Flights of Fantasy

The Classic books that burn our souls Are nothing more than words. Yet when we read our hearts will cry To share the flight of birds.

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Location: New England, United States

I love reading. I love watching funny movies. Its sad, but that sums up a lot. But I quite enjoy it. :P

Saturday, May 12, 2007

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.

18 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I loved this one, and I agree, one of the better ones (of those that I have read, at least).

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Yes...it's quite a work of art, isn't it? I enjoy Anne McCaffrey's books to the fullest, including this one. And Robinton is a rather agreeable fellow! Wine...ha.

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