Dragonflight

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Summary: dragonflight
Review: Essentially, this book is about A girl, Lessa, her dragon, Ramoth, and the Dragonleader, F'lar. The story begins here...

Lessa is the only surviving member of the Ruath house, a once noble house that was invaded and was killed by Lord Fax. All died, except for Lessa, who has remained hidden for more than 5 Turns (Pernese years). When F'lar and his brother are on a Search for an acceptable Weyrwoman, they come across Ruath, in ruins for the most part. The women in the Hold are no good, the dragonmen feel. But there is a source of power here. Mnemeth, F'lar's dragon can feel it. And so can F'lar. They set out, then find the sorce right before their eyes! F'lar ends up killing Fax in a duel, and Lessa is whisked away to Impress the young dragon queen. If she manages, the she will be Weyrwoman. After two days, she mananges, and then she becomes second only to the Weyrleader. But then, when the dragons rise to mate, Ramoth, the Queen, chooses over the current Weyrleader's dragon, and chooses Mnemeth, the Bronze. F'lar become Weyrleader and Lessa is at his side, ready to go, when she discovers something... Dragons and their riders can fly Between times! And the dangerous Threads are about to fall on Pern once again... How will they defend it?

I usually read Star Trek, however this was an exceptional read. Someone gave it to me as a gift, and I will be forever grateful they did. This is a very good read, and I'd reccomend it to anyone who has absolutely no trouble understanding abstract concepts, and who has an unlimited imagination!

=)Enjoy it!

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Summary: McCaffrey's classic stands the test of time
Review: This fabulous trilogy of dragons, their riders, and a world far, far away will delight old fans (who know that you can't re-read these books too many times) and new readers with strong characters, including women who are anything but stereotypical sci-fi heroines. Re-read it or start it for the first time and discover the wonders of Pern

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Summary: Decent, light fun
Review: Anne McCaffrey's famous Pern series is "Science Fantasy"--that is, it incorporates elements (such as, of course, dragons) commonly accepted as Fantasy, but explains them with science. Science that is sometimes a little shaky, but rational, not magical or mythical, explanations, nonetheless. So one person might call it "Fantasy" and another might call it "Soft Sci-Fi", and they'd both be right.

That aside, the world McCaffrey has created is well-envisioned and fresh. Though the prologue is dry, it's interesting because the world itself is interesting.

"Dragonflight" was just starting to capture my interest and bring me into the world when it kicked me out... with time travel. McCaffrey introduces it too late for it to feel real, and serious logic holes in its operation (of the "why has nobody figured this out before?" type) cause some serious skepticism on the part of the reader. It pulls you out of the world and significantly damages the believability of the story.

As sketchy is it is, the time travel is necessary for this to be a novel rather than a novella... and for many other reasons. But it's still a tired plot device used in a problematic fashion, and it's the crutch this novel rests upon.

The time travel is but one part of why this novel feels like light fantasy. Though they're not caricatures, the characters aren't particularly deep--but they get the job done.

McCaffrey's prose turned me off at first, seeming a little flowery, but it either got better or I got used to it, because it was very easy to read for the rest of the novel.

But more than anything, the reason this novel is merely average is because the premise for the story does not offer a very good conclusion. This isn't a character drama, it's not about relationships. It incorporates those elements and more, but what this story is really about is saving the world. That in itself is not a serious flaw, but the fact that it takes fifty years before the world can be considered 'saved' is one. Because of the admittedly interesting setup, the peril that the dragonriders are fighting will last for half of a century... so since the characters are quite human, McCaffrey has to end the story without truly accomplishing what it set out to do.

And the way she ends it works... sort of. It doesn't feel completely fulfilling, but she did the best she could with what she gave herself to work with.

I could talk about the problems of "Dragonflight" for hours, but the fact is, it's still fun. It's just downright fun to read. Take it too seriously and you'll be disappointed, but come in looking for a "book snack" and you'll enjoy yourself.

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Summary: A Satisfyingly Rational Approach to Flying Dragons
Review: Anne McCaffrey walks the blurry line between science fiction and fantasy in this pleasing tale of men, dragons, time travel, and natural catastrophe on a faraway planet.

Leesa is an undistinguished servant girl in her home town when the dragon rider F'lar arrives. He recognizes her considerable natural gifts, and takes her home to be queen of Brenden Weyr. Unlike most of the inhabitants of the planet Pern, F'lar and Leesa believe the ancient ballads that foretell the coming of the Threads - a calamitous rain of death that comes from the sky every 200 years. It having been almost 400 years since the last attack, most people believe that the Threads have ceased, or are mere legends that never happened at all, and that the elaborate ongoing defensive preparations are mere idle rituals of the distant past, which more and more are being abandoned. Can Leesa and F'lar convince the people of the error of their ways, and fight off the coming attack of the all-consuming Threads?

The whole argument about sci-fi vs. fantasy is probably not that important, although it can be interesting, and this book makes for a good test case. McCaffrey has done an excellent job of using the tropes of fantasy: an armored warrior class, their daring and headstrong Queen, fire-breathing dragons, a medieval social structure, age-old prophecies, etc..., and giving them just enough historical and scientific background to make them credible. It seems a little too much to call this science fiction - the scientific explanations given are rarely more than a sentence or two, and they in no way dominate the story; but at the same time the very fact that there are explanations puts this book beyond the realm of garden-variety fantasy. There's no magic at work here - this story takes place in a logical universe where everything that happens does so for a reason.

McCaffrey's prose is sometimes a touch awkward, especially towards the beginning of the book, but it's still much easier reading than Tolkien or Cherryh, and the length is not intimidating, although there is a whole series of sequels available to those who want more (and many surely will). This novel is an excellent selection for teens, particularly young women, who may find Leesa easier to identify with than the standard fantasy hero. For them, this should be considered a 5-star selection.

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Summary: Why hasn't this book been made into a movie???
Review: This is definitely one of Anne McCaffrey's best novels. The plot centers around Lessa, the last pureblooded Ruathan on Pern whose genealogy is very telepathic. She's a very strong willed character who is accustomed to scheming and manipulation to get things accomplished, so when she gets manipulated into becoming the Weyrwoman of Pern, we see she has a great partner in F'lar, a strong willed bronze dragonrider. The clash of wills and ensuing romance makes for great reading.

This series of books is a must for anyone who's into fantasy heavily involving dragons. The series is also good for science fiction lovers although much of the science fiction is concentrated in later novels with scattered references to interesting seemingly out of place technology scattered through most of the novels.

As for my title, I really wonder why this book hasn't been made into a movie. The characters are quite strong and technology has advanced to where the dragons and fighting against thread can be done very well. My imagination for these characters is great, but I'd love to see what Hollywood could do for at least this first novel.