98% of her books and the Brain/Brawn books have become my favorites. Joat, Channa and Amos are interesting characters, though I think Simeon steals the show. While there is more violence than most of Ms. McCaffrey's other works, with the exception of the Generation Warriors trilogy, I feel it fits the plot and situation and is not excessive. The comic relief is great and the plot interesting and solid. A must read along with The Ship Who Sang and The Ship Who Searched.

McCaffrey's characters fight real war Stirling-style

I've always considered Anne McCaffrey a lightweight. She's superb at characterization but she doesn't put her characters through destructive testing. Her favorite plot is the _deux ex machina_.Not so here. This is NOT a book for children, and not just because of sexual tension between main characters. S.M. Stirling writes very good, very hard-core military fiction in which the bad guys sometimes win and the good guys _suffer_ even if they are lucky enough to survive.The mix of the two is incredible, better than either on their own. _The City Who Fought_ forces McCaffrey's characters to the next level of courage and heroism, realistically mixing personal concerns and the horrors of war. _And_ they measure up to the challenge in distinctly different ways.Oh, and see _The Ship Avenged_ by Stirling for the sequel. If you still want more "military McCaffrey", I suggest _Sassinak_.

AWESOME!!!!

This is the best Anne McCaffrey book ever! It's great, just like all the other ones in this series. This book just made my "top ten books of all time" list.

The City Who Fought--not your father's Anne McCaffrey.

S.M. Stirling and Anne McCaffrey mix their unique styles to form this compelling book. While other McCaffrey books are/were family-level entertainment, The City Who Fought is MUCH more of an ADULT book. The sexual tension between Simeon (the "brain" of the spaceship) and Channa Hap (the foxy lady who doesn't like to admit it, also his "brawn") definitely heightens the enjoyability. Add an "intruder" type who tries to muscle in on Simeon, who is "courting" Channa, and you've got everything a good book needs, adventure, a heroine, the aforementioned sexual tension, a "bad" guy. I highly recommend this book