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nattyg's review against another edition
4.0
Better than the book before. It seems Todd has his rhythm down and his ideas well in hand. :)
alyssaht's review against another edition
I hated this book! I love the Pern series but I think I'll start rereading the original books by Anne McCaffrey.They are wayyy better. This book really didn't have anything happen in it and just got too bogged down with it's main character and how nice she is. Originally it was interesting to have a series of books written to cover a period of Pern's history that wasn't written about by Anne McCaffrey but the more I read, the less I want to...and this is one of my favorite fictional worlds. Hopefully Anne's collaboration with Todd for the final book will make for a good read again.
seeinghowitgoes's review against another edition
3.0
I jumped back into Pern after years away, the last one I read was Masterharper and I just drifted away from the series after that. Like most Pern novels there's heavy continuity and you pick up on the storyline pretty quickly.
I was surprised how LONG the book was and just how little seemed to happen! Not sure if it's enough to entice me to go back to previous books by Todd McCaffrey but the style is close enough to classic Pern novels that it's not a jarring shift.
I was surprised how LONG the book was and just how little seemed to happen! Not sure if it's enough to entice me to go back to previous books by Todd McCaffrey but the style is close enough to classic Pern novels that it's not a jarring shift.
kmg365's review against another edition
2.0
Argh. When will it end? Wheeeeeennnn? The torture of audio books on mp3 is that you have no idea how close you are to finishing. I just hope it's over before I decide to drive off a cliff.
I'm accustomed to the fact that all of Todd's books feature disaster on a grand scale. Human plague, dragon plague, mines collapsing, roving bands of homeless shunned children.... In this book, technically all the plagues are over, but it takes disaster to a new, personal level. You never know who's going to drop dead next, and characters are forever saying things like, "Something's going to happen. Something bad!" You don't have to actually write that down any more, Todd-- any reader who's been paying attention to your books already knows that.
Throw in the oddest plural marriage situation I've ever heard of (and I've not only read Carolyn Jessop's book, I watch Sister Wives), and top it off with women who spend 95% of every day in bed simply because they're pregnant, and you can understand why I'm concerned about getting myself out of this book alive.
I'm half-hoping Lorana wakes up at the end and says, "It was all a dream! Man, that Fiona chick was weird."
I'm accustomed to the fact that all of Todd's books feature disaster on a grand scale. Human plague, dragon plague, mines collapsing, roving bands of homeless shunned children.... In this book, technically all the plagues are over, but it takes disaster to a new, personal level. You never know who's going to drop dead next, and characters are forever saying things like, "Something's going to happen. Something bad!" You don't have to actually write that down any more, Todd-- any reader who's been paying attention to your books already knows that.
Throw in the oddest plural marriage situation I've ever heard of (and I've not only read Carolyn Jessop's book, I watch Sister Wives), and top it off with women who spend 95% of every day in bed simply because they're pregnant, and you can understand why I'm concerned about getting myself out of this book alive.
I'm half-hoping Lorana wakes up at the end and says, "It was all a dream! Man, that Fiona chick was weird."
felinity's review against another edition
1.0
I hated this book. I really, truly did. And it took me a while before I could go back and re-read the Pern books Anne McCaffrey wrote that I loved so much because I feared seeing echoes of Todd's plot where I hadn't before. (Luckily this wasn't the case.)
Two of the many problems I had with this book: everyone seems to die, or have weird sex (and then die). Previously the sex had been somewhat understated, especially with the blue and green riders, so I didn't have any problems with children and pre-teens reading the series, but as an adult I was seriously appalled. Partner swapping, group sex and homosexuality were fairly explicitly depicted, with none of the light and deft touches that Anne McCaffrey used.
Parents - don't let your kids read this one. If you love the original Pern stories, read with extreme caution.
Two of the many problems I had with this book: everyone seems to die, or have weird sex (and then die). Previously the sex had been somewhat understated, especially with the blue and green riders, so I didn't have any problems with children and pre-teens reading the series, but as an adult I was seriously appalled. Partner swapping, group sex and homosexuality were fairly explicitly depicted, with none of the light and deft touches that Anne McCaffrey used.
Parents - don't let your kids read this one. If you love the original Pern stories, read with extreme caution.
annemtipton's review against another edition
I hated this book! I love the Pern series but I think I'll start rereading the original books by Anne McCaffrey.They are wayyy better. This book really didn't have anything happen in it and just got too bogged down with it's main character and how nice she is. Originally it was interesting to have a series of books written to cover a period of Pern's history that wasn't written about by Anne McCaffrey but the more I read, the less I want to...and this is one of my favorite fictional worlds. Hopefully Anne's collaboration with Todd for the final book will make for a good read again.
fantasy_with_me's review against another edition
3.0
You can tell this is written by a man fantasizing about a chick who sleeps /with/ every guy she meets... How did she go from crushing only on Kindan, to developing feelings for Tamar, to suddenly having threesomes left and right? Even with leaders from other Weyrs when she was just there to help tend to the injured... Her reasoning is very vague and unrealistic.
The pregnancy details also had me going "yep, this is all a man knows, peeing a lot".
Also drives me crazy that no one understands that an airborne illness can PASS ON TO OTHER VICTIMS! Let's just clean up this dragons gunk and immediately go to the queen and love on her...? Oh wow she's sick too how'd that happen.
Fiona even says in this book that timing it is tough and dangerous. But they timed it as often as they breathed, constantly. Okay.
And every sentence in this book is very dramatic responses in convos between people. All side looks and eyebrow raises and raising their hands at each other and getting grumpy and embarassed. Relax.
This is also a long book, so while I have gripes with it in the details, I did read it easily and it kept me entertained. Some other reviews complain it's "part of a series of books" but I like that. I don't like having only one book to enjoy characters and a plot before moving on. I may not like everything about how the book is telling the story, but I'm here for someone else's story, not my own.
The pregnancy details also had me going "yep, this is all a man knows, peeing a lot".
Also drives me crazy that no one understands that an airborne illness can PASS ON TO OTHER VICTIMS! Let's just clean up this dragons gunk and immediately go to the queen and love on her...? Oh wow she's sick too how'd that happen.
Fiona even says in this book that timing it is tough and dangerous. But they timed it as often as they breathed, constantly. Okay.
And every sentence in this book is very dramatic responses in convos between people. All side looks and eyebrow raises and raising their hands at each other and getting grumpy and embarassed. Relax.
This is also a long book, so while I have gripes with it in the details, I did read it easily and it kept me entertained. Some other reviews complain it's "part of a series of books" but I like that. I don't like having only one book to enjoy characters and a plot before moving on. I may not like everything about how the book is telling the story, but I'm here for someone else's story, not my own.