Reviews

Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight #1 by Brynne Stephens, Anne McCaffrey

inquesoitrust's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This adaptation felt stiff compared to the original novel. The characters without their internal reflection feel flat. It was nice to relive the story but I prefer the original novel.

mal_eficent's review

Go to review page

adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is not really a review of the story, more of how well this comic adapts the original book. Dragonflight and the Dragonriders of Pern series are some of my favourite books of all time. I've reread Dragonflight too many times to count and, honestly, if I hadn't I probably wouldn't have understood what was going on here. 

Characters aren't introduced well, if at all, and panels skip around in the narrative in a way that doesn't really make sense. The whole Fax thing, for example - a reader of this comic would have no idea why he was so disliked. There are some things it shows better than the books did (Lessa's influence over people, the wher's thoughts, dragon sizes and how Mnementh 'cages' Lessa) but I just don't think it makes up for how badly this tells the story.

The artwork falls to personal taste. I really really enjoyed it and found the first volume was the best. The fully painted panels were gorgeous and very much matched the style of art I associate with both this era of sci-fantasy and the other materials surrounding the Pern books from this era. I do wonder if the very detailed painting work is one of the reasons so much of the story is glossed over, because it would have just taken too long.

While a great thing to have as part of a Pern collection, I wouldn't recommend reading the comic over the book. If you've tried to read the first book and didn't like it, but wonder if this would be a better gateway to Pern, it's not I'm afraid.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

tl_mann's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

There are a lot of other low reviews on here that express my feelings. This one came close to a DNF for me, but I didn't d finish it. I did not like it. It started off ok, but this book was written so long ago and doesn't stand the test if time for me. I didn't care for the characters or some of the subject matter.

alaneayres's review

Go to review page

adventurous relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

trike's review against another edition

Go to review page

1.0

This is not a good adaptation of the classic Pern novel. Adaptations are a tricky thing, but this one feels haphazard and clunky when it's at its best. Anyone coming to this without first having read the novel would wonder what all the fuss is about. Perhaps this is why McCaffrey never allowed her books to be adapted to film or TV.

jadejade's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I remember admiring a relative's collection of Dragon riders of Pern books when I was little. I don't think I asked if I could borrow them, as I might have been intimidated by the number of books in the series. So imagine my delight when I found this graphic novel at the local library: this was my way to overcome my trepidation, an easier way to get into the world of Pern. At least that was the idea.

I liked the graphic novel well enough, with its pleasant art and mostly-followable story. It did not, however, inspire me to pick up the series of novels like I expected. Ah well.

skyclad's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I read this book as a kid and it opened up the worlds of sci fi and fantasy to me.

attytheresa's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Who knew I'd fall for a scifi series with dragons??? Pern, a planet in a far solar system that was colonized by humans long ago, has eras when the Red Star in its orbit to Pern to endanger it with the Threads - think acid rain or agent orange only these are spores that destory all green life. Dragons, whose fire is the only weapon against the Threads, have all but disappeared and the people of Pern are dismissive about the danger, believing the Threads are gone for good. Yet the Red Star is appearing on the horizon at dawn.

At the center of the story is F'lar, a dragonrider who has steeped himself in the old records and believes without question that the Threads are imminent. Pern is on the cusp of annihilation as the old Queen Dragon is on her deathbed, her Weyrwoman Jora is dead, and a new weyrwoman must be found to imprint on the golden egg (heralding a queen) about to hatch with the new queen. F'lar finds Leesa, a woman exhibiting the powers needed. The rest of the story is how Leesa and F'lar work together with their dragons to unit all and fight against the doom they face.

I enjoyed this so much, I stayed up into the wee hours to finish it! F'lar is arrogant, Leesa is impulsive, both have a lot of growing and compromising to do. Their dragons Mnementh and Ramoth, also have full and flawed personalities. I loved how the plot worked through the problems and solutions; everything happened as it felt it should. Do I have some quibbles? Yes - it would have been nice if the author had truly centered it on Leesa rather than F'lar as the main protagonist but it was written in the 1960s, and while this is a matriarchy (in the wyrs), the Queen is more like a queen bee although Leesa and Ramoth are changing that. In fact, I liked how McCaffrey incorporated some of the social and scientific issues of the day into the narrative: acid rain, agent orange, and women's struggle for equality.

Besides, there's dragon romance and sex.

vaderbird's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish

ercamcll's review

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced

4.0