When I read this series several years ago, I remember thinking Decision at Doona and Crisis on Doona were among the better books I had read. At the time I thought Crisis on Doona was the best of the series, but if I were to reread them now I would probably see its flaws more and would instead favor Decision at Doona. Treaty at Doona was noticeably inferior. Some of the plot threads that had been started were never adequately played out, and the snake hunts were getting repetitive.
And now, a couple of speculations on my part about the story development. Speaking from my experience as a writer, I know how important it is to have your mind into the story you're trying to write, and sometimes that dries up before a story is finished and you'd rather leave it behind and move on to other stories. Treaty at Doona felt to me like the authors lost that interest before completing the story but obligated to finish it, and were essentially having to finish it while their minds were on their next projects. I also suspect that most or all of the writing on the latter two volumes was by Nye, and that McCaffrey's involvement, aside from being the creator of the setting, was more limited.
When I read this series several years ago, I remember thinking Decision at Doona and Crisis on Doona were among the better books I had read. At the time I thought Crisis on Doona was the best of the series, but if I were to reread them now I would probably see its flaws more and would instead favor Decision at Doona. Treaty at Doona was noticeably inferior. Some of the plot threads that had been started were never adequately played out, and the snake hunts were getting repetitive.
And now, a couple of speculations on my part about the story development. Speaking from my experience as a writer, I know how important it is to have your mind into the story you're trying to write, and sometimes that dries up before a story is finished and you'd rather leave it behind and move on to other stories. Treaty at Doona felt to me like the authors lost that interest before completing the story but obligated to finish it, and were essentially having to finish it while their minds were on their next projects. I also suspect that most or all of the writing on the latter two volumes was by Nye, and that McCaffrey's involvement, aside from being the creator of the setting, was more limited.