The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall

Rating:
Summary: Was I the only person that like "Rescue Run"?
Review: "Rescue Run" was the one about the Dolphins right? That one was my favorite! The others were good too but that one was the best!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but not as exciting as her other Pern books
Review: Although "The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall" did fill in some "gaps" in the history of Pern, not all the stories were that exciting. "Rescue Run" in particular dragged, and all the stories did not have that much happen in them. Be prepared, that each story is basically not related to any of the other stories in the book. I think "The Second Weyr" was the best story in there, especially b/c her other books had mentioned the famous Weyrwoman Torene, and here is finally the story about her (though much shorter than the justice she did to Moreta and even, for some reason, Nerilka!). Overall, a good book (but not Ms. McCaffrey's best) if you're a complete Pern series reader.

Rating:
Summary: good book but not best
Review: Every story but "Rescue Run" were really good. "Rescue Run" was very frustrating I want them to find the people in the north. "The Second Weyr" was the best. It had good people and a great plot. Keep up the good work McCaffrey!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Stories worth reading, but not listened to by this narrator
Review: I don't know where Amazon.com gets its "Synopsis" information, but this set is NOT "Read by Marina Sirtis"...it is read by Meredith MacRae (at least the set I listened to by Dove Audio produced in 1993). And therein lies the rub: I would like to hear how Marina Sirtis would read this set of stories...I've never heard her read audio books. My problem is I've been listening to Dick Hill read _Renegades of Pern_ and _Dragonsdawn_ and I am spoiled. His pacing is impressive, his voices and inflections and dialects are exceptional (I even find Hill's Robinton as endearing as the one I heard in my head when I first discovered the Masterharper in _Dragonflight_). He brings characters to life, and his narration is lively and varied and moves the story along briskly. By comparison, Meredith McRae is flat; she makes no attempt to vary her voice for different characters, she seldom changes her pace and usually seems to read in 3-word phrases. She might be a good interviewer (as the jacket indicates), but her reading is better suited to non-fiction or children's literature than to a planet and people so full of vitality as P.E.R.N. :-) and the Pernese. Of course, I admit to bias: I think Anne McCaffrey's Pern stories are the best, and these are no exception, and they deserve only the best presentation in whatever form or medium they are made available. I can only express disappointment in Dove's choice of reader for these stories. I hate giving anything of Pern a rating as low as a 5, but that is what I have to give this book as presented on cassette tape by this narrator. The stories themselves are enlightening, but I think the experience of consuming them would be better left to reading than listening to Ms MacRae.

Rating:
Summary: DO NOT START WITH THIS BOOK!!!
Review: I have been reading Pern books for well over 5 yrs. I am hooked on this series and enjoy every book I read by Anne McCaffrey. This book however is only for those, like me who enjoy learning every aspect of this world. If you are starting to read this series there is a list on Mrs. McCaffrey's web page you should fallow. It lists the books the way they were written and introduce you to the series properly.

Rating:
Summary: DO NOT START WITH THIS BOOK!!!
Review: I have been reading Pern books for well over 5 yrs. I am hooked on this series and enjoy every book I read by Anne McCaffrey. This book however is only for those, like me who enjoy learning every aspect of this world. If you are starting to read this series there is a list on Mrs. McCaffrey's web page you should fallow. It lists the books the way they were written and introduce you to the series properly.

Rating:
Summary: This book was delightful.
Review: I liked the historical perspective of this book. The author did a wonderful job of setting the stage for the Dragonrider series with the collection of stories in this novel. I loved her rich use of English language (and her masterful development of the infant Pernese language) as well as the fact that there is much descriptive terminology setting up the action and describing the characters personalities and motivation. After having read so much about Paul Bendon & all the other ancients, it was great to get some of my unanswered questions about them cleared up. I particularly liked the story about the intelligent dolphins who helped with the evacuation and the story about evil Drake,who held the murdered Japanese pilot's wife captive for years after the evacuation and his interaction with the spaceship pilot (a great grand-son of Paul Bendon, coincidentally) who rescued Drake & his captives. The book is a good read, but you should read the other books first, in the order they were written to get the right perspective to enjoy this collection.

Rating:
Summary: Dragonriders of pern
Review: I love to read all of Anne Mccaffrey books.She is a very good auther.I really like her dragonriders of pern books. My father got me into her books.He has all her books..

Rating:
Summary: Worth reading but left me unsatisfied
Review: I read this on the heels of DragonsDawn (very good). I had a thirst for more tales about the settler characters and this book does include stories about what happened to Sean, Sorka, and others introduced in DragonsDawn. But as a collection of short stories the book skips across vast periods of time and does not delve deeply into each segment. The story of the survey of Pern was mildly interesting but really could have been a single paragraph explaining that Pern is an acronym based on the survey findings. The story about the Dolphins did not engage me and I probably won't read Dolphins of Pern. The stories do tie up some loose ends within the greater Pern narrative, such as what happened to the homing beacon set off in DragonsDawn - which was entertaining but leads to something of a dead end storywise. All in all, entertaining but you won't miss too much if you skip this book.

Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ for any PERN addict looking to fill in the gaps
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed these stories! Well all except "Rescue Run" which was a very good story but extremely frustrating for me! I wanted them to be found so badly. Not to be rescued mind you but to get the recognition they deserve and to absolve Admiral Benden of any connection with Tubberman's mayday capsule."The Survey PERNc" tells the story of the much maligned Exploration and Evaluation Team and helps explain the circumstances surrounding their less than complete evaluation. "The Dolphins' Bell" shows the relationships with Dolphins in much the same way as David Brin's Startide Rising. It is exactly how I would imagine it would be... and will be very disappointed if it doesn't come to fruition someday. We have the story of the "second crossing" and meet Theo and Jim Tillek which is very interesting if you have already read "Dolphins of Pern" and if you haven't read it you will! "The Ford of Red Hanrahan" was somewhat slow reading but has some very enlightening incidents take place that give more hints as to what happened to isolate the Pernese from their history, each other and the dolphins. The practice of "fostering" begins. "The Second Weyr" was somewhat predictable but was good reading all the same. Definately left me wanting to read more about Mihall and Torene and the first turns in Benden Weyr! Keep it coming Anne!