Freedom's Ransom

Publisher Marketing: When Kris Bjornsen and her fellow slaves were dumped on an uninhabited planet by the alien overlords called Catteni, there was no guarantee they would survive. Without the help of Zainal, a renegade Catteni exiled by his own people, they might all have been food for the predators of the new world. But they did survive, building a civilization and a home on the planet they named Botany. In time they were instrumental in driving the Catteni away from Earth and neighboring planets. Botany is free now, and so is the devastated Earth. The survivalist days are over, and the time has come for Botany to find its place in the power struggles of the newly configured universe. As an agricultural planet, rich in resources, Botany has more to offer than the colonists may have thought. A trip to Earth shows Kris and Zainal very dramatically how weakened the home planet is after years of Catteni domination, and how much Earth needs what Botany can give. Other worlds too have had their wealth skimmed away by the Catteni: the nearby planet of Barevi is little more than a corrupt bazaar, where bits and pieces of Earth's once powerful technology can be traded for grain and mineral ores. Earth needs food, and the resources to rebuild. Botany needs technology from solar satellite panels to simple batteries and, some say, the will to protect itself from being overrun by refugees who may or may not have strength and skills. As alien influence fades, the people of Botany must decide what kind of world they will become." Review Citations: Kliatt 05/01/2003 pg. 26 (EAN 9780441010202, Mass Market Paperbound) Library Journal Prepub Alert 02/01/2002 pg. 70 (EAN 9780399148897, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2002 pg. 532 (EAN 9780399148897, Hardcover) Booklist 04/15/2002 pg. 1363 (EAN 9780399148897, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 05/13/2002 pg. 56 (EAN 9780399148897, Hardcover) Library Journal 06/15/2002 pg. 99 (EAN 9780399148897, Hardcover) Library Journal 02/01/2002 (EAN 9780399148897, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2006 pg. 622 (EAN 9780399148897, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 05/16/2002 (EAN 9780399148897, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2010 pg. 570 (EAN 9780399148897, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2014 pg. 676 (EAN 9780399148897, Hardcover) Kliatt 03/01/2003 pg. 60 (EAN 9781587888892, Analog Audio Cassette) Library Journal 05/01/2003 (EAN 9781587888892, Analog Audio Cassette) Contributor Bio:  McCaffrey, Anne Anne McCaffrey, a multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner, was one of the world's most beloved and bestselling science fiction and fantasy writers. She is known for her hugely successful Dragonriders of Pern books, as well as the fantasy series that she cowrote with Elizabeth A. Scarborough that began with Acorna: The Unicorn Girl. Contributor Bio:  Hill, Dick Reader of over four hundred audiobooks, Dick Hill has won three coveted Audie Awards and been nominated numerous times. He is also the recipient of several "AudioFile" Earphones Awards. "AudioFile" includes Dick on their prestigious list of Golden Voices.