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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
Pern is one of my favorite fictional worlds. Anne McCaffrey truly makes it come to life.
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was really curious about the life of Master Robinton, and the book didn't disappoint too much, except... I don't know, it might be that characters tend to be a little too black/white for my taste, or maybe that the "genius boy/girl that really wants to learn" trope is getting a little tired... I don't know.
I absolutely loved reading about Master Robinton's life. I really liked seeing the whole evolution of this generation of Pern through his eyes. I also really enjoyed the explanation of how Flax came to power, which has always confused me a bit. Portions were frustrating, but only because I think, they were supposed to be from a plot's perspective. An excellent addition to the Pern series.
*rating edited from 4 stars to 2 on 12/19/18*
So growing up, I liked this book best among Anne McCaffrey's adult Pern books (though I have issues with her overall misogyny and heterosexist attitudes), and it was on my kindle so I gave it a quick re-read. The storyline is still mostly interesting, though it lags at times, getting pulled down into complicated politics that aren't fully explained. However, I totally missed the degree of ableism and fatphobia. The general attitude about intellectual disability was disgustingly paternalistic and enfantalizing, and centered on how hurt the parent felt about having a disabled child. They also used the R word, and this book was published recently enough that there wasn't an excuse. And one character's fatness is harped upon and held up as proof that she (of course, it's Anne Mccaffrey, has to be a shrew of a woman) is slovenly, lazy, boring, and pathetic. The author's clear commentary on these two aspects seriously detracted from the book, and left a bad taste in my mouth.
So growing up, I liked this book best among Anne McCaffrey's adult Pern books (though I have issues with her overall misogyny and heterosexist attitudes), and it was on my kindle so I gave it a quick re-read. The storyline is still mostly interesting, though it lags at times, getting pulled down into complicated politics that aren't fully explained. However, I totally missed the degree of ableism and fatphobia. The general attitude about intellectual disability was disgustingly paternalistic and enfantalizing, and centered on how hurt the parent felt about having a disabled child. They also used the R word, and this book was published recently enough that there wasn't an excuse. And one character's fatness is harped upon and held up as proof that she (of course, it's Anne Mccaffrey, has to be a shrew of a woman) is slovenly, lazy, boring, and pathetic. The author's clear commentary on these two aspects seriously detracted from the book, and left a bad taste in my mouth.
6/6
3rd or 4th read. I love Robinton. <3 He /IS/the MasterHarper Of Pern
EDIT: (Same day as review)
I feel as though I need to add this edit after reading some of the other reviews, some of which are almost 2 decades old and there would be no point in replying directly to them.
1. someone mentioned A "love triangle" between Robinton, his father Petiron, and his mother Merelan. This is wrong (on so many levels). Robinton's birth was a difficult one. It almost killed Merelan. Many of the other harpers say that Petiron is possessive of Merelan. He only writes music that she can sing. All his music is to show off her voice. Petiron doesn't like Rob because Rob amost took away the one person that Petiron loved the most. This happens with a lot of parents whose wives die in childbirth, they reject the child that "stole" their love. Merelan ended up being sickly after Rob's birth and remained so for the rest of her life (tiring quickly, not always able to sing the complex music as often). When she dies Petiron tells Rob to "get out, you wouldn't understand" to which Rob replies "I know exactly what you're feeling" because Rob's own wife died (somewhat recently). But Petiron only cared for Merelan, not the doings of his son.
2. Menolly being the "first" female harper being stolen by Merelan. I think what some forget is this book spans 50+ years with very little noting of that fact. Which is the biggest drawback of the book; no clear marking of time (chapter headings, for example, which became standard after Thread began to fall). In one chapter Rob's wife dies, in the next F'lar and then F'nor are born, then the next they're ready to stand for a Hatching. No joke, it seemed like Rob's wife had JUST died when there was a line "it had been 10 years since Kasia died." TEN YEARS reduced to one sentence so we could get to the "good stuff" of F'ar nad F'nor impressing their dragons. Merelan had already been dead at this time (and Petiron asking to be sent to Half-Circle Sea Hold).
So 10 years + another 15 give or take until F'lar kills Fax. Almost 30 years since a female had gone to the Harper Hall to become a full-fledged Harper. There had been other girls (daughters of Holders) who were sent to the Hall in Rob's youth and early adulthood, but they were only sent there to learn how to sing and to memorize the teaching songs so they could teach the children of their holds. Rob asks one of the girls to come back to complete her mastery, but she refuses because she's pregnant and would rather be a Holder wife than a Harper. There was also a throwaway line about "fathers don't want to send their daughters to be harpers". Merelan had been the ONLY female masterharper (Master Singer technically) before Menolly came. And Menolly didn't just go to the Hall to become a singer/work on her voice. She went to become a Master because music was in her soul. Menolly became the first female harper in a generation. Most of the people who knew (or would have heard of/would have heard sing) MasterSinger Merelan had died by the time Menolly comes to the Hall.
These are the only two I can remember at the moment. I may come back to edit again.
While I really did love this book, I think it suffers from the short length and how time is severely sped up towards the end. Almost 20 Turns reduced to 50-odd pages. Which makes it seem like no time at all has passed (because nothing of importance really happens during that time). Definitely read this AFTER you finish the "main" story line that begins in DragonFlight.
3rd or 4th read. I love Robinton. <3 He /IS/the MasterHarper Of Pern
EDIT: (Same day as review)
I feel as though I need to add this edit after reading some of the other reviews, some of which are almost 2 decades old and there would be no point in replying directly to them.
1. someone mentioned A "love triangle" between Robinton, his father Petiron, and his mother Merelan. This is wrong (on so many levels). Robinton's birth was a difficult one. It almost killed Merelan. Many of the other harpers say that Petiron is possessive of Merelan. He only writes music that she can sing. All his music is to show off her voice. Petiron doesn't like Rob because Rob amost took away the one person that Petiron loved the most. This happens with a lot of parents whose wives die in childbirth, they reject the child that "stole" their love. Merelan ended up being sickly after Rob's birth and remained so for the rest of her life (tiring quickly, not always able to sing the complex music as often). When she dies Petiron tells Rob to "get out, you wouldn't understand" to which Rob replies "I know exactly what you're feeling" because Rob's own wife died (somewhat recently). But Petiron only cared for Merelan, not the doings of his son.
2. Menolly being the "first" female harper being stolen by Merelan. I think what some forget is this book spans 50+ years with very little noting of that fact. Which is the biggest drawback of the book; no clear marking of time (chapter headings, for example, which became standard after Thread began to fall). In one chapter Rob's wife dies, in the next F'lar and then F'nor are born, then the next they're ready to stand for a Hatching. No joke, it seemed like Rob's wife had JUST died when there was a line "it had been 10 years since Kasia died." TEN YEARS reduced to one sentence so we could get to the "good stuff" of F'ar nad F'nor impressing their dragons. Merelan had already been dead at this time (and Petiron asking to be sent to Half-Circle Sea Hold).
So 10 years + another 15 give or take until F'lar kills Fax. Almost 30 years since a female had gone to the Harper Hall to become a full-fledged Harper. There had been other girls (daughters of Holders) who were sent to the Hall in Rob's youth and early adulthood, but they were only sent there to learn how to sing and to memorize the teaching songs so they could teach the children of their holds. Rob asks one of the girls to come back to complete her mastery, but she refuses because she's pregnant and would rather be a Holder wife than a Harper. There was also a throwaway line about "fathers don't want to send their daughters to be harpers". Merelan had been the ONLY female masterharper (Master Singer technically) before Menolly came. And Menolly didn't just go to the Hall to become a singer/work on her voice. She went to become a Master because music was in her soul. Menolly became the first female harper in a generation. Most of the people who knew (or would have heard of/would have heard sing) MasterSinger Merelan had died by the time Menolly comes to the Hall.
These are the only two I can remember at the moment. I may come back to edit again.
While I really did love this book, I think it suffers from the short length and how time is severely sped up towards the end. Almost 20 Turns reduced to 50-odd pages. Which makes it seem like no time at all has passed (because nothing of importance really happens during that time). Definitely read this AFTER you finish the "main" story line that begins in DragonFlight.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
There is so much wrong with this book, and so little right. If you enjoyed Robinton as a side character, I suggest you don't read this at all, because he just doesn't work as a main character. McCaffrey seems to have an issue where anything her female characters do well, a male character (in a book written later) needs to do better and at a younger age. It's weird, but it happens with more of her characters that I care count, and doesn't do the male characters who show them up any favors either.
I feel that most of the book was really just McCaffrey wanting to go into detail about the fifty years before Lessa became Weyrwoman, and so she contrived ways to have Robinton appear at all the major turning points of history during those years. I mean, the final chapter of the book is literally the first chapter of Dragonflight, but told from a different perspective - from someone we didn't even know was there! So yeah, there is a lot of ret-conning going on too. Which isn't really fair to Robinton as a character, since he is sort of sidelined in his own book by being forced into all the history, retroactively.
Granted, if you do want to learn about what the other Holders were like during this period on Pern, that is where this book shines. Learning about the other Lord Holders was interesting, and did make them seem more like people rather than just names tossed around. Though it is depressing to see how a small group can turn back the progressive thinking of a previous era, since it seems fifty years before Dragonflight many women were active members of the various craft halls, but with the rise of Fax all that equality just melted away.
I feel that most of the book was really just McCaffrey wanting to go into detail about the fifty years before Lessa became Weyrwoman, and so she contrived ways to have Robinton appear at all the major turning points of history during those years. I mean, the final chapter of the book is literally the first chapter of Dragonflight, but told from a different perspective - from someone we didn't even know was there! So yeah, there is a lot of ret-conning going on too. Which isn't really fair to Robinton as a character, since he is sort of sidelined in his own book by being forced into all the history, retroactively.
Granted, if you do want to learn about what the other Holders were like during this period on Pern, that is where this book shines. Learning about the other Lord Holders was interesting, and did make them seem more like people rather than just names tossed around. Though it is depressing to see how a small group can turn back the progressive thinking of a previous era, since it seems fifty years before Dragonflight many women were active members of the various craft halls, but with the rise of Fax all that equality just melted away.