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.
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.
posted by Tai Schutz | Saturday, May 12, 2007
1 Comments:
I can still remember when I first picked up this book at the local library way back when it was first published (I was in grade school) -- it made such an impression on me. I've re-read it and Dragonsinger many times over the years. :)
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