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Dragonquest
Summary
Another Turn, and the deadly silver Threads began falling again. So the bold dragonriders took to the air once more and their magnificent flying dragons swirled and swooped, belching flames that destroyed the shimmering strands before they reach the ground.
But F'lar knew he had to find a better way to protect his beloved Pern, and he had to find it before the rebellious Oldtimers could breed anymore dissent... before his brother F'nor would be foolhardy enough to launch another suicide mission... and before those dratted fire-lizards could stir up any more trouble!
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Reviews
F'lar and F'nor handle more politics in the second Pern book. Can they invent the telephone? Can they find grubs that eat thread? Can they give all the noblemen of Pern a firelizard of their own? Can the haughty Oldtimers get used to the ways things are done now, 400 years in the future?
A re-read of an old favorite.
Not quite as good as the first book (and there are some inconsistencies) but it's still really good. I like how this volume shows a different side to the characters introduced in the first book.
Well, this was... dull. So very, very dull.
Unlike the first book, which followed solely Lessa, on this one we get POVs from several characters. However, each time I started to care about someone's storyline, the chapter ended, POV shifted, and I went back to the starting point of not caring. Repeat for at least half the book.
Then, there was talking. Lots and lots of talking. Interesting talking? Nope, not to me. And the characters felt so very 2D - the good guys were always good, the antagonistic guys were always 'stupid' and stubborn. There were no actual bad guys (unless you count the threads). I didn't even like Lessa much, and I actually quite liked her in the first book. It didn't help that I was figuring out things twice as fast as the protagonists half of the time.
The plus: the world is still interesting, and the exposition on the nature of the red star was intriguing as well. I got quite curious on what will happen to the white dragon , but not enough to plow through another book like this.
The worst: I didn't care that much about the characters. Only Brekke and F'nor had my sympathy most of the time, and that's the extent of how much I cared in this book.
Unlike the first book, which followed solely Lessa, on this one we get POVs from several characters. However, each time I started to care about someone's storyline, the chapter ended, POV shifted, and I went back to the starting point of not caring. Repeat for at least half the book.
Then, there was talking. Lots and lots of talking. Interesting talking? Nope, not to me. And the characters felt so very 2D - the good guys were always good, the antagonistic guys were always 'stupid' and stubborn. There were no actual bad guys (unless you count the threads). I didn't even like Lessa much, and I actually quite liked her in the first book. It didn't help that I was figuring out things twice as fast as the protagonists half of the time.
The plus: the world is still interesting, and the exposition on the nature of the red star was intriguing as well. I got quite curious on what will happen to the white dragon , but not enough to plow through another book like this.
The worst: I didn't care that much about the characters. Only Brekke and F'nor had my sympathy most of the time, and that's the extent of how much I cared in this book.
Yes, I am still pushing through a reread of this series...but I'm about to drop it. The obvious sexism of the previous book gets even worse in this one, with a protagonist committing what is very clearly rape...after which the woman falls in love with him.Plot-wise, there's a growing schism betwen F'lar's riders and the Oldtimers, who were brought up out of the past to save Pern in a previous book. The Oldtimers are resistant to F'lar's innovations, and Kylara (a stock 'scarlet woman' caricature) wreaks havoc by having the same lack of inhibitions as the men. Meanwhile, the parasitic Thread is falling where and when it shouldn't, making the future of life on Pern questionable.Excellent world-building ruined with awful characterization.
The Dragonriders of Pern continues to follow Lessa as tensions rise between the old world riders and the modern riders. Expectations of respect and payment due to flights have changed, and while the society remains in many ways feudal, the 400 year stretch without Thread caused some social change, and current leaders such as Robinton have used recent crises to push for greater change and integration of groups. Now war among dragonriders or between dragonriders and Lord Holders could easily break out. Thread has begun falling out of pattern, and information has become a valuable commodity. As the story opens the future of Pern remains unclear.A fun, easy read, this novel continues to follow the same core group (Lessa, F'lar, Robinton, the Master Smith, etc.).
The second book in the Dragons of Pern series, continues the story of Lessa, Weyrwoman of Pern and her consort. In this book, McCaffrey begins to explore the dragons themselves in greater depth and sets up an expectation in the reader that these creatures are a bit more than simply beasts "living in the present." The author does a nice job of setting up a series of obstacles for her characters to overcome that are, within the context of her created universe, quite believable.
I went back and forth between giving it two or three stars, but since I like to stick to the goodreads definitions of stars I felt like saying I liked it was going a tad too far.
I enjoyed Dragonquest a lot more then Dragonflight, it was told better. The thing that is really killing this series for me though is that the bad guys are always idiots. Seriously? If you don't agree with Lessa and F'nor you obviously must be crazy? I also found the work to be somewhat illogical and self-indulgent.
On a slightly different note, I must admit that I was very interested in seeing if these earlier Pern books had as strong a secular feminist message as Dragonsong, which I reread recently and made me feel like I was being beaten to death. This was another reason that I found these books to be rather silly. While she inserts only a few pro-sexual liberation messages into these first two novels, she manages to have only one character actually take advantage of this fact, and she is promptly labeled a whore and is over-all a horrible person who ruins everyone's lives.
I enjoyed Dragonquest a lot more then Dragonflight, it was told better. The thing that is really killing this series for me though is that the bad guys are always idiots. Seriously? If you don't agree with Lessa and F'nor you obviously must be crazy? I also found the work to be somewhat illogical and self-indulgent.
On a slightly different note, I must admit that I was very interested in seeing if these earlier Pern books had as strong a secular feminist message as Dragonsong, which I reread recently and made me feel like I was being beaten to death. This was another reason that I found these books to be rather silly. While she inserts only a few pro-sexual liberation messages into these first two novels, she manages to have only one character actually take advantage of this fact, and she is promptly labeled a whore and is over-all a horrible person who ruins everyone's lives.
I loved this book because I was very fond of F'nor and Brekke. The sad parts, and the "don't leave me alone!" part, broke my heart.
I think I may have liked this a bit more than the first book. Could be that there was less need for history and talking about what might happen--less saying, more doing. I think my appetite is actually whetted for the next book; the white dragon mystery really intrigued me.
The sequal to dragonflight is much, much better. The pace was still a little too fast, but not as much. The characters in this book makes me feel like they are very immature. I think it's just impression, but that's what it makes me think. And in here is a surprising turn of events that shocked me and made me cry out for blood on one of the characters.
Lessa and F'lar, the leaders of Benden Weyr, are concerned when some weyrs refuse to help fight the Thread that threatens Pern. The second Dragon Riders of Pern novel is just as good as the first, bringing the reader even further into Pern. Adolescents and young adults who enjoy fantasy will enjoy this science fiction novel. Like all of the Pern novels, this book has some sensuality and language, so it would probably be best used as a chosen read.
The Pern books are technically science fiction, set on a lost colony of Earth, but it's often found on fantasy lists, for here be dragons. Although I lost interest in the series with its later books the original trilogy and the Harper Hall trilogy set in the same universe remain favorites I've reread more than once. (If you haven't already, you should read the first book, Dragonflight, before reading Dragonquest.) Part of the reason I love the early Pern novels is that McCaffrey sets up an intriguing world with it's fighting dragons bonded to their riders. Part of it is that McCaffrey makes you care about the characters: Lessa, F'Nor, F'Lar, Brekke (Some of the most moving lump-in-throat episodes concern her in this novel.) Oh, and I'd say F'Nor's dragon Canth certainly is one of the most endearing. This isn't the kind of book that leaves an impression because of style or because it's thought-provoking--but because it's a wonderful escapist read with characters you love spending time with. (Except perhaps the irritatingly vapid and vain Kylara--although she does make for a great villain.)
The best of Anne McCaffrey's Dragons of Pern series, just pipping the first book, Dragonflight. Try reading the scene where F'nor and Canth go to the Red Star and return a bloodied mess, to be rescued by all the other dragons on Pern, without a lump in your throat.
Excellent SF/fantasy series
Among the dragonriders of pern books, I like this best of all. I like F'nor and I think its funny how F'lar orders him and N'ton around. Best of all, I love how F'nor loves Brekke that they would break traditions for it. Canth is the most amizing brown, ever.
2nd in the first Pern trilogy, tells the continuing story of the dragonriders. Very good, my favorite actually.
Used to be my favourite of the DragonRiders series, although re-readings as an adult have left me irritated with the male-dominated themes, particularly the text's treatment of violence towards women. The plot still retains its power, however, and the final scenes are cathartic and bittersweet.