Rating: 
Summary: Enchanting Addition to the Pern Series!
Review: A Gift of Dragons contains 4 short stories that take place on Pern. It includes:The Smallest Dragonboy - Keevan is the youngest dragon candidate and he is also the smallest. It is easy for other boys to pick on him and to make fun of his desire to become a dragonrider. But this only makes Keevan more determined then ever to impress a dragon and on his first time on the hatching grounds, too! But when a horrible accident leaves him alone in the hospital wing during hatching time, Keevan gives up hope that he will impress a dragon this year - or does he...? The Girl Who Heard Dragons - Aramina and her family are Holdless, but they are not vagabonds or shiftless people who were tossed out of their holds because they were too lazy. They were of Benden blood, forced to flee when Lord Fax killed all of their blood kin before he realized that Benden blood ran in Aramina's mother's veins. And, just like many others of the Benden lineage, Aramina can hear dragons and talk to them. She is careful to hide her skill, but Lady Holdless Thella found out somehow and is determined to use Aramina's talents for her own gain... The Runner of Pern - Tenna is a runner, just like everyone in her family and spends her time running up and down the trails of Pern, delivering messages. She is working hard to finish the stitches on her belt and no longer be an apprentice. But when a reckless driver forces Tenna off of the runner trace, where no horses and carts are supposed to be allowed, Tenna is injured and upset. She is determined to give this careless Halgion a good talking to... Ever the Twain - Neru has always dreamed of becoming a dragonrider, but his twin Nian is afraid of life without him. When the dragonriders come on Search, Neru is sure he will be chosen, but the dragons pass him by - and come to rest on Nian, whom they want to take to the Hatching Grounds. Nian refuses to go without Neru, which makes Neru feel guilty and unwanted. Still, he is determined to take advantage of the opportunity that his sister gave him and tries his hardest to fit into the Weyr. Nian knows that she will do whatever it takes to get Neru to Impress a dragon, but she is quite surprised by what ends up happening at the hatching... I thought that this book was too expensive for just four short stories when I initially bought it, but it really is quite a bit cheaper than buying the three other books that the first three stories are contained in. Ever the Twain is a new story, however, and is only available here. The stories are not that long and the type font and spacing are quite large, but the hand drawn illustrations and decorative border on every page make this book a little treasure. A must have for anyone who is a fan of the Pern series!
Rating:
Summary: Enchanting Addition to the Pern Series!
Review: A Gift of Dragons contains 4 short stories that take place on Pern. It includes: The Smallest Dragonboy - Keevan is the youngest dragon candidate and he is also the smallest. It is easy for other boys to pick on him and to make fun of his desire to become a dragonrider. But this only makes Keevan more determined then ever to impress a dragon and on his first time on the hatching grounds, too! But when a horrible accident leaves him alone in the hospital wing during hatching time, Keevan gives up hope that he will impress a dragon this year - or does he...? The Girl Who Heard Dragons - Aramina and her family are Holdless, but they are not vagabonds or shiftless people who were tossed out of their holds because they were too lazy. They were of Benden blood, forced to flee when Lord Fax killed all of their blood kin before he realized that Benden blood ran in Aramina's mother's veins. And, just like many others of the Benden lineage, Aramina can hear dragons and talk to them. She is careful to hide her skill, but Lady Holdless Thella found out somehow and is determined to use Aramina's talents for her own gain... The Runner of Pern - Tenna is a runner, just like everyone in her family and spends her time running up and down the trails of Pern, delivering messages. She is working hard to finish the stitches on her belt and no longer be an apprentice. But when a reckless driver forces Tenna off of the runner trace, where no horses and carts are supposed to be allowed, Tenna is injured and upset. She is determined to give this careless Halgion a good talking to... Ever the Twain - Neru has always dreamed of becoming a dragonrider, but his twin Nian is afraid of life without him. When the dragonriders come on Search, Neru is sure he will be chosen, but the dragons pass him by - and come to rest on Nian, whom they want to take to the Hatching Grounds. Nian refuses to go without Neru, which makes Neru feel guilty and unwanted. Still, he is determined to take advantage of the opportunity that his sister gave him and tries his hardest to fit into the Weyr. Nian knows that she will do whatever it takes to get Neru to Impress a dragon, but she is quite surprised by what ends up happening at the hatching... I thought that this book was too expensive for just four short stories when I initially bought it, but it really is quite a bit cheaper than buying the three other books that the first three stories are contained in. Ever the Twain is a new story, however, and is only available here. The stories are not that long and the type font and spacing are quite large, but the hand drawn illustrations and decorative border on every page make this book a little treasure. A must have for anyone who is a fan of the Pern series!
Rating:
Summary: The Gift of the Dragons
Review: A Gift of Dragons is a collection of four short works in the Pern series. Three of these works have been previously published and one is new to this book. The Smallest Dragonboy (1973) is the story of a twelve year old boy who is the smallest candidate in his Searched group and cruelly treated by another older boy, yet perseveres in his efforts to impress a hatchling. The Girl Who Heard Dragons (1994) is the story of a young holdless girl who can hear dragons talk to each other and, when her family is threatened, finds that she can also talk to them. Runner of Pern (1999) is the story of a young women who is a runner, carrying written messages for long distance, who comes to Fort Hold at gather time with a score to settle with someone who ran her off the runner trace the night before. Ever the Twain (2002) is the story of a pair of twins, one of whom desperately wants to become a dragonrider, but the other is selected to be a candidate at the next hatching. These tales are about character, courage and perseverance and not one of them has an unhappy ending. Some will find them too sweet for their taste, especially together, but I enjoyed the uplift that they brought me. Recommended for McCaffrey fans and anyone else who enjoys stories like O'Henry's The Gift of the Magi.
Rating:
Summary: The Gift of the Dragons
Review: A Gift of Dragons is a collection of four short works in the Pern series. Three of these works have been previously published and one is new to this book. The Smallest Dragonboy (1973) is the story of a twelve year old boy who is the smallest candidate in his Searched group and cruelly treated by another older boy, yet perseveres in his efforts to impress a hatchling. The Girl Who Heard Dragons (1994) is the story of a young holdless girl who can hear dragons talk to each other and, when her family is threatened, finds that she can also talk to them. Runner of Pern (1999) is the story of a young women who is a runner, carrying written messages for long distance, who comes to Fort Hold at gather time with a score to settle with someone who ran her off the runner trace the night before. Ever the Twain (2002) is the story of a pair of twins, one of whom desperately wants to become a dragonrider, but the other is selected to be a candidate at the next hatching. These tales are about character, courage and perseverance and not one of them has an unhappy ending. Some will find them too sweet for their taste, especially together, but I enjoyed the uplift that they brought me. Recommended for McCaffrey fans and anyone else who enjoys stories like O'Henry's The Gift of the Magi.
Rating:
Summary: A Gift of Dragons
Review: A gift of dragons was an inticing book for someone new to the Pern series, as I originally was. I had heard one of the stories before (the one about Keevan, I'm terrible with names) and was interested in it, but never became fully aware of the series until this book was given to me as a gift. What makes the book all the more interesting is the illustrations, which break up the monotony of word after word after word, which causes strain to the eyes after prolonged reading.
The Story The Smallest Dragonboy, was the one I had read before. The story is heartwarming, charming, and ever an entrance to the rest of Pern's stories.
The second story The Girl who heard Dragons introduces us to another character, intricate in her own personality and upbringing, who is around during the same time period as the first short story.
The third story Runner of Pern, was interesting, though it didn't follow dragons as the others did. However, Tenna made up for it with a new plot and more characters, making you wish at the end of the story that you could know more. (Tenna's story is continued in another one of the books, though she is not a main character in any way)
The fourth story, the new one, ever the twain, follows twins who have never been seperated in their life and are both taken on the Search (which for all of you who haven't read Pernese novels mean that this is where they find new canidates to offer to dragons) The story is good, lacking what a longer story would allow, but making up for it with the storyline.
Overall, I like this installment (or rather batch of short stories) in the Pernese line. I have now grown in my knowledge of Pernese literature, and have read and now own several Anne McCaffery books. I cannot say that this is the worst, though nor is it the best.
Rating: 
Summary: yet another bundle
Review: Anne's stories of Pern are enchanting. But I loathe publishers who bundle one new short story with several old ones just to sell a book. Why not commission a full book of short stories? Or why not sell the new story as a small paperback for a buck or two?
Rating:
Summary: A fine introduction to a fine author
Review: Having never read any of Anne McCaffrey's work before, I didn't know what to expect with the small volume which is a collection of four short stories. Knowing nothing of Pern, I still found myself able to understand the world and the people in it thanks to her writing style, which is explainatory, but not overly so. I will definitely read more of her work. The stories were suitalbe for teens as well as adults.
Rating: 
Summary: One Classic, Two Gems and one not so good
Review: I call the first story a classic because, well, in the McCaffrey Universe in my head it is. In fact, the Littlest Dragonboy was _the_ story that got me reading Pern in the first place. I adore this story for that reason and others. To me, it encompasses all that Pern represents, justice, kindness and simplicity. It is that simplicity that draws me back to this long lived series time and time again. The second and third stories are beauties as well. The Girl Who Heard Dragons is one of my Mother's favorites. A sweet story with a predicitable, but still sweet ending. The Runner of Pern is wonderful because it explores a totally new aspect of our beloved Pern, with Ms. McCaffrey's characteristic, opposites- attract romance thrown in. A story that left me smiling like I had just seen an old friend. Finally, the last story in the book did not sit well with me at all. It was just too cozy and sweet. This may sound hypocritical of me, after all, K'van's story is awfully sweet too, I just couldn't really believe this one. (I won't spoil it for you, but it's extremely predictable) Maybe the horrible event that I have been dreading has happened. Perhaps like so many fantasy readers before me I have become disillusioned with the Dragonlady. Everyone told be the day would come, but I swore it would not happen to me. Ah, who knows? All I can do is cling to my fondness of The White Dragon and hope that I can hold out a little longer. Anyway, I say buy it, or at least check it out from the library and read the first three if you haven't already. As for the new one, which I am assuming most of you veterens of Pern are looking for in this book, I'd skip it and read any wannabe's story from one of the hundreds of fan weyrs on the web, it'll be the same thing.
Rating:
Summary: Unimpressed
Review: I love fantasy, and this was my first experience with McCaffrey. I was unimpressed with the stories and the writing. There was very little conflict to speak of, and the writing was 90% "Telling" and 10% "Showing" with a lot of examples of what I consider 'author intrusion.' I also found her overuse of adverbs to be annoying. All these things that basic writing How To books advise against distracted me to the point where I found it difficult to just enjoy the stories.
Rating:
Summary: Easy, Short Read
Review: If you like Anne McCaffrey, then you will like this book. It contains 4 short stories that are just for fun.
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