Dragonseye

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Summary: The Masterharper of Pern
Review: Several years ago a friend introduced me to Fantasy books. Anne Mccaffrey was 1 of the first writers I read, starting a long history of cruising book shops.MasterHarper is the latest in the Pern series, it is set a way back in the story which gets confusing but I thorougly enjoyed it.

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Summary: A very interesting book
Review: I thought Dragonseye was a superb book. A decendent of the first Fort wyerleaders (Sean and Sorka), K'vin has the dubious honor of being the Telgar Wyerleader at the start of the Second Pass. Also, a Lord Holder named Chalkin will not beleive that Thread will fall. This horrible Lord abuses his people (i.e. left to freeze, starve, high taxes)to no extent. I have no doubts this is where the dislike for Bitrans originated! It also follows the lives of a gifted painter and a green wyerling pair. It also shows the start of various traditions the Pernese take for granted. This book resembles the others of its elk, but it has its own spark to it. I strongly suggest this book to lovers of the Dragons of Pern!! :)

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Summary: Red Star Rising
Review: I enjoyed this as a fill-in for the history of PERN but my copy is defintely called Red Star Rising not Dragonseye!

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Summary: Delightful In Some Aspects--Distressing In Others.
Review: I was first introduced to the world of Pern when I was ten; I devoured most of the series at eleven, and have faithfully read each new installment since. _Dragonseye_ is not quite up to the level of _Dragonflight_ or _Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern_, perhaps--but it's far from the worst in the series, and while it does have problems for many readers, there are some positive aspects, too.

Starting with those: in _Dragonseye_, we are given the tale of Artist Iantine and newly-Impressed greenrider Debera; we learn how the Harper Hall was founded; we get a fascinating glimpse at life on Pern in the Second Pass. The Chalkin plot was intriguing while it lasted. The new characters were, for the most part, wonderfully constructed, and I wish that there were going to be more books about them. I would love to find out how Iantine ends up!

However, most of the negative things said by other reviewers are also true, in my opinion. The cover: it's... um... bad. The portrayal of homosexuals: also not what I would hope for; Anne has shown that she can write sympathetic and realistic gay protagonists before (K'lon comes to mind), but for whatever reason, she didn't do so in this book. P'tero and M'leng are embodiments of too many negative homosexual male stereotypes--they seem more like living stereotypes than real people, in fact. The portrayal of heterosexuals: I'm not sure how many other people were bothered by the scene wherein K'vin and Zulaya 'realize their affections,' but the idea that women long to be sexually dominated by men wasn't one that thrilled me. The plot: the main plot of the book ends too soon, and in a way that was a little too pat for my tastes. Everything afterwards seemed anticlimactic, almost unnecessary, even though it was interesting material in its own right. And in general, there were just too many subplots for one book of this size; none were, I thought, handled as thoroughly as they deserved to be. I was left wanting more.

I really wouldn't recommend that newcomers to the marvelous world of Pern begin their explorations with this particular novel. _Dragonflight_ or the Harper Hall trilogy would be a better choice. _Dragonseye_ isn't a book that the fervent Pern fan could possibly miss, though--and even those who are somewhat less fervent should probably give it a try. It's definitely worth reading, even if it isn't McCaffrey's best.

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Summary: The sky is falling?
Review: Ok, ok, so I couldn't pass up another chance to see what this Anne McCaffrey is all about. A friend loaned this 2-cassette abridgment he'd picked up. Though this is not the first of the Pern novels, it does seem to stand on its own. The colonists of Pern are faced with a threat from a rogue planet that passes only every 250 years or so, so their history tells. The time is approaching and the dragons that have been genetically engineered and bred for this threat are ready. Some don't believe the tale though and one, Lord Chalkin of Bitra hold, has refused to warn his population or take any action to protect his land from the deadly spawn that radiates from the planet in threads. Definitely worth a read.

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Summary: Not bad, not great, either.
Review: While I liked reading about how the transition of Pern from technology to medievalogy(is that a word?;) came about, it was a bit boring in some parts. Also I seriously think we could have done *without* the gay love scene.....ugh.....

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Summary: Wonderful Anne McCaffrey outshines with this one
Review: I started reading the Dragonriders of Pern many years ago and have never been disappointed by any of the books including this one. It explains many questions that any true Pern fan asks deep in their core as they read these fabulous books. From Finger Rock to the Harper Hall you will learn how these came into being. Anne McCaffrey writes books that can be read again and again (Believe me I've read the complete series four times and am now working on number five!) Enjoy this book as I know you certainly will.

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Summary: Fills gaps
Review: I first read this book as Red Star Rising (UK edition), and loved it. It fills the gaps in much of the story line as to how various institutions (Harper hall, various craft guilds), were formed. It is not as action oriented as some of the other dragon series, but for those who enjoy the background material, it is well worth it.

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Summary: hardcore dragonlover & mccaffrey fan
Review: I fell in love with dragon's after reading the Dragonrider's trilogy. This is a must have for any serious fan of this series. Even though there is no outstanding character such as F'lar or Lessa in this book, it truly does bring the history of Pern to life for me. I look for any book from McCaffrey that may have anything at all to do with Pern or my beloved dragons.

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Summary: It's exactly what I've been looking and longing for.
Review: All of Annes books are a dream come true for anyone looking for a little bit of magic and mystery. I was hooked after this one.