A review by galliexyc
Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

2.0

I understand how someone could be a fan of this series - it was surely a seminal work for the 'dragon' sub-field of fantasy/sci-fi that followed and continues to occupy a niche within the field... I also get there is a certain pre-teen eroticism to the weird kind of coerced dragon sex. However, as an adult reading this book in 2020, I am horrified by the Smurf-like sexual isolation and idolation of women in this world, as well as the extreme lack of consent involved in the MC's relationship with her 'love interest' who openly acknowledges raping her. The MC is physically and emotionally abused by this man and constantly put down by others in her community. Beyond that, she and all characters lack depth and personality. I was deeply horrified to discover in the author's afterward that Anne McCaffrey wrote, quote, "as a protest against the absurd and unrealistic portrayals of women in science fiction novels in the '50s and early '60s". I am not well-read in the genre in this particular frame of time, but I shudder to think what the norm was if this is progressive young adult media.