Rating: Summary: The 2nd Installment of the Dragonriders of Pern Review: I cannot say bad of any book I have read of Anne McCaffrey's because, simply, I cannot find a reason to. And when you come across such a world as Pern and such a wonderful civilization this author has developed, you can only hope to keep on reading and reading and re-reading countless times the stories of this world she has created.The second installment on the Dragonriders of Pern was actually my third (I read Dragonsdawn before this one but after Dragonflight) and you are introduced to the wonderful Fire-Lizards or re-introduced in my case since I read Dragonsdawn first. In this book you are faced with a world further developed but still not rid of danger. Though the Dragonriders of Pern fly again to fight Thread, their quarrels are now inside within their midst. And without the unity within the Dragonriders, the world of Pern is doomed. New adventures, new developments and new discoveries are made on this wonderful book. You are here introduced to the young Jaxom, holder of Ruatha Hold, son of ungrieved Fax and the missed Lady Gemma, to whom Lessa, Weyrwoman of Benden Weyr has renounced her right to the Hold, rightful hers. Young Jaxom will have a great part in the 3rd volume of the Dragonriders Chronicles and you will be able to witness the true danger of the Red Star which brings the dangerous Silver Threads to the wonderful world of Pern. Another book you have to buy and read, re-read and enjoy thoroughly as you will never forget the land of Pern... and you should not...
Rating: Summary: Excellent world-building, great characters, but not perfect Review: I disagree with Daniel C. Sorbal. IMO Dragonflight is far, far better than Dragonquest. But Dragonquest is still very, very good! They are both very special books. This book does a great job of developing the Pern setting and some of the characters glimpsed briefly in Dragonflight. F'nor and Robinton both developed into great characters here and there was great further development of F'lar. Kylara was an interesting villainess. I was very disappointed not to see more of Lessa, who is still the most interesting character on Pern to me, but I ate up what I did see of her. I also liked Felessan and Jaxom (who becomes obnoxious in his own book) here. And I don't want to forget the dragons -- Mnementh remains my fave but I love Canth too! The rider-dragon relationships are a huge part of what makes the Pern books so special. What I loved in this book were the political dynamics of Hold vs. Weyr and between Weyrs, as well as within them. It is fascinating how, because of the dragons' courtship ritual, politics and personal relationships become intertwined, and social values become different. F'nor emerges as a romantic figure here, but I dislike Brekke & find her overly passive and co-dependent on F'nor. I did not feel sad for her, since she had neglected her responsibility to Wirenth and Pern by pining for F'nor so many years instead of giving a bronze rider a chance. She also put F'nor in a hard position, and was childish: thousands of dragonriders had sacrificed personal preferences so that human beings like Brekke could live on Pern. If Brekke had matured and got stronger, as Menolly does in the Harper books, I might have liked her better. I thought the Wirenth / Prideth conflict was a convenient plot contrivance. I would have much rather seen the mating flight go through and found out what happened if F'nor failed, or if he succeeded. Either way, that would have been a great story! Felessan tells Jaxom that F'nor and F'lar had a major argument over this, so imagine F'lar's reaction if it had gone through. Esp. since it a F'nor / Brekke pairing would've been politically divisive, posibly fraying F'lar's alliance with the oldtimers, and certainly reflected badly on Benden Weyr. Not to mention the eggs could have been affected. I thought F'lar and F'nor's relationship here was perhaps the most interesting and central to the book, wonderfully done, so I wish there had been more conflict. I also would've liked to see Kylara try to follow thorugh on her plan in regards to F'lar. So I was sorry about the queens. The Oldtimers became stock villains and changed too much from Dragonflight and too obviously to create a story. I would have liked more shades of gray in their viewpoint, it must be so hard to move 400 years into the future. The Red Star plot also seemed contrived to me; F'lar's impulsive rush was out of character as were Lessa's actions. It put a sour note in F'lar and Lessa's relationship I did not care for. But I loved the other glimpses of F'lar and Lessa's relationship -- they are so romantic to me! One of my favorite couples ever, just perfect for each other. And I also found Robinton's unrequited longing for Lessa moving. Robinton is another great character here. The wedding scene was wonderful. But Perhaps the central character in the book is Pern itself, a fascinating, complex, panaoramic and well-realized world.
Rating: Summary: This book was as good as the first! Review: I enjoyed this book as much as Dragonflight. I thought Dragonquest elaborated more on the people of Pern, not just the dragonriders. This book was more F'nor's story. Dragonflight was F'lar and Lessa's story. But Dragonquest still had the same charm as the first book. It also pulled you into the story. At times I actually felt I was a dragonrider! I would definetly recommend this book if you are a Pern fan.
Rating: Summary: Great book, beware though, you might get obsessed with it Review: I first read The Girl who Heard Dragons, suggested by a fellow student. I thought McCafferey's writing style was good and then read Dragon's Eye. That got me hooked, and I'm on my way to reading the whole darn series. Awesome man!
Rating: Summary: A Classic to Be Enjoyed Over and Over and Over Again !!!!!!! Review: I have read everything that Anne McCaffrey has written, as has my mother and brother. Now my daughter is starting to read them and thoroughly enjoys them. We read them whenever the mood strikes and I have read each one several times. Kudos to Ms. McCaffrey on a job well done. I love her characters and feel like they are all a part of the family. Wonderful reading for both men and women, no matter what their age !!!
Rating: Summary: It's okay. Review: I must say, the book was okay. But not exactly what I expected from my favorite author. No offense intended. I just feel, as some others, that Lessa's role IS diminished in this book, whereas she was my favorite character in DRAGON FLIGHT. I do like F'nor's role, though. Quotes my friend: "F'nor is cool"! I have been a sci-fi buff since my mother let me read DRAGON SONG for the first time. I like most of Anne McCaffrey's books, but this one surprised me. I must say that I don't really like the way this book is plotted. Thank you.
Rating: Summary: This is a good book! Review: I read this book and was on my toes the whole time!I just started reading Anne's books and they are FANTASTIC!If you want to read some good books,go for Anne McCaffrey's DragonRiders of Pern series!
Rating: Summary: Visit Scenic Pern! Review: If you're familiar with Pern, you've undoubtably read this book, or else you don't need to read a review to help you decide to read this one. If you haven't visited Pern, here's your chance! This is the second book in the series. It's helpful to have read Dragonflight, but not essential. All but two of the books (Dragonsong and Dragonsinger)are standalones. This book starts seven years after Dragonflight. Lessa's attempt to bring almost 2000 dragons and their riders forward in time to defend the people of Pern from the Thread that falls from the sky, devouring everything organic it touches has been successful... Despite a real thread - I mean threat -- to every living thing on Pern, people manuver for political power, often running over whoever is in their way. F'lar (hero of the first book) ignores stories of abuses of power until his brother is assaulted when he gets in the way of an "oldtimer" dragonrider who is trying to extort goods from a smith. To make matters worse, Thread, which has been perfectly predictable for the last seven yearsm has started deviating from its set pattern, making it even more dangerous. F'lar hatches a plan to go to the source of Thread (the Red Star) and destroy it there... McCaffrey's characters are believable and likable. In Pern, she has created a world so complete, that you feel if you could go there, you would know who the people were, recognize the colors of the various Holds, Weyrs and Halls, know what food you were being served. Not only is this book a great read, it's a must for any aspiring writer who wants to create worlds of his/her own.
Rating: Summary: My favorite in all the Pern books. Review: If you've been nosing around the reviews of the later books, you might have noticed a general feeling that Anne McCaffrey's latest efforts on Pern aren't up to par. I have to agree with that, because in my opinion, this is the book that sets the standard the later books are failing to live up to. There's so much going on in this book--from the conflicts with the Oldtimers that show how much Pern changed in its long Interval, to the rediscovery of the fire lizards and the re-colonization of the Southern Continent, the ascendancy of Benden Weyr as the primary power on Pern, and the question of whether Thread can be destroyed on Red Star--and there's a huge cast of characters from both Weyr and Hold, along with an in-depth visualization of the world of Pern and its culture and traditions, both past and present. Yet all this is focused through a core cast of well-defined characters whose personal stories are not neglected. There's room among all that world-changing for a tender love story, personal courage, and success against all odds. And the dragons--gotta have dragons! :) The plot is conveyed with not only a cohesiveness, but an immediacy missing from the later books. Here, I'm right there with the Southern weyrfolk as they rediscover fire-lizards, right there with F'nor as he peers at the Red Star through that distance-viewer. Reading All The Weyrs of Pern--itself one of the best of the later books--is like reading a report about what the characters did next instead of being there. In Dragonquest, there's no question that the main characters are the movers and shakers of this planet, and that what they do will change their world--and that I care what those changes will be. I highly recommend Dragonquest, in fact all of the Dragonriders trilogy. If you've read the newer stuff, you are sure to like this as well...and if you haven't read the newer books yet, read this first so that you'll care when you do.
Rating: Summary: My favorite in all the Pern books. Review: If you've been nosing around the reviews of the later books, you might have noticed a general feeling that Anne McCaffrey's latest efforts on Pern aren't up to par. I have to agree with that, because in my opinion, this is the book that sets the standard the later books are failing to live up to. There's so much going on in this book--from the conflicts with the Oldtimers that show how much Pern changed in its long Interval, to the rediscovery of the fire lizards and the re-colonization of the Southern Continent, the ascendancy of Benden Weyr as the primary power on Pern, and the question of whether Thread can be destroyed on Red Star--and there's a huge cast of characters from both Weyr and Hold, along with an in-depth visualization of the world of Pern and its culture and traditions, both past and present. Yet all this is focused through a core cast of well-defined characters whose personal stories are not neglected. There's room among all that world-changing for a tender love story, personal courage, and success against all odds. And the dragons--gotta have dragons! :) The plot is conveyed with not only a cohesiveness, but an immediacy missing from the later books. Here, I'm right there with the Southern weyrfolk as they rediscover fire-lizards, right there with F'nor as he peers at the Red Star through that distance-viewer. Reading All The Weyrs of Pern--itself one of the best of the later books--is like reading a report about what the characters did next instead of being there. In Dragonquest, there's no question that the main characters are the movers and shakers of this planet, and that what they do will change their world--and that I care what those changes will be. I highly recommend Dragonquest, in fact all of the Dragonriders trilogy. If you've read the newer stuff, you are sure to like this as well...and if you haven't read the newer books yet, read this first so that you'll care when you do.
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