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Summary: The Dawn of an Era, the Birth of a World...
Review: When one goes through countless reviews, some good, others bad, you stop to think if anyone ever reads these and if you are just saying what others have said. You know what I have come to think? I don't care. I just have to write something to praise the books I am reviewing... like this one.I read this book after I read Dragonflight. I know it is not how the series should be read but I could not find Dragonquest and I needed, urged for a Pern book. So I decided to read Dragonsdawn. And I made no mistake. I loved this book. It has so much in such a wonderful way. You can actually believe that this may happen... fiction is no longer fiction. It all seems to plausible. And it's wonderful. You are faced with the Coloners from Earth in search of a world to colonize. They have come to the Rukbat System and found the third planet to be ihabitable. They named it Pern. And so it all begins. What they did not know was that Pern, for calmer and more beautiful it may seem, hides a dangerous and deadly secret. The threat of the Threads, brought by the Red Star, catches the coloners unware, unexpectedly. And from then on it is a race to protect the survivor's lives from certain death. You witness in this book the birth of the Dragonriders, and the beginning of the amazing relationship with the dragons. From the delicate fire-lizards there comes the dragons of Pern... to fight Thread, to breathe fire, to protect humans. And you can't keep yourself from suffering in the harsh times, bellowing in joy with the fight of this danger, and shedding a tear when the multi-faceted eye of a dragon crosses your own eyes... If you love Dragonriders of Pern... Dragonsdawn will surely amaze you. Though if you want to keep the many mysteries of your world away from your knowledge, then you should not read this book. But then you'd miss a great book.
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Summary: The story of the settling of Pern
Review: I absolutely love this book. The first time I read it, I found it hard to get past the opening section - I wanted to read about PERN, not a bunch of people in a spaceship, even if they were named Benden. But the technical mumbo-jumbo of the colonization is worth fighting through for that first breath of Pernese air! The initial settlement - the first Threadfall - the genetic engineering that created the dragons we know and love - and the volcano that finally forced the settlers to leave the southern continent - this book gives a fascinating background to Dragonflight et al. Make sure to read this one before reading "All the Weyrs of Pern".
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Summary: A fabulous prequal!
Review: Ever wonder where the dragons of Pern came from? This book gives a satisfying answer to that question. Anne McCaffrey goes back to the beginning in this novel, describing not only where the dragons came from, but how the people got to Earth. This book ranks among the best of McCaffrey's Pern series, combining romance and drama, with science fiction and fantasy. Fans will love it and it's great place for new readers to start. Highly reccomanded!
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Summary: This is Anne McCaffrey's work at its best
Review: Dragonsdawn is inspiring, heartfelt, and moving. It is the story of how it all happened on Pern: when Thread started, how the dragons were engineered, who the people were behind the original hold names, why they left the southern continent. But McCaffrey also manages to make some wonderful characters and draws the reader into her world by giving views of the bad guys and the good. Sallah Telgar's death was poignant and sad but the budding romance between Sean and Sorka as well as the first dragons give Dragonsdawn warmth and vitality. In short, this is the best Anne McCaffrey book I have ever read
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Summary: A great beginning to an awesome series!
Review: After you get past the beginning techno stuff, you will have trouble putting down this book.
Dragonsdawn is about the colonists who came to Pern. They settle in at Landing and start building houses for families and Crafthalls to set up apprentinceship.
Soon young Sorka and Sean find miniature dragons who come to be called firelizards. Their friendship blossoms soon after they get firelizards of their own.
Unexpected danger comes all too soon in the form of mindless silver worms that fall from the sky to eat anything organic in it's path. Thread!
Only fire, water or stone will stop the Thread, but the sleds that the colonists brought with them weren't for often use and soon they weren't adequate to protect the people, but there is one hope. Those little firelizards that Sorka and Sean found can teleport themselves and breathe fire. They protect things from the Thread.
If only they were big enough to hold a rider. Kitti Ping genetically engeneers dragons and her granddaughter tries to keep on where Kitti left of, but fails with breeding a watchwher, a dragonlike animal who is sensitive to the light and is very protective of those it knows.
Soon, the volcano near Landing erupts and everyone is driven out to live elsewhere and leave a lot of technology behind. This book is the basis for some of the themes in other later books such as The White Dragon and All The Weyrs of Pern.
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Summary: A must for all lovers of fantasy, sci-fi, romance & mystery!
Review: This was the first Dangonbook I read. I didn't expect to like it--fantasy is not usually my cup of tea. Not only did I like it, I went straight to the bookstore and bought every one of the series and immersed myself in the world of Pern. By the end of Dragonsdawn, I wanted a dragon so badly that it almost broke my heart. You can lose yourself totally in the fantastic world of the Weyrs and Holds of Pern, and fall head-over- heels for the dashing Holders and Weyrleaders; ache with the young Pernese who wait to be chosen by a dragon; and soar in triumph with the Dragons as they fight their battles against Thread. Please, Anne McCaffrey, don't stop writing about Pern and all the generations that follow the discovery of the original landing!!!! All the books that follow, or precede, Dragonsdawn are just as compelling and fascinating--I'm hooked on Dragons!
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Summary: Only for those who truely love the world of Pern
Review: I fell in love with the first 3 books in the Pern series when I was in high school. Dragonsdawn takes you back to when Pern was first inhabitated and the first encounters with thread and the creation of the dragons. It is and adequate read and certainly anyone who loves the stories of Pern would find it interesting enough. It is just not of the same standard as the first 3 books in the series.
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Summary: Some of her Best Work!
Review: This is the story of the original settlers of Pern. They land safely on Pern after a fifteen year space journey and must genetically engineer fire lizards that are large enough to be ridden, because thread is killing of their animals and settlers. This is technically the first book in the series, although it wasn't written first. This is McCaffrey at her best! I have read about fifteen of her books and this is by far my favorite.
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Summary: One of my favorites
Review: Nothing can top the first six books of the Pern series but this is definitely one of the best after those first six.
Moving and beautfully told, it really shouldn't be read until you have read the first 3 books(Dragonflight, Quest and White Dragon) and then Moreta.
Even though this is a stand alone novel I just can't imagine folks having the same reaction the stories of the founders of McCaffery's wonderful world of dragons, harpers, holds and weyrs if you haven't at least read the four books I mention.
The sacrifices made in this book brought me to tears and at one point sobs. Just simpley well done with wonderful memorable characters, both good and bad and just so well researched so that all the genetics and science sound right but not too tech so that nontech readers like me keep my interest.
Well done!
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Summary: The beginning of an amazing trilogy
Review: Dragonsdawn is the beginning to arguably the best Pern series written by McCaffrey. The novel and the subsequent novels suck the reader in with realistic characters and the pageturning force of a tidal wave. These novels are only surpassed by McCaffrey's amazing Freedoms Landing and the final books of that trilogy. If you havn't read these books and are a fan of the Pern novels, you must pick them up! If you are looking to jump in to a new world this is a great place to start.
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