Expert: Sue Kayton - 7/1/2009

Question
I belong to a book club, all female ages 40-70. I am responsible to pick a SCI FI book for the group. I'd prefer something related to esp. This is a serious group. Any suggestions??

Answer
I recommend:

To Ride Pegasus by Anne McCaffrey.  There are two sequels, Pegasus in Flight and Pegasus in Space.  It's back in print after several years of being hard to find.

There are several wonderful short story collections about ESP but all are woefully out of print, hence not suitable for a book group.

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The first chapter focuses on Henry Darrow, a famous astrologer who actually has precognitive abilities. Darrow makes an astounding discovery leading to the legitimization of parapsychology. The next three chapters detail the growth of the Parapsychic Center founded by Darrow and the challenges faced by his successor, Daffyd op Owen.

She explores the ethics involved with individuals whose Talents run the gamut from telekinesis to precognition to teleportation, as well as determining their moral and legal responsibilities. It was interesting to see how an enterprising leader with foresight was able to gather such a disparate group and turn them into a viable, profit-making business. The book takes a dim view of government bureaucrats who don't know a good thing when they see it.