Rating: 
Summary: Watch-whers deserved a book and finally got one!
Review: Good book. Worth buying in paperback, not hardcover. Not one you should start your Pern reading on, but a Pern fan would enjoy this book.Dragon's Kin is about a mine camp lead by Natalon. Natalon is trying to prove himself to the Master Miner so that his camp could be turned into an official mine.
Unfortunately, his camp is split with people having different oppinions about the camp's watch-wher.
Disaster strikes when Kindan's family dies in a cavein and gets put in Master Harper Zist's care. Eventually, Natalon expects Kindan to take his father's place as the Watch-wher keeper for the mine forcing Kindan to put his other dreams aside.
Meanwhile, a blind girl named Nuella joins the picture and makes friends with Kindan, Master Zist and a few others. Unfortunately, this book is only 292 pages long compared with the usual 800, and I read this book in one setting.
I am definately looking forward to seeing how Todd McCaffrey develops as an author.
Rating: 
Summary: decent, but nothing to get excited about
Review: 'Dragon's Kin' is Anne McCaffrey's latest offering in her long-running and best-selling 'Dragonriders of Pern' series. It is also the first time she has permitted a co-author into the Pern universe: her son, Todd. This time McCaffrey tells the story of an earlier time in Pern's history. The time is more than halfway through the second Interval, 16 years before the next Threadfall and the next pass of the Red Star. We are several hundred years before the events in 'Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern' and perhaps a hundred years from the events of 'Dragonseye'. So, this is the time period we are looking at. The story is set in the Natalon mining camp, and this is one of the first times we've had a look at the miners. This is the story of Kindan, a twelve year old boy who seemed older when I read the book. Kindan does not expect anything more out of his life than to follow his father into the mines when he is old enough. All of this changes when there is an accident at the mine and Kindan's father and brothers are all killed. He is left an orphan and he is taken in by the Masterharper, Zist. What the title of this book refers to is the watch whers (they appear in several of the Pern novels). The watch whers are dragon like, though smaller and nocturnal, and are used typically as a nighttime guard or as the first warning if anything is going wrong. They are kin to dragons (hence the title) from when humans first settled on Pern. Watch whers play a prominent role in this book (though, the watch wher egg does not appear until close to half way through the book). At times, 'Dragon's Kin' did not feel like a Pern novel. Dragons play such a limited role, and this story is such a sub-set off of what became the primary storyline throughout Pern. This was a quick reading story, but none of the characters were as engaging as previous characters. There is no Menolly, or Lessa, or F'lar, or Jaxom, or even any of the characters from 'Dragonsdawn'. Kindan is too young, and while he may grow into a better character (assuming McCaffrey follows up with these characters), he isn't interesting enough to build a novel around. The minor character, Nuella, she has potential. 'Dragon's Kin' is a decent enough Pern novel, but it is nothing to get excited about.
Rating: 
Summary: COULD BE BETTER!
Review: I love Pern so the newest novel was an instant purchase. The problem with this novel is that nothing happening until the last chapters when a egg is obtained, hatched, grown, saves people from the mine and gives our adolecent hero a chance to be a Harper. Whew! I wish they hadn't postponed all the action until the end. Perhaps the authors felt the need to develop the watch-wher story before proceeding. I hope the next story clips along a bit more quickly.
Rating:
Summary: Big Anne McCaffrey Fan
Review: I have loved all of Anne's books, all the different series. I hope she keeps writing. I am not sure how much of this book is Anne's and how much is Todd's but I enjoyed it and would recommed it to any McCaffrey fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This felt like a short story that they tried to stretch to a full novel (less than 300 pages). Really fluffy, nothing story and seem like a very rushed ending. All in all a disappointing addition. Maybe the Pern story is just mined out.
Rating: 
Summary: Lame plot
Review: This was an exceptionally lame offering, not up to the usual standards of a McCaffrey story. The plot has great gaping holes, and the writing in general makes it much harder to believe in the events of the story than is typical for Anne McCaffrey. Definitely not worth the cover price, no matter what the discount! Now I am wary of anything Todd McCaffrey collaborates with his mother on, if this is what he brings to a book.
Rating:
Summary: A real disappointment
Review: I was really disappointed in this book. Unlike the other books in the Pern series, this book was written through perspective of children and seemingly for children. It was lacking any of the complexity of a book written for adults. On top of that, the first half of the book dragged with little to no action. The pace picked up in the second half but the plot of the second half seemed poorly developed. Throughout the book, the reader is continuously "told" what is going on and rarely allowed to "discover" anything new about the story or characters. This is especially true in the second half and gives the book a very shallow feeling.
Rating:
Summary: Down in the Coal Mine
Review: Dragon's Kin is the twentieth novel in the Pern series, following The Skies of Pern. However, this novel takes place in the past towards the end of the Second Interval, sixteen years prior to the third return of the Red Star. Miners Hall had begun to experiment with deep shaft mines as the surface deposits began to give out. One of the new Camps was headed by Master Miner Natalon. In this novel, Kindan is the youngest child of Master Miner Danil. His sister Silstra is betrothed to Journeyman Smith Terregar. So he is very excited when his friend Zenor shouts that the caravan carrying the Smith is within sight of the watch station on the heights. Running and even bouncing up the hill, Kindan arrives breathlessly to see the large drays and brightly painted wagons of the traders. He convinces Zenor to run the news back to Natalon. When Zenor interrupts a discussion to tell the chief miner the news, Natalon's Uncle Tarik carps about his style of reporting; Uncle Tarik complains about a lot of things and obviously feels that he should have been selected as chief miner. Zenor is then sent to inform the rest of the Camp. On the way, he is called aside by his friend Nuella, Natalon's daughter whose presence is being kept secret from the rest of the camp; Natalon is afraid that her blindness is genetic and knowledge of it could damage the marital chances of his other children. Zenor is the only one outside her immediate family who knows Nuella is there. Terregar is not the only person to arrive with the trader caravan; Master Harper Zist has come to replace Journeyman Harper Jofri. Master Zist has formerly been the Vocals Master at Harper Hall, but a tragedy in his family has led to him leaving the Hall. One of the reasons for selecting this obscure mining camp was Journeyman Jofri's reports on Kindan's fine voice. Master Zist has plenty of opportunity to hear for himself as they rehearse for Silstra's wedding. After the wedding, Kindan is apprenticed to Master Zist and gets some intensive coaching in vocals and drums. Soon thereafter an accident in the mine leaves Kindan an orphan and he moves in with Master Zist; Tarik and his family acquire the house built by Kindan's father. With many of the older children working in the mine to make up for their losses, Kindan is the eldest child remaining and takes over the supervision of all work schedules for the younger children. Along with the human casualties, the accident has also cost the miners their only remaining watch-wher. Minor accidents and mishaps start plaguing the miners and Natalon is convinced that some of the problems result from the lack of a watch-wher. He secretly negotiates the trade of a lot of coal for a watch-wher egg. Since his father was the previous wherhandler for the mine, Kindan is chosen to hatch and raise the new watch-wher. The whole deal is news to Kindan and he wonders if he knows enough to raise a watch-wher properly. He does remember enough to beg permission for the egg from the queen watch-wher and he does ask the wherhandler what to feed the newly hatched watch-wher, but so much else is unknown to him. Nuella and Zenor, however, pitch in to help him and soon Master Zist obtains additional help from the Benden Weyr Leader. In this story, Kindan and his friends learn much more about watch-whers than anyone else on Pern. Since watch-whers are nocturnal and used in the deeps of the mine, Nuella contributes her knowledge of moving through darkness. Kindan learns a lot about moving in the dark and has the bruises to prove it. Needless to say, this story turns Kindan and his friends into heroes. Despite the disparaging remarks from Uncle Tarik and his cronies, the watch-wher proves herself in the worst possible conditions. Moreover, the knowledge they develop leads to better communications between the common folk and the Dragonriders. This story is suitable for younger readers, but was also enjoyable for this much older one. Recommended for McCaffrey fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of young people and smart animals learning together. -Arthur W. Jordin
Rating:
Summary: A thoughtful tale of hard choices and coming of age
Review: Dragon's Kin is the abridged audiobook version of the latest fantasy adventure novel featuring author Anne McCaffrey's fantastic planet of Pern and its dragon-rider protectors. A complex saga, Dragon's Kin follows the life of Kindan, a young man who lives and works in the mines far from civilization and safety. Kindan is charged with the responsibility of raising and looking after the watch-wher - a dragon-like creature superbly suited for life in the mines; though he dreams of becoming a Harper and leaving the place where he grew up behind, disaster claims his family and leaves with the heavy burden and responsibility of hatching and raising a new watch-wher. A thoughtful tale of hard choices and coming of age, Dick Hill's dramatic narration offers a flawless presentation of this newest example of McCaffrey's award winning talent as an established and respected fantasy author. 4 hours, 3 audio cassettes.
Rating:
Summary: Hmmm. . . . .could have been better
Review: I'm rather fond of the Pern series by Ann McCaffrey and am happy to see the story continued by her son. That said, I must say that this book does not quite live up to the same standard as his Mothers. You have a situation where tragedy strikes, a solution is presented and then....abruptly it ends on a happy note, without tying in all the little 'sub-plots' throughout the book. The storyline as well the characters need to be furthur developed and polished. Perhaps reading the original series would help. . . . . .
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