Dragonseye

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Summary: Interesting pre-history of Pern
Review: I enjoyed this book, for the simple fact that it did fill in some of "lost" reasons and existence of topics from the first Pern books. But I do not like the cover, it really does look like a flying pig (more like a fetal pig). I am curious why some reviewers act like Ms. McCaffrey has cheated them, since the characters are, to some degree, softer than they usually are. It's a book, it's enjoyable, so enjoy it

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Summary: Anne's Done It Again!
Review: The owner of my local bookstore was as happy to see this book arrive as I was. She was getting a bit tired of my daily checks on whether the book was in yet. The book did not disappoint me in any way! It lived up to the other books in Anne's Pern series. I even gave the book as a gift to a friend inspite of the ugly cover. My guess is that who ever did the art work wasn't really a fan of the Dragons of Pern, or the dragons wouldn't have been so UGLY

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Summary: OK, but noticed one big anachronism.
Review: I generally enjoy Ms. McCaffrey's works, but the characterizations in this book didn't live up to her usual excellence. The big anachronism concerns the AIVAS "turning itself off." AIVAS doesn't turn itself off until the end of All the Weyrs of Pern. The reason AIVAS isn't available to the second pass Pernese is because it is buried under 20 feet of volcanic ash. Regarding 200 year old computers. Why not? A friend of mine has a 20 year old computer that still works fine. I imagine the Federation of Sentient Planets would have better computers than we have now. Especially as no one complained about AIVAS and the Yokahama still working after more than 2000 Pern years.

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Summary: Okay, not her greatest. And what's with the flying pig?
Review: This book was better than The Dolphins of Pern, but not near as good as any of McCaffrey's earlier works. The main "bad guy", a Lord Chalkin of Bitra, seemed so stereotyped in the beginning I nearly threw away the book in disgust. And what is with all these other sensless characters? There was too much jumping aroung form character to character and I never really CARED about any of them. However, once you get past the first 80 or so pages, it begins to get more interesting, if you've read the others in the Dragonriders series. I say if because if you haven't,despite the introduction or preface or whatever she calls it in this one, you won't have a clue what is going on. But if you have read the other books, you may find it fascinating to hear about the creation of the Star Stones and Teaching Ballads. What I thought was good was the way McCaffrey showed us these people gradually losing thier technology, and the Earth terms that are replaced by Pernese ones in the later-timed books (ie some people said Turn, others said year, showing the transition from old to new). It's sort of an opposite of All the Weyrs (losing their technology and Earth heritage, instead of regaining it in All the Weyrs), and I thought THIS was the interesting part. If McCaffrey had remembered her old style of writing (ie given us decent characters), this could have been a masterpice. But it wasn't. Thought I do reccommend it to fans of Pern history and McCaffrey's skill at worldbuilding. One final comment: WHAT is with this new artist? What happened to my hero, Michael Whelan? Why does the dragon on the front look like a pig with wings? (Hmm..maybe he's trying to make a statement: Anne McCaffrey will lose her gift of characterization when pigs fly. I guess the cover IS appropriate. Sigh.

Rating:
Summary: What happened to the /old/ McCaffrey style?
Review: What happened to Anne's old style of writing, in which we closely follow one, or at most two, main characters as they explore their way through a series of hardships and discoveries? Since The Renegades of Pern, the books seem to loose that special ingredient that draws us in and allows us to sympathize with a certain character, and is replacesd with a broad overview of several main characters. DragonsEye is even more so, jumping around from character to character, never really resting on one long enough to truly understand him or her. Don't get me wrong, this IS a good piece of fiction, and as such I'd rate it about an 8. But as one who was spoilt on her earlier writings, I have to say I am a bit dissappointed. Other readers who prefer her earlier books might want to try Sing the Light by Louise Marley

Rating:
Summary: Great book, lousy cover.
Review: Just a word to the publishers of this book, the story is really great (as we have come to expect from Mrs.McCaffrey)but the cover is enough to drive any new reader of the dragonriders books miles away. Do something about it, hire a half-decent artist

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Summary: NEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: This is a brand new area never before covered by Anne McCaffrey and the pern followings it gives you a load of new characters and suroundings A MUST READ!!

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Summary: Welcome back, Dragonriders of Pern
Review: I only discovered Anne McCaffrey as an author about a year ago. Since then I've read all of her books -- my favorites being the Dragonriders of Pern series. I love the concept, high tech to no tech, but with magical and wonderful dragons. I await each new book in the series with eager anticipation and was thrilled to be the first person in the library to read Dragonseye. I love that she went back and revisited an earlier time in Pern's history and created a whole new cast of characters for me to remember. Anne, I hope you never stop revisiting Pern and its Dragonriders and Lord Holders and Dragons

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Summary: A must read for Pern lovers
Review: I've been a fan of Anne McCaffrey's Pern books for a very long time. In fact, the first hardcover book I bought (starting a long, expensive tradition) was McCaffrey's "The White Dragon." That's why I was thrilled when I heard of the publication of Dragonseye. This book takes us back to the early days of Pern, to the second fall of Thread, the deadly organism that strikes Pern every 200 years. The computers are dead, and Pern's leaders are concerned that future generations will not recognize the upcoming Threadfall and know how to prepare. This is the generation that composes the wonderful songs that warn of Threadfall and develops other ways to inform their descendants of the coming of the Red Star which brings Thread. It's a great read, whether for a new Pern fan or an existing one like me. The next thing I'm going to do is reread my other Pern books

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Summary: Read the content, throw away the cover!
Review: Once again, Anne fills in more of the tantalizing, elusive history of Pern, including giving us a deeper glimpse into the minds and lives of dragons, riders, holders and craftsmen. I love the way she has gone back and fleshed out the heritage, answered our questions - even the little ones - like, if green dragons are female, why weren't women impressing them by the day and age of Dragonflight? Fans of this series will enjoy this continuing history. My only gripe was, of all things, the book cover. The new artist depicted the ugliest dragons I've ever seen! Words like stumpy, thick-necked, snail-headed come to mind. Anne, go back to your old artist