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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
I remember my mother reading Pern books. I feel pretty lucky to have found the original cover that I remember so well. This book was so magical to read. It was an instant time machine for me.
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is one of the few times that McCaffrey actually grapples with the consequences of her own sexist world building, and it actually works pretty well.
now, a parent purposely permanently injuring their child sure is...something, but for once the sexism is treated as a bad thing
Here's my no nostalgia review. First time reading this book in 2023.
TLDR: Great ideas and world build that's unfortunately delivered by a character I'm just too old to relate to. If you have ever played a DND bard and can tolerate "horse-girl but with dragons" definitely give it a read and check out the 2 albums for this book on spotify.
The Harper books are very character driven, which is a shame because right now Menolly is a child. Her story is very "horse-girl but with dragons." She's just not like other girls! She's so good at everything right from the get-go and her only real struggles are societal ones. "A girl wearing pants and doing guy thing? Outrageous!" It really doesn't hit for me in the year of our lord 2023. Now 15-20 years ago when I was closer to Menolly's age? I would have ate this up. I'm currently reading The White Dragon where she is older and her character is matured to a state of likeability.
Now the whole Harper business and the role they play in the world of Pern? Interesting as hell. Its like a DND bard turned up too 100. This idea that singers and musicians are these super important people that bring news and culture all over the land and are highly valued is just awesome to dive into. There are also 2 accommodating albums for these two books: "The Masterharper of Pern" and "Sunset's Gold." I definitely recommend checking them out on Spotify. It really adds that extra layer of world building.
Worth the read just for more Pern world building even though Menolly isn't a likable character yet.
TLDR: Great ideas and world build that's unfortunately delivered by a character I'm just too old to relate to. If you have ever played a DND bard and can tolerate "horse-girl but with dragons" definitely give it a read and check out the 2 albums for this book on spotify.
The Harper books are very character driven, which is a shame because right now Menolly is a child. Her story is very "horse-girl but with dragons." She's just not like other girls! She's so good at everything right from the get-go and her only real struggles are societal ones. "A girl wearing pants and doing guy thing? Outrageous!" It really doesn't hit for me in the year of our lord 2023. Now 15-20 years ago when I was closer to Menolly's age? I would have ate this up. I'm currently reading The White Dragon where she is older and her character is matured to a state of likeability.
Now the whole Harper business and the role they play in the world of Pern? Interesting as hell. Its like a DND bard turned up too 100. This idea that singers and musicians are these super important people that bring news and culture all over the land and are highly valued is just awesome to dive into. There are also 2 accommodating albums for these two books: "The Masterharper of Pern" and "Sunset's Gold." I definitely recommend checking them out on Spotify. It really adds that extra layer of world building.
Worth the read just for more Pern world building even though Menolly isn't a likable character yet.
This is my favorite book, in my favorite series. This is one of just a few that I will read over and over again. It's still magical, even now.
I'm going to declare this my official introduction to Anne McCaffrey. Being a fan of [a:Margaret Weis|869|Margaret Weis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1371065031p2/869.jpg], [a:Tracy Hickman|868|Tracy Hickman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1360040119p2/868.jpg], and [a:Piers Anthony|8516|Piers Anthony|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], McCaffery's work was frequently recommended to me as another fantasy author of the era. While I made a half-hearted attempt at reading [b:Dragonflight|61975|Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern, #1)|Anne McCaffrey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388182243l/61975._SY75_.jpg|2467422] many years ago, I didn't get further than a few pages.
This little YA novel was recommended by a friend who absolutely loved it growing up, and Pern, in some ways, feels a lot like Xanth. This particular plot also reminds me a bit of Princess Cimorene's plight from [b:Dealing with Dragons|150739|Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1)|Patricia C. Wrede|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385526967l/150739._SY75_.jpg|1178402].
Parts of this book were difficult for me.
- The opening chapters detail ongoing emotional abuse from Menolly's parents and sister. This is way more depressing than I expected from a YA novel about music and dragons!
- There is also the totally unacknowledged ethical dilemma of Benden Weyr stealing eggs from the Old Queen. Menolly Impressed her nine fire lizards in the presence of their queen after she helped to save the entire clutch. Whereas later in the novel, 31 eggs are simply taken away without knowledge of the queen so that they may be distributed primarily to people who have no compassion for the fire lizards and want them solely for power. No one, including Menolly, seems to have an issue with this. Seriously??
- This is a little novella with a MUCH larger backdrop than I have an understanding of. There was so much happening towards the end that felt like it was extremely important in Pern in the grand scheme of things, but that was weakly related to Menolly's story. This made it feel like less of a stand alone book than I expected.
Overall Dragonsong was a good introduction to McCaffrey that detailed an imaginative world and told a tale of hope. There were just some things that really threw a cloud over the tone of the story for me, and ultimately I wish I'd had more background on the world before jumping into this one!
This little YA novel was recommended by a friend who absolutely loved it growing up, and Pern, in some ways, feels a lot like Xanth. This particular plot also reminds me a bit of Princess Cimorene's plight from [b:Dealing with Dragons|150739|Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1)|Patricia C. Wrede|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385526967l/150739._SY75_.jpg|1178402].
Parts of this book were difficult for me.
Spoiler
- The opening chapters detail ongoing emotional abuse from Menolly's parents and sister. This is way more depressing than I expected from a YA novel about music and dragons!
- There is also the totally unacknowledged ethical dilemma of Benden Weyr stealing eggs from the Old Queen. Menolly Impressed her nine fire lizards in the presence of their queen after she helped to save the entire clutch. Whereas later in the novel, 31 eggs are simply taken away without knowledge of the queen so that they may be distributed primarily to people who have no compassion for the fire lizards and want them solely for power. No one, including Menolly, seems to have an issue with this. Seriously??
- This is a little novella with a MUCH larger backdrop than I have an understanding of. There was so much happening towards the end that felt like it was extremely important in Pern in the grand scheme of things, but that was weakly related to Menolly's story. This made it feel like less of a stand alone book than I expected.
Overall Dragonsong was a good introduction to McCaffrey that detailed an imaginative world and told a tale of hope. There were just some things that really threw a cloud over the tone of the story for me, and ultimately I wish I'd had more background on the world before jumping into this one!
medium-paced
Marisol and I are rereading and reviewing Pern. Our Harper Hall trilogy review is here: http://fablecroft.com.au/miscellaneous/revisiting-pern-the-great-mccaffrey-reread-the-harper-hall-trilogy