All the Weyrs of Pern

Rating:
Summary: Excellent culmination to years of storytelling
Review: I found All the Weyrs to be the most satisfying of the newer Pern books written in the 90's. Here McCaffrey takes on a plotline set up in Renegades and DragonsDawn. The book details a lot of technology introduced by the computer Aivas which was uncovered at the end of Renegades. But somehow reading about the characters learning about technology is not incredibly dry but rather entertaining. One of my favorite aspects of McCaffrey's writing is the simple and sweet voices of the dragons in speech. Here, Aivas, the computer, takes on a persona that is more sophisticated than the dragons but equally sweet. The venture to rid Pern of Thread involves ventures into space, some of which made me mentally balk at going "between" to a space ship. Also the book introduces the future political upheavals and problems with the introduction of the new technologies. All of our favorite charactors are here, particularly Jaxom and Sharra, Robinton, Lytol and of course F'lar and Lessa.

Rating:
Summary: Satisfying wrap-up
Review: I found this book to be a very satisfying wrap-up to the series. Highly recommended to die-hard Pern fans who have read every other scrap of Pern they could get their hands on!

Rating:
Summary: Great, but sad
Review: In All The Weyrs of Pern, Flar and Lessa, in their exploration of the southern continant, come across Landing, the small city that the first colonists set up upon arrival on Pern. Later, due to a Volcanic eruption and thread, they moved to the northern continent. Unfortunatly, they had to leave Aivis, their voice-ativated artificial intellegence behind. Now they have found Aivis again, and, through the help of Aivis, and the cooperation of all the weyrs of Pern, they have a chance of ridding Pern of thread forever. But victory does not come freely and with the greatest loss, and some disagree . . . In my opinion, this is the perfect end to a series, although Dolphins of Pern is also very good. I highly recomend it to anyone who is interested in reading it, and anyone who isn't anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Great Story, Poor Continuity
Review: In _All the Weyrs of Pern_ the large cast of characters from the Dragonrider and Harper Hall books, with the help of the Ancient AI device unearthed at the end of _Renegades_, settle down to their ultimate task: Ridding Pern of Thread for once and for all.

I've read all the Pern books over and over since I first discovered them in eighth grade -- _Dragonquest_ was the first book I bought with my own money. In the main, I really enjoy them. Anne McCaffrey writes well and her ideas are very original, particularly in the earlier books in the series. Some of the later volumes have not thrilled me, however. _Renegades_ I found particularly unmoving, so I picked up ATW with some trepidation the first time. But this is the Dragonriders series at its best, with all the characters the reader has come to know and love facing challenges with fortitude and even humour.

I don't argue that McCaffrey is a great storyteller. She is at her best in situationally-driven stories (rather than character-driven), particularly those where her charcters are put in a new, alien and/or hostile environment where they must develop the skills to succeed in various tasks. This is part of what makes her Dragonrider series appealing to fans of straight science fiction as well as fans of fantasy. And as the basic theme of ATW, it makes for an absorbing read.

McCaffrey needs a continuity editor, however. As her world becomes more and more complex it seems she has trouble keeping track of the details. Unfortunately, I am the kind of person who is bothered by this.

Is Jancis a Mastersmith or a journeyman smith? She seems to be both, often in the same paragraph. And how did she come to be Fandarel's granddaughter when he formerly stated he had no wife, only his work? How did Sharra appear at landing to exchange a significant glance with Jancis, when before and after that single incident it was clearly stated she wasn't there at all? Why is Menolly telling AIVAS about her three children when in _Dolphins_ at a later date she is shown to be pregnant with only the second? How did Lord Oterel appear in _Dolphins_, long after the close of ATW, when he died before ATW ended? These are just some of the details that distracted me.

But, well, this is still a great book and one that really ties up the Pern series. I could only wish that Anne McCaffrey had ended here.

Rating:
Summary: san
Review: Lessa has always been kindy of "witchy" (to use a non-profane term) so I don't agree with you about that inconsistency. I do agree about Jaxom though, he does seem to be born under a lucky star, in spite of his origins. I love the book, simply because I love reading about my friends of Pern. The main thing that bothers me about this book, and I haven't seen any one else pick this up is: Piemur falls in love with Jancis, MasterSmnith Fanderel's grandaughter. Except Fanderel never married, remember in White Dragon, Lessa being appalled at the state of the SmithHall and asking Fandarel where his wife is? "no Wife" he says, "no time for a wife". So, what's he doing with a grand daughter?

Rating:
Summary: Past and present meet to decide the future of Pern
Review: This 1991 entry into the long running series begins with the rediscovery of the computer left by the first settlers to Pern. This computer, named AIVAS, complete with its vast store of knowledge, had managed to stay operational in the intervening 2,500 plus years since the settlers had been forced to flee the original settlement. In that time the settlers had developed a new society and found methods to deal with the menacing Thread that periodically attacked their world but had lost many of the technologies that their ancestors had brought with them from Earth. Now that AIVAS was available to them the people of Pern would have the opportunity to regain this knowledge, but at what cost to their society?

Favorite characters from previous novels are here, Jaxom and his white dragon Ruth, Master Harper Robinthon, dragonriders Lessa, F'Lar and their son F'lessan and numerous others. We see how the people and dragons of Pern adapt to the changes in their world and rise to met the challenges these changes have brought about.

For long time fans of the series there is a fear that this is the end of the saga but it appears that there are other entries writen more recently. In any case this is a must read for any fan of the series. It is not, however, a good place to start.

Rating:
Summary: Past and present meet to decide the future of Pern
Review: This 1991 entry into the long running series begins with the rediscovery of the computer left by the first settlers to Pern. This computer, named AIVAS, complete with its vast store of knowledge, had managed to stay operational in the intervening 2,500 plus years since the settlers had been forced to flee the original settlement. In that time the settlers had developed a new society and found methods to deal with the menacing Thread that periodically attacked their world but had lost many of the technologies that their ancestors had brought with them from Earth. Now that AIVAS was available to them the people of Pern would have the opportunity to regain this knowledge, but at what cost to their society?

Favorite characters from previous novels are here, Jaxom and his white dragon Ruth, Master Harper Robinthon, dragonriders Lessa, F'Lar and their son F'lessan and numerous others. We see how the people and dragons of Pern adapt to the changes in their world and rise to met the challenges these changes have brought about.

For long time fans of the series there is a fear that this is the end of the saga but it appears that there are other entries writen more recently. In any case this is a must read for any fan of the series. It is not, however, a good place to start.

Rating:
Summary: More Dragonriders
Review: This book is well written in the same style as other Dragonrider books. It's an interesting story as a continuation of its predecessor, "The Dragonriders of Pern". It's especially worth reading for those who are enthralled with the Pern saga and Anne McCaffrey, who is, undoubtedly, one of the finest fantasy writers of all time.

Rating:
Summary: The end of thread (or at least the last fall)
Review: This book tells how the dragonriders with the help of an AI and Lord Jaxom managed to make the current fall of thread the last. The White Dragon Ruth also does something that no dragon has done before or since. I would definatly recommend this book to Pern fans. Anyone who hasn't read any of the other Pern books might want to read up before starting this book.