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mdpenguin's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I loved this series when I was a kid and thought it would be fun to pick it up again now. I remember thinking that the world was really fun, the idea that real science got corrupted over time was nifty, the characters were relatable, and that McCaffrey's writing was good. The first two of these still holds true after revisiting this volume, but I'm pretty disappointed in the characters and the writing style.
As far as the characters go, Lessa isn't bad. Sometimes she can seem a little thick in the beginning, but she's a good, brave heroic figure who believably moves the plot forward. F'lar, though, is pretty awful. For the most part he's just obnoxious and I don't really understand why he's supposed to inspire loyalty. He vacillated between being a reactionary and a revolutionary. His relationship with Lessa is positively abusive: aside from the fact that he seems completely unwilling to give her any of the information she would need to succeed even where he wants her to, he physically shakes her when he's upset with her (which is half the time) and his sexual relationship with her is centered around him raping her and not understanding why she doesn't accept his affections. I actually remembered that part when I read his thoughts on it and remember that even when I was a kid I thought it was disturbing. Probably his only redeeming feature is that he willingly defers to other men who have more expertise than he does and does listen to other people's concerns (though generally not Lessa's).
I'm trying to figure out why I thought that the writing was good when I was a kid. That's not something that I cared about as much then as I do now, but I do remember specifically liking the writing in this series. It's possible that I thought that the little snippets of ballads that act like dingbats between sections of the story were neat or something. Now I find the writing rather dry, with an affected style of dialogue that comes across as forced and a rather haphazard approach to descriptiveness. It's not terrible, but it's not good. It is good enough to get the story and the ideas behind it across without getting in the way, though.
I first read this series – or at least a big chunk of it – when I was in lower and middle school. I picked them up after my brother left them lying around and occasionally got one from the library and don't think that I read any two of them in order unless they were published together. That being the case, it's very possible that my opinion of this particular volume back then was colored by what I already knew of the series and it's possible that I enjoyed it more for the way that it provided back-story for the world that I was already engaged with. I think that I'll at least read the next book and see if my opinion changes: my fonder memories are of the Harper Hall series and one or two of the later books, so I'll probably read at least to the start of those.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Rape
cerilouisereads's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny
keelirae113's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Kidnapping, and Grief
jackiepreston's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I can see why this book/series has inspired so many fantasy writers since it was published, but reading it for the first time with a solid background in fantasy, it was slow and a little boring in parts. The entire first section (of four) was so slow I almost put the book down. Only my curiosity about why this series has been so enduring got me to push through it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism and Injury/Injury detail
uranaishi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Infidelity, Rape, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
My mother put me onto these books and I knew the premise of the world but had never actually got around to reading them for myself until recently. I got the "searing spore-threads fall from the sky and need to be cleared by dragon mounted riders before the spores land and carnage ensues".. but now I understand why this series is known for having a convoluted timeline. Timespace teleporting dragons.
Set on Pern, a planet that is an abandoned human colony, we have a moderately low-tech setting with its own distinct flora and fauna. Having read the Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums books I'm now wondering which order I should read the other titles in! Despite being first published in 1968, I was interested to see that the language used in the writing was still pretty modern in feel. I wonder if this is because of the setting being pseudo-medieval; it's a lot easier to age "modern" and "futuristic" settings by how prominent cigarettes are and how clunky the tech and attitudes toward it feel.
I enjoyed the story of a woman who has had hardships but is no saint. She can be impulsive and messes up frequently and is very stubborn, in ways that male characters in fantasy have often been allowed to get away with unchallenged. It's refreshing to see someone powerful and self-directed, and interesting to see her being sneaky and under-handed while still basically likeable. She is powerful but gets overwhelmed in utterly overwhelming situations, and this humanises her quite a bit.
I can see how Anne McCaffrey has been really influential in fantasy writing. Her basic sci-fi sensibilities underpin a fantasy that is immersive and believable. The magic of it is mysterious and we get a sense that we are experiencing something that is not what we know, but only because we haven't learned enough yet. This is key to magical realism that really grabs me.. (and thinking on that I can see why books like Thief's Magic by Trudi Canavan really caught my attention). It's internally consistent.
Looking forward to reading more of these as I get hold of them!
Set on Pern, a planet that is an abandoned human colony, we have a moderately low-tech setting with its own distinct flora and fauna. Having read the Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums books I'm now wondering which order I should read the other titles in! Despite being first published in 1968, I was interested to see that the language used in the writing was still pretty modern in feel. I wonder if this is because of the setting being pseudo-medieval; it's a lot easier to age "modern" and "futuristic" settings by how prominent cigarettes are and how clunky the tech and attitudes toward it feel.
I enjoyed the story of a woman who has had hardships but is no saint. She can be impulsive and messes up frequently and is very stubborn, in ways that male characters in fantasy have often been allowed to get away with unchallenged. It's refreshing to see someone powerful and self-directed, and interesting to see her being sneaky and under-handed while still basically likeable. She is powerful but gets overwhelmed in utterly overwhelming situations, and this humanises her quite a bit.
I can see how Anne McCaffrey has been really influential in fantasy writing. Her basic sci-fi sensibilities underpin a fantasy that is immersive and believable. The magic of it is mysterious and we get a sense that we are experiencing something that is not what we know, but only because we haven't learned enough yet. This is key to magical realism that really grabs me.. (and thinking on that I can see why books like Thief's Magic by Trudi Canavan really caught my attention). It's internally consistent.
Looking forward to reading more of these as I get hold of them!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Classism
trillingconclusion's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Fatphobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
mirtlifthewise's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Toxic relationship and Violence
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