I think you might be looking at Avril from too modern a standpoint. "Dragonsdawn" was put out in the late '80s; the Gulf War didn't happen until 1990, and anti-Middle Eastern sentiments hadn't yet reached the genocidal loathing level of post-9/11. However, Mrs. McCaffrey's father was a colonel, and I don't know when he served or who he went up against, but she might have heard a few things that unintentionally wound up in her writing. These aren't excuses, of course, but it could explain some things.

Or maybe she was just stuck in the stereotype of "sultry lady of foreign origins with a bad attitude" that made a popular villain in her day. For all the ground she broke, Mrs. McCaffrey was still a product of her time, and it can show in her romances, some character portrayals, and a few short stories. I mean, she was born in 1926 and grew up in unenlightened times, which is what she had to work with. I think all writers fall into similar traps if we don't check ourselves on a regular basis, actually. (Again, not excusing anything.)

However, in counterpoint to all this, when "Chronicles of Pern: First Fall" was published in 1993, Shavva was written as a competent, intelligent lady who got on well with her fellow scientists. So Avril's apple fell very, very far from that tree.

I don't mean to criticize, though, so I am sorry if I'm being too harsh.


= Multi-Facets.