26.7.11

The Dragonriders of Pern

Book title: Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern, Book 1)
Author: Anne McCaffrey
Status: finished

Synopsis:
Pern is a planet inhabited by humans. The original colonists were reduced to a low level of technology by periodic onslaughts of deadly Thread raining down from the sky. The dragons, with their human riders, destroyed the Thread in the skies over Pern before it was able to burrow into the land and breed. However, an unusually long interval between attacks, centuries in duration, has caused the general population to gradually dismiss the threat and withdraw support from the Weyrs where dragons are bred and trained. Only one Weyr remains (the other five having mysteriously disappeared at the same time in the last quiet interval), maintaining a precarious hand-to-mouth existence.

To the nobles who live in Benden Weyr, Lessa is nothing but a ragged kitchen girl. For most of her life she has survived by serving those who betrayed her father and took over his lands. Now the time has come for Lessa to shed her disguise—and take back her stolen birthright. But everything changes when F'lar finds Lessa while Searching for candidates to Impress a new queen dragon Ramoth. Lessa becomes the Weyrwoman, and her hereditary telepathic abilities allow her to travel four hundred turns into the past to bring the five 'missing' Weyrs forward to her present in desperate times.

Review:
Anne McCaffrey has created a whole new world of fantasy in which dragons and riders bond for a purpose. This book is a page turner no doubt, though I dislike Lessa at first. Over time, Lessa's bravery and quickness outshines her recklessness, and like F'lar, readers would come to love her; annoyed by her often, yes, but couldn't help but love her.

Dragons are powerful creatures for sure, and the idea of dragons being able to go in "between", a means to teleport themselves between time and space, is refreshing and intriguing indeed, though I still fail to see how ancient, powerful and fearsome they are. Unlike Christopher Paolini's "Eragon", Anne McCaffrey's dragons don't have much character; they're more like riders' pets, obedient and loyal, but not the ancient, mysterious, powerful and magical species as featured in other fantasies.

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