The Dolphins of Pern, By Anne McCaffrey

Despite the fact that dolphins came with the original colonists to help them settle Pern, through a series of accidents and misfortunes they were soon forgotten to be intelligent creatures capable of working side by side with human beings. Most sailors would admit to having been saved by shipfish, pushed to shore etc, but talking to them? Never. In the ninth pass of the Red Star around Pern, many old things once thought lost are being discovered, and the humans’ partnership with dolphins is another. After the Masterfisher Alemi and his Holder’s son Readis were caught in a freak southern storm, their skiff overturned and shipfish brought them to shore. After it was over they swore to everyone that the shipfish had talked to them, and fortunately the Aivas machine could corroborate their tale. Thus rebegins the story of man’s partnership with dolphins, which hopefully will last longer than it did the first time.

I’ll start off saying this really isn’t my favorite Pern book. Really, it’s not one of the better ones in terms of writing either. This is a great example of McCaffrey’s failing as a writer, sad as it is to say and harsh as it sounds. Otherwise normal characters just start inexplicably reacting in ways that are not normal, only for the purpose of a plot point for McCaffrey. She needs them to react that way and they do, even if it is not consistent with their character. Like Aramina and Jayge reacting to Readis and the dolphins. Totally irrational and inconsistent with how they should have reacted. Toric, for another example, reacting to the way his plan was thwarted. Just the way he expressed himself was not right, and that bugged me.

My favorite part was when Readis finally ran away from home and had to survive on his own. I’ll admit that I’m a big fan of adventure stories and people surviving in the rough, but even without this bias it’s a better part of the book. No irrational characters, or less, life is more interesting etc, but sadly this is only a short part of the book. The dolphins are cool in and of themselves, but the rest of the book is not enough to inspire much interest. If you want a good story with dolphins, go read the Chronicles of Pern: First Fall. That has a much better story with dolphins. As much as I don’t like to do this, I’m going to say you should give the Dolphins of Pern a miss. It’s just not worth your time.

All the Weyrs of Pern, By Anne McCaffrey

At the end of the Renegades of Pern, Jaxom, Piemur, and Jancis discovered the Aivas building in Landing, and despite what else was lacking in the abandoned settlement, Aivas more than made up for it. Aivas is the Artificial Intelligence Voice Address System of the settlers, and contains their total knowledge and history. Now Pern finally has access to it’s denied and forgotten past, and maybe even a chance to rid Pern of Thread, once and for all. But that promise will take a lot of work to fulfill, and not all appreciate what Aivas is doing for Pern. Some are just frightened of this ‘talking wall’ because it is strange, others fear it because of the change it brings. But the Weyrs approve of whatever Aivas tells them to do, because he may help them complete their prime purpose: to destroy Thread for all time.

Okay, I’m just going to geek out for a minute. I absolutely love this book! It is most definitely my favorite of all the Pern novels. I thought before that it was pretty much on level with the White Dragon, but after my reread I have to reassess that. All the Weyrs is so much better! It is definitely some of McCaffrey’s best writing work, showing the culmination of her Pern efforts, without being slightly stale as the later books are. But oh! What happiness is held therein. This really combines the best of science fiction and fantasy. I mean, of course it’s science fiction because of all the technology etc, but it borders on fantasy because of the dragons. It’s just great! A well written world always needs a sense of history behind it to back it up, and as we’re discovering Pern’s, it just gets more and more exciting.

Plot spoilers are going to ensue for a bit, just because I can’t not talk about them. Okay, the blowing up of the Red Star is really cool, but talk about a sad ending. I mean, the death of Master Robinton? He’s one of the best characters, aside from Jaxom. Now there’s a character I don’t want to die. But in a way it makes sense, from all that McCaffrey did to lead up to this. Aside from that, dragons in space is one of the funniest ideas if you think about it. It really sounds like a bad B-science fiction movie, one that couldn’t make up it’s mind, ‘Now tune in for Dragons in Space!’ But the talents of dragons make EV walks even safer. All they have to do is hop between. And I think that was a great twist, making Jaxom have to jump back between times to deliver the engines. Makes things much more dramatic.

I’m going to unashamedly proclaim this the peak of McCaffrey’s Pern series. There are other good ones, but this is the best. All the Weyrs of Pern delivers good characters, good plot, all in an exciting package. A happy read for any who pick it up.

The Renegades of Pern, By Anne McCaffrey

The holdless of Pern are such for many reasons. Some of them were turned out of their holds because they were unproductive. Others were made holdless because of crimes such as stealing, murder etc. Some voluntarily left their holds because of an unjust Lord Holder, and still others are holdless by choice: the traveling traders. All of these people have one thing in common: while being holdless is not an enviable position, during an Interval it is not a terrible life. But during a Pass, with Thread falling everywhere, not having a hold becomes a problem of life and death. Most Holders do not trust the holdless, calling them thieves and worse. Some of them aren’t, and some of them are. One such is Thella, lady of the Telgar bloodline, and sister to the current Lord Larad. She runs away from Telgar Hold because her ambitious spirit will not allow her to be under anyone’s control. So she forms a band of holdless men and steals what they need from other Holds in order to survive. But their raids are done with difficulty, as low flying dragons put a crimp on unseen movement. But Thella hears of a girl in the Igen low caverns who can hear dragons, and such a girl would be very useful to her and her schemes.

There’s really not much else to add, unless to say that Thella discovers some unexpected resistance to her plans and much drama ensues. And to say that while I like younger Jayge as a good character, as soon as we see him down South he really can’t hold my interest anymore. The same with Aramina. She’s more interesting when she’s younger, and not so much when she’s older. I think that’s a failing of McCaffrey, but it’s the failing of every author, really. It’s hard to make characters grow up believably, and change over time. She’s done it before, but not so well with these.

The Renegades of Pern is a very different sort of book than the rest of the Pern novels. It’s a very disjointed tale in a way, as there are more povs than normally appear. There are a lot of stories being told by different people, and we jump back and forth regularly. While this gives the reader a good look at all different sorts of lifestyles, it makes for ungainly reading. Certain parts are interesting and attention grabbing, but the constant switching back and forth makes it hard to stay interested. This book suffers from an overabundance of people and plotlines. In my opinion it’s one of the weaker Pern novels, and definitely isn’t as exciting a read.

Dragonsinger, By Anne McCaffrey

Menolly has come much further than she would have imagined when she ran away to live in the fire lizard cave. After trying to outrun threadfall, she was taken to Benden Weyr where Masterharper Robinton discovered that she was Petrion’s lost apprentice and convinced her to return with him to the Harper Hall. It wasn’t very hard for him to convince her, for this was Menolly’s dream. But life at the Hall is very different in some ways than she imagined. Unfortunately, people are the same everywhere you go, and suspicions and jealousy are common emotions. Menolly desperately tries to fit in, but with nine fire lizards, that just isn’t possible. Now she is unsure if she really belongs in the Harper Hall, but there doesn’t seem to be anything else she can do, other than run away again.

Dragonsinger, as you may have noticed, is the second book of the Harper Hall trilogy, and continues the story of Menolly of Half Circle Sea hold. All of her dreams seem to have come true, except for some truly nasty people at the Hall who make life miserable for her. Pona is a piece of work, but she’s also really stupid, and you wonder if a person like her could even exist. Character believability is questioned a bit, but she’s fun to hate. We’ve got some new friends as well, namely Piemur who is really quite engaging and funny. I can see him so clearly in my head, and he’s one of the characters who makes me wish this were a movie that I could watch.

Dragonsinger is a very different book than Dragonsong, but in all the right ways. The Harper Hall is very different than the sea hold or Benden Weyr, so life should be different. Menolly seems to mature quickly, while adapting to her new life. It’s odd, while the book is about her, I don’t know if she is a strong enough character to carry it well. I mean, she’s definitely not McCaffrey’s best, but she isn’t her worst. Menolly is just there, while other characters are There! But all in all it’s a fun book, with the Gather scene definitely the best in the book. So much fun to be had, and so much excitement. The visuals I see when I read are so vivid, that I keep coming back and rereading these books. They’re well worth the read, and much shorter if you don’t have the time for a full length novel.

Dragonsong, By Anne McCaffrey

Now this is a different sort of trilogy for Anne McCaffrey. It has often been referred to as a more young adult take on Pern, but to say that would be to disparage it for all the adults who might enjoy it. Dragonsong is the first of the Harper Hall trilogy, and it follows the life of young Menolly, who we have seen mostly in The White Dragon. We have gotten hints of her past before, but now the fully story is out.

Menolly was born daughter to Yanus Holder of Half-Circle Sea hold. A sea hold is a hard place to live, and requires a serious mind. Yanus supplies all of that, and sometimes more. This is not a good place for Menolly, whose only friend is the old harper Petrion. She loves to sing and play, and has already written music (disparagingly called tunes by her family) but she is looked down upon for this, like it might disgrace the Hold. When Petrion dies she is left alone and is set with the worst tasks to keep her out of the way of the new Harper. Her parents think that she is too old for this music nonsense, and that she should become a productive member of the Hold. But Menolly longs for music, and she cannot last without it. Eventually she realizes that living holdless might be a better existence, even with the danger of Threadfall. But Menolly also has a secret she hasn’t shared with anyone: she has discovered fire lizards down the coast, and she would rather live with them than anyone else.

Okay, maybe not my best summary, but it’s hard to give just enough of the story without giving it all away. It’s really more interesting than I’m making it sound. It is also awkward to place the story chronologically, because the Harper Hall trilogy begins somewhere in the middle of Dragonquest, and ends somewhere in The White Dragon. Makes it hard to put in order on my bookshelf. But really all Dragonsong is, is a scaled down version of a normal Pern book. It’s smaller, yes, but in no way is McCaffrey’s writing style changed or lessened. I don’t know how to explain it other than that: just a smaller Pern book. Just as good a book, for Menolly is an engaging character, and you come to care for her. At least I do. She’s a very sympathetic character, and her fire lizards are quite the treat. All nine of them.

The White Dragon, By Anne McCaffrey

As the third book in the Dragonriders of Pern trilogy, The White Dragon really is the best of the three. And while the character of Jaxom has been revealed since book one, this book is entirely about him and Ruth, the dragon he inadvertently impressed in Dragonquest. And in an odd way, I almost think the entire trilogy is about Jaxom. I mean, a lot happened that didn’t concern him, but the trilogy started with his birth (while F’lar and Fax dueled) and follows his life in a vague sort of way until The White Dragon, where it’s all about him. And I have to say, straight up, that I think Jaxom is the best of McCaffrey’s writing, both as a character and the way he is written. I could never sympathize with Lessa, F’nor was a good character, and Robinton is an amazing man, but Jaxom just takes it to a whole new level. I’m always more interested when he’s around, and the stories involved with him are always better. Not to mention the fact that McCaffrey is getting better at writing by the time she gets to White Dragon. But for the plot summary, after the introductory remarks:

Jaxom is the son of Fax the usurper and Gemma, born after his mother had died, and destined to become Lord Holder of Ruatha after he is old enough. Lytol (former dragonrider) is his guardian, and he has worked hard to bring Ruatha back to its former prosperity. In fact, Lytol has done an amazing job, which makes life even harder for Jaxom. The teenage years are mostly known for their angst and the feeling that nothing fits right, and Jaxom has this in spades. He’s too young to be confirmed as Lord Holder of Ruatha and unwilling to kick Lytol out unceremoniously, and he’s also not allowed to fly Ruth in a fighting wing because of the danger, on top of the normal angsty teenage feelings. He’s not allowed to be anything fully, and that eats at him. Now, this is the point where most people would stop reading this review and ask why they would want to read just one more teenage angsty book. And they’d be right, if this weren’t a book about Pern. I don’t believe that Jaxom ever gets truly annoying in expressing his feelings, which may or may not be realistic, but I could do without realism if I don’t have to sit through that. Furthermore, this is also an adventure story, with action and fun things galore that I can’t describe because that would ruin the plot. Let me just say that I think Jaxom is a stellar character in a stellar book.

I’m also slightly biased about this book, because this was the first McCaffrey book I ever read, so it has some slight sentimental value to me. But really, it is one of her better books in my opinion. The only ones to match it are The Masterharper of Pern and All the Weyrs of Pern. In my opinion. But Jaxom storylines always seem better written than other storylines, and this is a book of and about Jaxom. And it just keeps getting better and better as the book goes along. There’s a great kickoff of fun right after the firehead fever, but I have to stop there. I’ll just close this off with the remark that I love this book, and I hope that other people would read it and love it as much as me.

Dragonquest, By Anne McCaffrey

Dragonquest is the second book of the Dragonriders of Pern trilogy. It continues the story of the planet Pern and its perennial fight against Thread. In Dragonflight, Lessa went back in time four hundred years to bring forward the six Weyrs of Pern that disappeared long ago. She now has cause to regret that brave act, as the Oldtimers are having trouble adjusting to all the changes that have occurred in 400 years. They are stirring up the resentment of the Lord Holders, Craftsmen, and commoners alike. Only Benden Weyr is looked upon with favor anymore. But F’lar is not in a position to demand anything of the other Weyrs, although he might wish to. Their narrow-mindedness and parochial attitudes are hurting Pern, and it is Pern F’lar is sworn to protect. The Oldtimers are making that difficult, and soon the task itself seems impossible when Thread starts falling out of pattern. F’lar must once again unite Pern despite the troubles that plague it, for if they do not unite, the planet will be ravaged so severely by Thread no one will survive.

The Oldtimers seemed like the answer to Pern’s problems, but now they’re causing more trouble than they’re worth. I just love how F’lar solves the problems that arise. I mean, I’d like to detail them all but that would spoil it for so many people. Let me just say that it is really cool and fun all the time. Lots of knife fights, the resurgence of fire lizards, and we get to see more of F’nor. F’nor is a wonderful man, and seeing him in love is also similarly wonderful. We meet Brekke, gold rider of Wirenth, who shows a lovely different side to being a rider. There are some truly detestable characters, as well as some very misguided ones. Lord Meron of Nabol (I don’t even want to use his title) and Kylara of Southern Weyr are quite the pair, quite the despicable pair.

It’s funny, I’m writing about the book and I keep remembering neat things that happen, and I’m realizing that so much happens in this book, more so in some ways than Dragonflight. Much more happens, and all of it is exciting with that flavor which is unmistakably McCaffrey. In this strange and unknown world where dragons live and bravery is called for every day, we lose a part of ourselves that is afraid and we long to be just as strong and decisive as these characters we read about. That to me is the mark of a good author: that the book will make me wish to be more than myself, more than ordinary. I won’t call McCaffrey the most talented of writers, but I will say she is quite good at what she does, in crafting interesting worlds and people to populate them.