Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey

It is right before the ninth Pass of the Red Star around Pern, and the world is unprepared. Not only is there only one Weyr left out of six, but most Pernese don’t even believe in Thread anymore, and most Lords think that the dragonriders are parasites and anachronistic. But every day the Red Star grows closer, and some people are starting to take notice. Like Lessa, last of the proud line of Ruatha. Forced into hiding as a child to escape Fax’s murder of her entire family, she has lived only to regain her Hold. Fax’s conquest of Ruatha is a profitless one to him, and Lessa has worked hard that it might be so. But after years of waiting all is coming to fruition. With her powers she incites Fax into a duel with young F’lar, dragonrider of Benden Weyr. This starts a chain of events that Lessa could never have predicted, eventually leading her to become the Queen rider of Benden Weyr after impressing Ramoth. But when the Weyr should be preparing for the next incursion of Thread, it just sinks further and further into decay. For Thread is coming, and Benden Weyr is unprepared, for how can one Weyr do the work of six that once protected Pern? Lessa must solve this riddle before it is too late, for time is running out.

What a dramatic summary. It’s kind of hard not to, sometimes. But that is the basic gist of the plot. It’s rather hard to like Lessa. Yes she is a strong female character, written in a time when there weren’t many, but she’s not very likable. She’s headstrong, spiteful, sometimes childish, and definitely self-centered. She also displays McCaffrey’s weaknesses as a writer, namely that her motivations and emotions aren’t always understandable. She acts or feels a certain way, but the reader never really finds out why she does. You just have to accept the fact that she does, even when it doesn’t make sense. That gets frustrating after a while. But I will defend F’lar and F’nor as some great characters. I like them much more than Lessa. Strong dedicated men worthy of their time. And Robinton! I love reading about him. A Character in all senses of the word.

Oh what fun! I just love dragons. The descriptions of flying, and between, and fighting Thread are just marvelous. The world of Pern is so wonderfully complex, and yet not ridiculously hard to understand. It is different enough to tantalize the imagination, but similar enough in structure. It harkens back a bit to medieval times (which most fantasies like to do) with Lords and Ladies, which gives it a bit of charm. It’s funny that we all love reading books like that, because most all of us would hate to live in a place like that. Unless you’re the top dog, you have no power and life is harsh. But the ideal is what makes it great to imagine.

The Masterharper of Pern, By Anne McCaffrey

Robinton is born into the Harper Hall to Mastersinger Merelan and Mastercomposer Petrion. Both are brilliant and very much in love, but the addition of Robinton to the family strains their relationship. Petrion is very jealous of Merelan: her voice, time, and presence. The Hall has put up with Petrion’s eccentricities for a long time since he’s the most brilliant and talented composer of the century, but sad to say he’s not much of a father, only noticing his son when he does something wrong. But in a way this is all for the best, because Merelan notices that Robinton is not only very talented musically, he could also be classified as genius. At three years old he has perfect pitch and is already composing variations of music on a pipe. If Petrion were to realize too soon that his son were musically talented, it’s quite possible that he would push Robinton too fast and make him lose his love of music. But this is not to be, as the Masterharper of the Hall is a wise man who helps protect Robinton until he is old enough, for Pern will have need of him before long. The end of the interval is approaching, and the Harper Hall is falling into disfavor just like the Dragonriders. The Hall will need a strong personality to revitalize Pern and prepare for threadfall.

Very rarely do we get to see a character grow up, and the accompanying changes that occur. Most of the time we only see a section of a character’s life, and not most of it. Not that we see all of Robinton’s life, but we get to see a fair segment. I think it’s easier to write about brilliant children, because they are more often like adults in their reactions, which is easier to write about. Many times authors attempt to write from a child’s perspective and suddenly the child seems to be 20 years old. But McCaffrey manages to get past that by focusing on other pov’s until Robinton is old enough to carry the story, and making him a genius capable of a more mature personality.

For those who have been long time fans of Pern, The Masterharper of Pern is quite delightful, for Robinton appears many times later in the series, but this is a book of his own that explains his past and family. Robinton is such a character that he absolutely deserves his own book, and it’s great to read. It might not be the best of McCaffrey, but it is certainly one of her better.

Nerilka’s Story, By Anne McCaffrey

Nerilka’s Story is almost an aberration in the world of Pern. It is the only book who’s sole purpose is to retell another story from a different perspective. So it’s not really a story in its own right, in a manner of speaking. It follows most of the same story as Moreta, only from Nerilka’s pov. So some things are different, but many conversations and events are just retold word for word the same.

Following tradition, however, I will give a short summary to pique your interest. Nerilka is one of the eldest daughters of the ‘Fort Hold Horde.’ Her younger sisters and her parents go to the Ruatha Gather, leaving Nerilka behind. Nerilka longs to see Ruatha and its new Lord Holder Alessan. Years ago Nerilka was fostered in another family who had a daughter named Suriana. For years they were the best of friends, and eventually Suriana married the young Alessan who was not yet Lord Holder. But there was a tragic accident and Suriana died, leaving both Nerilka and Alessan desolate. Ever since then Nerilka has felt drawn to Ruatha, and when her parents balk her wishes to go to the Gather she is terribly unhappy. But in a way it is all for the best that she did not go to the Gather, as she would likely have died there with her mother and sisters. But Nerilka will not sit idly by while people are sick and dying within her reach. Rebelling against her father’s unjust commands, Lady Nerilka leaves Fort Hold and becomes Rill, an ordinary person. As Rill she can nurse the sick, help the healers, and maybe even find her way to Ruatha.

So, we have Nerilka’s side of the story about the Great Plague. It’s interesting as far as it goes, and we get to see a little ways beyond the end of Moreta. But all in all it’s really not as interesting, as most will have already read the original story in Moreta. A lot of it repeats that book, as I said before, with little new information. You can give it a miss if you like, or if you just love to read about Pern, you don’t have to. But many other books in the series are more worthwhile to read if you can only read a few.

Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern, By Anne McCaffrey

The end of the sixth pass of the Red Star is soon approaching, and all the world is waiting expectantly. Moreta, Weyrwoman of Fort Weyr, realizes that it is just under eight years till thread will cease to fall, and that life will dramatically change after that. But in the meanwhile, there is a Gather at Ruatha Hold to attend, and races to watch. Her enthusiasm for the runner races are usually looked down upon, but she finds an unexpected ally in the new Lord Holder of Ruatha, Alessan. Both enjoy the other’s company: Moreta, because he is as runner mad as she: Alessan, because Moreta is an interesting woman and being with her he can escape marriage prospects. Both enjoy the Gather immensely, but bad news is gathering in the wind. There had also been another Gather that day in Ista Hold, where a strange feline from the Southern Continent was displayed. But the gawkers and onlookers would pay an unexpected price: the feline was a carrier for a sickness that quickly spread through Hold, Weyr, and Crafthall. Masterhealer Capiam declares a quarantine for the entire continent, in hopes to halt the spread of this virulent sickness. But many have already been exposed, and with the two Gathers, many dragonriders went to both. And as the sickness ravages Pern, a worry almost as great is present: if the dragonriders all fall ill, who will protect Pern from Thread?

That was a rather long summary, but I kind of like it. This is a sad time in Pern’s history, with lots of tragedy and unhappiness. Moreta is really a character to identify with, and that is a good thing as she carries the book. One great thing is that we get to see dragon healing after Threadfall. That’s never been gone into in depth much, and it’s fun to watch. Moreta is also very different from other Queen riders that we see later on. In great contrast to Lessa, Moreta is much more easygoing, and her relationship to her dragon is very different. Ramoth is very broody and jealous, while Orlith is understanding and patient. It’s nice to see differences.

This book also corrected some of the faults of Dragonseye. There were many less povs to worry about, and the story climaxed at the appropriate time. As an entire book it is better, although tragedies are never quite wonderful. But for all it’s sadness, I cannot label it as a depressing book. Maybe that’s just me, but it is not entirely without happiness. There’s a lighter feel to it that more depressing books lack. But the chance to slip into the world of Pern is still a delight, made even more so by the complex society which inhabits it, as well as it’s fantastic inhabitants: the dragons!

Dragonseye, By Anne McCaffrey

Moving on in Pernese history, we have come to the time right before the second Pass of the Red Star. Man and Dragon-kind are busy preparing for this second incursion, grateful for the forethought of their ancestors. Holds are being made ready and holders are being trained for groundcrews all over Pern, except for in Bitra. Lord Holder Chalkin refuses to believe that Thread will fall again: moreover he refuses to spend good marks on training his people, or even preparing his hold for Thread. The other Lord Holders and even the dragonriders cannot convince him of the necessity for preparation, and meanwhile he is mistreating his people abominably. There is talk of impeachment, but there must be a unanimous vote of all the Lord Holders, and depriving a hold of it’s leader is not to be done lightly in the best of times. But this is not the best of times, and as Threadfall approaches, Chalkin’s own holders become more and more desperate for protection, and he becomes more and more unwilling to supply it.

That’s really not the whole story. There’s a lot of little sub-plots and stories running around. I like them a lot, but I think they detract from the overall story. My problem is that there is no real climax: rather there are several. As soon as one ends, another won’t be far behind in ending, so that there seem to be at least three or four endings in this book. It would have been a truly amazing book if they had all coincided, but the tension is wasted as it is bled off little by little.

I love the story about Iantine and Debera, though. Iantine just seems so real, and that is his greatest asset as a character. I wish more of the book could have been about him, although he was in there quite a lot already. He was just more interesting than many others, and it’s a poor author that doesn’t take advantage of that. Dragonseye is also great for those of us who have already read most of the Pern books. It is a bridge between the early technological years, and the later Pernese culture that is so distinctive and interesting. We see some traditions as they begin, and others as they advance further. The beginning of teaching ballads, for one, as well as the finger and eye stones to alert the planet to a Pass.

But what are also the strengths of the book are its weaknesses, as I mentioned before. The multiplicity of the plot, as well as the many different characters both added and subtracted to the story as a whole. All connected very well together, but it is a mistake for an author to divide their attention too much when writing. Readers like only a few central characters to watch avidly, with some peripheries to flesh things out. Dragonseye is satisfactory in its dealings with characters and storylines, but lacking the direction that could have made it great.

The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall, By Anne McCaffrey

The plot for this one is a bit hard to lay out, mostly because it is a collection of short stories about the early days of Pern. They fill in some of the gaps that some readers always wondered about, and are just plain fun at other times. We get to see the EEC survey team take the first look at Pern, Jim Tillek pilot an oddball flotilla of ships away from Landing after the Volcanoes blew, Red Hanrahan start a new Hold, and the beginning of Benden Weyr. There’s another story also included, but I’ll just leave that one up for a surprise. As is, there’s an embarrassment of story riches to look through and linger over.

I personally loved to have more time with Jim Tillek. Or should I say, any time. We’ve never gotten a good look at the Captain before, and now we see him in his element: the sea! It’s a crazy ride from Landing to Fort Hold, what with tropical storms, the Western Current, and threadfall. But with the sea-savvy of Tillek, and the abundant help of the dolphins, impossible tasks are done, and history is made! At least, it should have been, if anyone had ever remembered to record it for later times. This particular story might be my favorite of them all, for many reasons. Tillek’s awesome, the dolphins are great, and there’s a love story. Come on, you know you like it too.

I’m not going to give a description for every story, but I am going to give a piece of advice. You can read this in chronological order like I am, or you can wait till later to read this book. It really doesn’t matter at all, but if you wait till later, some of these stories feel like they have more significance because of the way they connect to later times. It just depends on how you like it. Oh, and another warning that I should have given last time: McCaffrey likes sex. It’ll be in mostly all of her books. She’s not as graphic as some writers, but it is present and prevalent. Just a word to the wise if you’re going out to recommend these books to people. I like the books a lot, the sex I could do without. Some people mind it more than others.