Rating: 
Summary: Great book, but needs a sequel
Review: I thought this was a really good book. There wasn't much action, but it didn't need action to make it good. It isn't a groundbreaking novel in terms of new events on Pern, but it fills in a lot of detail. Robinton is one of the most complex and interesting characters I've seen in ANY book, and all Pern fans MUST read this book.I feel very strongly on this one point. Masterharper of Pern NEEDS a sequel. I mean, this book only goes up to Fax's death! Menolly hasn't made an appearance, F'lar isn't Weyrleader yet, Lessa hasn't even impressed!!!!! Robinton hasn't even got Zair yet, for Pete's sake! I'd love to see a sequel that covers the time from Lessa's Impression up to around Robinton's death. As for Robinton's age, I've figured it around to be 82 when he died. He was nine years old when he and his mother went to Benden Hold, and I think he was ten when he sang the Question Song for the Weyrleaders at Benden Weyr. At that same meeting, S'loner says that they have a! nother 50 years until the next Pass, which would make him 60 when the Ninth Pass started. In Dolphins, it says Robinton died in the 22nd year of the Pass. Add 60 and 22 and you get 82.
Rating: 
Summary: Regrets?
Review: Anne is brilliant at the near miss. Many of her books have situations where things are about to fall into place and at the last minute everything goes wrong. Robinton's story compounds this. You KNOW what is going to happen. You can see an event coming and then......nothing. It's over. Very frustrating. I enjoyed the book and having read it I can see that Robinton was more valuable to Pern as a harper than a dragonrider but.... regrets again. In place the story was a little disjointed. A lot of emphasis put on a time span of a few hours then it changes to a lot of emphasis on a time span of years then scarce emphasis on a time span again. Good thing I was sitting down or I would have fallen over!
Rating:
Summary: This book will strum all of your emotional chords.
Review: I wondered when I bought this unabridged book on tape if a novel dedicated so strongly to the harper hall would fully hold my attention. I need not have worried. The author draws you in quickly and completely and one cannot help but care deeply for young Robinton. I definitely liked the excellent writing and "reading" of the novel, as well as its ability to seize and hold my interest. I was unprepared for and disliked, however, the large number of funerals the book visited upon me before finally drawing to a somewhat disappointing conclusion. I was also disappointed that besides being something of a "downer" that the novel failed to bring much closure to the relationship between Robinton and his father. Am I glad I read this book? Absolutely. Would I read it again? Possibly, but not anytime soon.
Rating:
Summary: Everything you ever wondered about the Masterharper...
Review: This book is an interesting read for die-hard dragonfans such as myself-- if only because it fills in Robinton's background. I think it is particularly fitting that McCaffrey focussed a novel around Robinton-- he has never been a central character in the Pern books, but his role has always been pivotal, both as witness, advisor, and spur to action. He has deserved this new attention. I also disagree with some of the other reviews posted here-- Robinton's troubles with his father help explain his support and understanding of Menolly's plight. Also, presumably, Petiron learned from his mistakes with his son... Menolly was his chance to make it all up. One stupid beef with the book-- as in the case with many of her later Pern books, there are many inconsistencies. The one that annoyed me the most was Sebell-- in Dragonquest he was a scruffy young apprentice at the wedding feast (seven years after Thread's advent), yet in this latest book he's already a journeyman well before the beginning of Thread. Wouldn't he be too old for Menolly if this is the case? Generally, a great read for the seasoned McCaffrey fan-- not for beginners.
Rating: 
Summary: excellent pern book, but not for a new reader
Review: A very good story, like all of Mccaffery's PERN books, but probably not the best choice for a reader new to Pern. If you are already familiar with Pern, I highly recommend this book, it fleshes out a lot of details missing from the other books. -omar
Rating:
Summary: Shards! What a great book!
Review: For all the Dragon Rider lovers out there, you shouldn't miss the story of Perns Master Harper. I really love the way Anne takes one of her characters and gives us their life in detail and it always meshes so well with her other books where that particular character wasn't the main one in the story.
Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE BEST PERN BOOKS YET!!
Review: Amazingly written, this story goes into the details of Robinton and Petrion that I always wanted to know. I was already hooked on the Pern books, and this is just the latest in an amazing series of interesting novels. "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven" The lines stated at Robinton's death in "All the Weyrs of Pern," the best novel in the series, END
Rating:
Summary: The book of lost tales
Review: The Masterharper of Pern tells us the "Lost tales" of Pern before the modern era when we meet Lessa. How Robinton knew and related to all the dragonriders. Explaines the attitudes of the Lord Holders who believed thread would no longer fall. Gives us a history of Fax. And because I especially enjoyed the stories of Menolly, I finally found out why Petiron was so reserved with respect to her talents. It gives great background to the original tales.
Rating:
Summary: Not for first-time Pern visitors!
Review: I could not put this book down!! Masterharper Robinton is one of my favorite Pern characters, and it was a joy to get a look into his early life. I found it especially interesting that he could speak to dragons- not as well as Lessa or Brekke, perhaps- but he could, none the less. And he is also the first male character to have that ability. While this is truly an excellent book, it is really for long-time Pern fans who know who Robinton is and the basic situations he lives through. (I mean, if you didn't know who Fax was to begin with, his presence in the story might seem pointless.) Also, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Robinton did have a child, and that he was none other than Camo! Although I believe Anne McCaffery could have done a little more with the struggle Robinton had in regard to his handicapped son, I still found it worthy of Robinton that he was still able to love his child despite his handicap. I also loved Nip and Tuck-(although I wonder if Nip isn't somehow related to Piemur- they both are very similar in personality.), and the unique replay of the opening scenes of Dragonflight. I will have a completely new perspective on that scene, now that I know that Robinton was present. It was nice to get to know F'lon, and to find out F'lar and F'nor's unshortened names. Good Heavens! I would've shortened my name too! Fallarnon and Famanoran? Geeze. All the same, it answered a question that has been plaguing me for some time. All in all, a truly wonderful read- but really for dragonfans, not beginners. Can't wait for the next one!!!
Rating:
Summary: The best McCaffrey novel ever written!
Review: I loved this book. I couldn't put it down until the end of the story. I have always wanted to know what happened before Dragonflight, and this book does a really good job of telling you. There are several slight discrepancies, such as the name of the queen dragon before Nemorth (in Dragonflight it's listed as something totally different then how it appeared here), and several others, none of them detracting from the content of the story, however. There is one slight thing I'd like to know, and that is Robinton's exact age. My friends and I have contemplated this possibility, and come up with ages anywhere from 55 to 200. Somebody help us! At any rate, this book does a brilliant job of filling in the Masterharper's past. (I never knew he was married!) I loved this book and would recommend it highly to other McCaffrey fans.
| 
