Having now been reminded of just how bad McCaffrey is, I can definitely say, you don't want to read the later Crystal Singer books unless you are suitably chemically assisted to find them so bad they're funny instead of just disgusting. The brainship who shows up in the last one is the only even slightly redeeming factor, and even he falls prey to McCaffrey's equation that "personal integrity and worth" = "quality of vocal music". The rest of it is all about Killashandra's galaxy-spanning search for a new alpha male (the old one apparently not being an alpha enough asshole to survive) who valiantly steps up and saves her from the horror of having to lead the Guild and be in charge of her own life.