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tjwallace04's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Ugh, I still just don't quite know what to make of Pern.
Likes:
-I like the very imaginative world and strong world-building. The politics of Pern (divisions between the Weyrs, Crafthalls, and Lord Holders) are really interesting.
-I love the dragons and the way they communicate telepathically with their riders and other dragons. Oh, and the fire lizards! Adorbs.
-I like the mix of fantasy and sci-fi.
-I mostly like McCaffrey's riding. It is very crisp, solid, and doesn't pander.
Dislikes:
-It feels so dated, particularly the sexual politics. There's another scene that is basically a rape in this book that is treated so nonchalantly 🥴🤢. And even though the Weyrs are supposed to be these very sexually liberated places, it is telling how the two "heroine" female characters (Lessa and Brekke) are both purely devoted to one dragonrider, while the villain female character Kylara is promiscuous.
-The plot of Dragonquest in particular seemed very convoluted. There were so many storylines, and I felt bogged down by all the characters.
-Speaking of characters, none of them are super likable or easy to connect to. I know I am supposed to like F'lar, Lessa, F'nor, Brekke, and Robinton, but they're all pretty flat, and I just can't really care that much about them.
So. Here we are. I don't think I will be reading more in the Pern series. EXCEPT...maybe the Harper Hall trilogy? Because people have told me it has a more YA feel (so less gross dragonrider sex stuff I assume).
Likes:
-I like the very imaginative world and strong world-building. The politics of Pern (divisions between the Weyrs, Crafthalls, and Lord Holders) are really interesting.
-I love the dragons and the way they communicate telepathically with their riders and other dragons. Oh, and the fire lizards! Adorbs.
-I like the mix of fantasy and sci-fi.
-I mostly like McCaffrey's riding. It is very crisp, solid, and doesn't pander.
Dislikes:
-It feels so dated, particularly the sexual politics. There's another scene that is basically a rape in this book that is treated so nonchalantly 🥴🤢. And even though the Weyrs are supposed to be these very sexually liberated places, it is telling how the two "heroine" female characters (Lessa and Brekke) are both purely devoted to one dragonrider, while the villain female character Kylara is promiscuous.
-The plot of Dragonquest in particular seemed very convoluted. There were so many storylines, and I felt bogged down by all the characters.
-Speaking of characters, none of them are super likable or easy to connect to. I know I am supposed to like F'lar, Lessa, F'nor, Brekke, and Robinton, but they're all pretty flat, and I just can't really care that much about them.
So. Here we are. I don't think I will be reading more in the Pern series. EXCEPT...maybe the Harper Hall trilogy? Because people have told me it has a more YA feel (so less gross dragonrider sex stuff I assume).
softandcrunchy's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Not as exciting as the first book and couldn't hold my attention once another library book became available. One to come back to.
leasaurusrex's review against another edition
4.0
Plus convaincue par cet opus que le premier, je pense surtout que la série souffre d'une très mauvaise traduction et d'un format epub bâclé.
L'univers est toujours incroyablement fourni, les personnages prennent du corps et certains rebondissements sont complètement inattendus.
Ce tome est un peu plus politique que le précédent, mais il comporte tout de même des scènes d'action qui tiennent en haleine.
Je regrette encore pas mal d'aspects mais ceux-ci s'effacent Ă©tonnamment vite devant le reste de ma lecture.
Je ne vais pas pouvoir m'empêcher d'enchaîner directement sur le suivant !
L'univers est toujours incroyablement fourni, les personnages prennent du corps et certains rebondissements sont complètement inattendus.
Ce tome est un peu plus politique que le précédent, mais il comporte tout de même des scènes d'action qui tiennent en haleine.
Je regrette encore pas mal d'aspects mais ceux-ci s'effacent Ă©tonnamment vite devant le reste de ma lecture.
Je ne vais pas pouvoir m'empêcher d'enchaîner directement sur le suivant !
payal_reads_alot's review against another edition
2.0
This book had me torn. There was so much ground to cover; Lessa's psychic abilities, establishing F'lor's authority, knowledge from the past, drudges (which, let's be honest, is essentially slavery), technology, etc. All that being said, this book was boring and uninspired. I would've settled for tedious - given the grounds that needed to be covered - but instead it fell very, very short. The focus on the rivalry served no purpose in advancing the plot. The glaring omission of women in power was all the more apparent this time around. Thread (ugh - such an anticlimactic foe) was given a sad heave to the side to set center stage for a teenage drama.
blainembentley's review against another edition
3.0
To be honest I feel this book was a waste of time. This is the second book of the Dragonriders of Pern trilogy. I don’t really have an idea of where this trilogy is going to go. As I had finished Dragonflight, I initially thought that the book could have been standalone. However, at the very end, there is an idea that is presented, that was obviously something that would be explored more in a later book. I did expect this thing to be a major focus of the book, but I was wrong. I felt that it was a major focus of the last 100 pages and that was it. I really didn’t see how the rest of the book was really necessary. I will be curious to see where this trilogy goes in the last book.
Other things that bothered me are similar to the first book. These books are a little outdated and have some older school of thoughts, which to be honest I can easily look past. However, there is one thing, introduced in the first book (I won’t get into it because of spoilers), that still really bothered me. Any issue they face, I just wonder why they don’t use this thing, as it would be a much simpler and easier way to fix their issue. Lastly the biggest thing, as mentioned above, was the lack of an interesting plot.
The biggest reason I gave it such a high rating was I am completely in love with the world building. Regardless of the things that bothered me, I just love being in Pern. This largely is what kept me going in the read. I find this world fascinating and intriguing. I loved continuing to see more of Pern and learning more of its history. So, if you love the world building of the first book, I’d say give this one a try. If not, I don’t think it worth reading (though this may change after I finish the trilogy).
Other things that bothered me are similar to the first book. These books are a little outdated and have some older school of thoughts, which to be honest I can easily look past. However, there is one thing, introduced in the first book (I won’t get into it because of spoilers), that still really bothered me. Any issue they face, I just wonder why they don’t use this thing, as it would be a much simpler and easier way to fix their issue. Lastly the biggest thing, as mentioned above, was the lack of an interesting plot.
The biggest reason I gave it such a high rating was I am completely in love with the world building. Regardless of the things that bothered me, I just love being in Pern. This largely is what kept me going in the read. I find this world fascinating and intriguing. I loved continuing to see more of Pern and learning more of its history. So, if you love the world building of the first book, I’d say give this one a try. If not, I don’t think it worth reading (though this may change after I finish the trilogy).
scytale's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
sdurr's review against another edition
5.0
Once I started, I couldn't stop. I like that her sequel begins not long after the first novel left off. Be sure to read the books in order. Otherwise, you won't be able to truly appreciate how the story expands and how the characters grow.
We see more of Pern -- the various Holds and Holders -- and are introduced to more characters. Both Leesa and F'lar have grown into themselves and they didn't forget Jaxxom and Lytol who become intricate to the story as well. I think it is in this novel we are first introduced to Masterharper Robinton, one of my favorite characters who got his own story later in the series.
We see more of Pern -- the various Holds and Holders -- and are introduced to more characters. Both Leesa and F'lar have grown into themselves and they didn't forget Jaxxom and Lytol who become intricate to the story as well. I think it is in this novel we are first introduced to Masterharper Robinton, one of my favorite characters who got his own story later in the series.
rhganci's review against another edition
4.0
Jumping ahead 7 Turns, I felt like this book settled me into the continued plot very comfortably. She became a bit longer-winded in this volume, spending a bit more time with character’s thoughts and reflections of events, but only once or twice did I feel distracted from the story and the danger of the Threadfall. F’nor takes a centerpiece in this novel, and it felt natural, being totally separate from the first book, which centered on F’lar and Lessa (both of whom appear in this book), who have settled in nicely to their role as dragonrider celebrities, so to speak. The conflict with the Oldtimers was a natural permutation of what would happen when people 400 years different attempt to do the same thing, and I was surprised at some of the sweet knife fights in these books. I was thinking I should really feel the absence of swordplay more in these books, but the way the world is set up really seems to not need swords and sorcery—more than a fantasy, these are works of hard science fiction, dealing with the colonization of planets and celestial occurrences. There are also some interesting themes dealing with human history and the propensity to forget useful, helpful, and even necessary things, with a hint of critique on what seemed like revisionist history—the value of the grubs being totally forgotten and overlooked. It was pretty good, though I missed the “training” scenes from the previous book. I want to ride a dragon—maybe a white one? I’m glad that the third book deals with that aspect of the story—a white dragon sounds awesome.