myth's review against another edition
This review is going to sound dramatic. Fair warning.
I said I was going to finish this. I really was going to. Then I hit a thing I couldn't get past.
Was it, as you might assume, one of the mentions of 14 year old Terin being considered a woman while in a relationship with an adult man, with 'many younger than her' settled already? To my shame, no. I read Sarah J Maas novels and critique them, okay? I'm no stranger to gross relationships.
Was it the clumsy dialogue? The piss-poor prose? The use of 'very silent'? (one is or is not silent. There is no 'very' here). Maybe the constant obsession with babies and clear lack of research on pregnancy and human women in general? Alas, no.
It was almost the constant interchangeably ridden dragons. That almost got me. Lorana hijacked not only someone else's dragon, but the SENIOR QUEEN DRAGON OF A WEYR for an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LONG TERM MULTI-TIME-TRAVELLING TELEPORTATION JOURNEY. That almost got me. People treating Tullea as if she was being unreasonable that someone was riding her dragon around willy-nilly on a dangerous journey? Nearly got me. The sudden Cryptic Mystical Prophecy and Storied Destiny? Nearly got me.
But no, friends. I stayed, because I said I would finish. I said I would. I nearly did. The line that broke me?
"You could have my queen, if you want."
No. I am literally, physically sick to my stomach. No. I grew up with Pern. I read every Dragonriders novel I could get my hands on. I have the Atlas of Pern. I have the Dragonlover's Guide to Pern. I have the People of Pern. I have the CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE NOVELS OF PERN. The Dragonriders of Pern 2001 PC game? I had to carefully save before walking into the hatching ground so I could redo it until the randomized thing picked the Weyrwoman I wanted to Impress. I still have the lists of dragonriders I made up in highschool because I made an entire cast of characters for it, including drawing out a hypothetical Telgar Weyr layout.
I'm not even angry. I feel sick, that's how disappointed I am in Todd McCaffrey's Pern novels. I was nearly in tears earlier. I might finally understand how a lot of Harry Potter fans feel about The Cursed Child, though I'm having a hard time believing in the moment that they feel this strongly about it (I mean, intellectually I believe it. Emotionally I'm still in disbelief).
Pleasant reminder that despite my ongoing one sided feud with the books of a certain author, this remains the worst book I have ever read in my life and I am currently 44% of the way through Handbook for Mortals. I have read all three 50 Shades books. I’ve read an unreasonable number of Terry Goodkind books.
This one is worse.
I said I was going to finish this. I really was going to. Then I hit a thing I couldn't get past.
Was it, as you might assume, one of the mentions of 14 year old Terin being considered a woman while in a relationship with an adult man, with 'many younger than her' settled already? To my shame, no. I read Sarah J Maas novels and critique them, okay? I'm no stranger to gross relationships.
Was it the clumsy dialogue? The piss-poor prose? The use of 'very silent'? (one is or is not silent. There is no 'very' here). Maybe the constant obsession with babies and clear lack of research on pregnancy and human women in general? Alas, no.
It was almost the constant interchangeably ridden dragons. That almost got me. Lorana hijacked not only someone else's dragon, but the SENIOR QUEEN DRAGON OF A WEYR for an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LONG TERM MULTI-TIME-TRAVELLING TELEPORTATION JOURNEY. That almost got me. People treating Tullea as if she was being unreasonable that someone was riding her dragon around willy-nilly on a dangerous journey? Nearly got me. The sudden Cryptic Mystical Prophecy and Storied Destiny? Nearly got me.
But no, friends. I stayed, because I said I would finish. I said I would. I nearly did. The line that broke me?
"You could have my queen, if you want."
No. I am literally, physically sick to my stomach. No. I grew up with Pern. I read every Dragonriders novel I could get my hands on. I have the Atlas of Pern. I have the Dragonlover's Guide to Pern. I have the People of Pern. I have the CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE NOVELS OF PERN. The Dragonriders of Pern 2001 PC game? I had to carefully save before walking into the hatching ground so I could redo it until the randomized thing picked the Weyrwoman I wanted to Impress. I still have the lists of dragonriders I made up in highschool because I made an entire cast of characters for it, including drawing out a hypothetical Telgar Weyr layout.
I'm not even angry. I feel sick, that's how disappointed I am in Todd McCaffrey's Pern novels. I was nearly in tears earlier. I might finally understand how a lot of Harry Potter fans feel about The Cursed Child, though I'm having a hard time believing in the moment that they feel this strongly about it (I mean, intellectually I believe it. Emotionally I'm still in disbelief).
Pleasant reminder that despite my ongoing one sided feud with the books of a certain author, this remains the worst book I have ever read in my life and I am currently 44% of the way through Handbook for Mortals. I have read all three 50 Shades books. I’ve read an unreasonable number of Terry Goodkind books.
This one is worse.
bookarian's review against another edition
3.0
The story continues, new characters are met, old acquaintances become new friends, but don't try and start with this one, you'll want to go to the beginning of the series.
roklobster's review against another edition
2.0
I have to call bullshit. After decades and oodles of books that describe between as a place cold and devoid of all sensory input to the people and dragons who pass through it, THEY HAD PEOPLE TOUCHING AND FINDING THINGS BETWEEN.
No.
JUST NO.
Also, too many characters have names like too many other characters and for the love of god, does everyone who comes in contact with Fiona HAVE TO IMPRESS A DRAGON!??!?!
Just too much outside the realm and world of the dragonriders of pern that I grew up with.
Bah.
No.
JUST NO.
Also, too many characters have names like too many other characters and for the love of god, does everyone who comes in contact with Fiona HAVE TO IMPRESS A DRAGON!??!?!
Just too much outside the realm and world of the dragonriders of pern that I grew up with.
Bah.
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
valerielong's review against another edition
4.0
Dragon's Time by Anne & Todd McCaffrey is the 23rd book in the Dragonriders of Pern series.
As I do with most Anne McCaffrey books (and by extension those by Todd McCaffrey as well), I devoured this book. I enjoyed every part of it except for the epilogue. I felt like someone told the authors to take the next 3 or 4 books and smoosh them all together in one short epilogue.
There are places in the book that can get a bit confusing, but the confusion comes from a chunk of the main plot, so I don't want to give it away. All I can say is don't give up on it! It does make sense if you keep reading!
I've been impressed by Todd McCaffrey's ability to "play in his mother's sandbox" (that's how he puts it). When he first started writing Pern novels, I wasn't sure I was going to like his writing style, but now that we're several books into it, I find that I almost like his characters more! He has developed several well-rounded, complex characters and I enjoy reading the interplay between them and watching them grow and develop.
All in all, an excellent new installment to the Pern series!
As I do with most Anne McCaffrey books (and by extension those by Todd McCaffrey as well), I devoured this book. I enjoyed every part of it except for the epilogue. I felt like someone told the authors to take the next 3 or 4 books and smoosh them all together in one short epilogue.
There are places in the book that can get a bit confusing, but the confusion comes from a chunk of the main plot, so I don't want to give it away. All I can say is don't give up on it! It does make sense if you keep reading!
I've been impressed by Todd McCaffrey's ability to "play in his mother's sandbox" (that's how he puts it). When he first started writing Pern novels, I wasn't sure I was going to like his writing style, but now that we're several books into it, I find that I almost like his characters more! He has developed several well-rounded, complex characters and I enjoy reading the interplay between them and watching them grow and develop.
All in all, an excellent new installment to the Pern series!
laurla's review against another edition
- I got a little tired of the constant counting of dragons. I know they wanted to make a point of how few were left, but since they keep telling us as they die, the constant counts felt repetitive and unnecessary. lots of that could have easily been shortened/cut.
- theres a lot of loss and death in this book that made me cry numerous times.
- even with those two points, I still enjoyed the book.
"we are stars in the darkness. we burn bright, beacons for others. we cannot see our own light, only those of others. our light lights others, as their light lights us. and so while there are stars, there can never be darkness."
"you let me worry about tomorrow."
"if you don't mind, i'd prefer it if you could worry a little faster."
"how can you be so sure your wits aren't addled?"
"because they're the same wits I had yesterday, and the day before that as well."
- theres a lot of loss and death in this book that made me cry numerous times.
- even with those two points, I still enjoyed the book.
"we are stars in the darkness. we burn bright, beacons for others. we cannot see our own light, only those of others. our light lights others, as their light lights us. and so while there are stars, there can never be darkness."
"you let me worry about tomorrow."
"if you don't mind, i'd prefer it if you could worry a little faster."
"how can you be so sure your wits aren't addled?"
"because they're the same wits I had yesterday, and the day before that as well."
easolinas's review against another edition
1.0
It's official: Anne McCaffrey should have retired the Pern series, rather than handing it off to her profoundly untalented son Todd. And we get yet another demonstration of why in "Dragon's Time," another painfully slow, tension-free story that is more soap-opera than sci-fantasy. And this time around, Todd is obsessing about something new: PREGNANCY.
Specifically, Fiona is pregnant, and everyone cares about this because she's so wonderful. Lorana WAS pregnant, but traveling through time causes her to miscarry. However, she does manage to keep hopping through time, supposedly to find help in obliterating the thread in the present... although most of it just seems to be sightseeing.
Meanwhile, everybody is delighted by the fact that Fiona is pregnant, even when another woman miscarries. Fiona "adopts" more random people into her little family, Lorana pops in and out of the plot, and dragon eggs are attacked by tunnel snakes. Think that McCaffrey has run out of plot ideas?
There's supposed to be a lot going on in "Dragon's Time," but you wouldn't know it by actually READING the book. I mean, main characters DIE, two women miscarry their babies, and Pern is about to be obliterated by the Thread... and all anyone seems to care about is that Fiona is knocked up.
In fact, Todd McCaffrey seems weirdly obsessed with pregnancy in this book, since a good chunk of the story is devoted to what happens to the female characters' pregnancies. Occasionally he throws in some brain-meltingly confusing time travel stuff, or some truly horrifying romantic dialogue ("Shut up harper, and get into bed. I want your apology in silence").
And once again, McCaffrey seems to think that readers will adore Fiona as much as he does. Well, I don't. She comes across as a twee, syrupy Mary Sue who exudes love and peace -- one nauseating scene has all the other characters discussing how wonderful she is, and how they would even DIE for her. This sentiment is REVOLTING when it comes from a woman whose unborn child had just died.
As a result, the other characters are pretty much shortchanged. They seem to exist mainly as a cult to the pregnant mother goddess Fiona, and any hints of tension or dislike are quickly swamped under a sticky sea of oppressively warm'n'fuzzy feelings. Lorana is vaguely interesting, but too much of a silent martyr to be engaging.
It also doesn't seem like this book was proofread by an editor. There are frequent mistakes in punctuation, run-on sentences, and the phrase "She point to the worst spot."
"Dragon's Time" might as well have been called "Drags-on Time," because not much actually happens -- but hey, Fiona is pregnant, and that's all that apparently matters. This cash cow needs to be taken to the slaughterhouse.
Specifically, Fiona is pregnant, and everyone cares about this because she's so wonderful. Lorana WAS pregnant, but traveling through time causes her to miscarry. However, she does manage to keep hopping through time, supposedly to find help in obliterating the thread in the present... although most of it just seems to be sightseeing.
Meanwhile, everybody is delighted by the fact that Fiona is pregnant, even when another woman miscarries. Fiona "adopts" more random people into her little family, Lorana pops in and out of the plot, and dragon eggs are attacked by tunnel snakes. Think that McCaffrey has run out of plot ideas?
There's supposed to be a lot going on in "Dragon's Time," but you wouldn't know it by actually READING the book. I mean, main characters DIE, two women miscarry their babies, and Pern is about to be obliterated by the Thread... and all anyone seems to care about is that Fiona is knocked up.
In fact, Todd McCaffrey seems weirdly obsessed with pregnancy in this book, since a good chunk of the story is devoted to what happens to the female characters' pregnancies. Occasionally he throws in some brain-meltingly confusing time travel stuff, or some truly horrifying romantic dialogue ("Shut up harper, and get into bed. I want your apology in silence").
And once again, McCaffrey seems to think that readers will adore Fiona as much as he does. Well, I don't. She comes across as a twee, syrupy Mary Sue who exudes love and peace -- one nauseating scene has all the other characters discussing how wonderful she is, and how they would even DIE for her. This sentiment is REVOLTING when it comes from a woman whose unborn child had just died.
As a result, the other characters are pretty much shortchanged. They seem to exist mainly as a cult to the pregnant mother goddess Fiona, and any hints of tension or dislike are quickly swamped under a sticky sea of oppressively warm'n'fuzzy feelings. Lorana is vaguely interesting, but too much of a silent martyr to be engaging.
It also doesn't seem like this book was proofread by an editor. There are frequent mistakes in punctuation, run-on sentences, and the phrase "She point to the worst spot."
"Dragon's Time" might as well have been called "Drags-on Time," because not much actually happens -- but hey, Fiona is pregnant, and that's all that apparently matters. This cash cow needs to be taken to the slaughterhouse.
erinngillespie's review against another edition
4.0
https://youtu.be/Bq8HmhGUwUE Caution SPOILERS !!!!!!!
angelahayes's review against another edition
5.0
Love this series of books. It's one of my all time favourites. I decided to re-read the entire Dragonriders of Pern series and over the past couple of months, I have been working my way through them all. Anne McCaffrey (Todd McCaffrey) has such a wonderful, boundless imagination and such a vivid and descriptive style, her (their) stories transport the reader into the fantastic world that she (they) created and sweeps you up on the breathtaking adventures. Spellbinding!