Sassinak

Lore & Background

Abe adopts Sassinak, and she begins her quest to attend the Academy, where all Fleet officers receive training. After prep-school, she enters the Academy and excels, always conscious of her desire to hunt pirates. On her graduation night, Abe takes her out for dinner but is killed. Sassinak suspects assassination. She goes on her first deployment without any family, an orphan once more.

Reader's Guide

Sassinak is a central figure in the Planet Pirates trilogy, a series that expands the Ireta universe created by Anne McCaffrey. Her story, as told in the 1990 novel co-authored with Elizabeth Moon, explores themes of personal resilience and the fight against piracy. The novel is divided into four parts: her enslavement and schooling, her first assignment, her promotion and first ship, and the discovery of the Dinosaur Planet and its survivors. Sassinak's character represents a determined individual who overcomes personal tragedy to pursue a career in Fleet, ultimately seeking to eliminate the scourge of piracy. The trilogy includes two other books: the second co-authored with Jody Lynn Nye and the third with Elizabeth Moon.

Did You Know?

• Sassinak is the first book in the Planet Pirates trilogy.
• The novel continues the Ireta series that McCaffrey initiated with Dinosaur Planet in 1978.
• Sassinak's family is killed during a pirate attack on the colony world Myriad.
• Abe, a former Fleet officer, adopts Sassinak after she is rescued from slavery.