Dragonflight (1968)

I was surprised at how well this stood up to the test of time. I originally read these books when I was... maybe ten, eleven? I loved them, though nothing really beat this first one, as I recall. I was afraid that I'd misjudged the books badly, but while I don't think this is the most wonderful book ever ever ever, I did really enjoy rereading it.

The early sexism in the story drove me to distraction, of course, but that's mostly a character thing, not a narrative thing: Lessa is a very strong character, and while she isn't always right, she's brave, and many of the big events of the book depend on her. She and F'lar are a strong partnership; they balance each other well (him cool and calculating, her emotional and ready to take a leap of faith -- though that is, now I think about it, perhaps a little irritating in terms of gender roles) and there's no doubt that it's their partnership that saves Pern.

There are problematic things about their relationship as well, and the whole "our dragons are having sex so I will have sex with you whether you want it or not" issue, and no one (even F'lar, a lot of the time) explaining anything to Lessa even when it makes exactly zero sense to leave her in ignorance... but I think Lessa is the heart and soul of the book. I'm having a bit of difficulty seeing the level of abuse other reviews mention: F'lar has a bit of a tendency to shake Lessa; there is that little issue of "dragons made us do it"; when she goes into shock he slaps her to bring her round... He does grab hold of her fairly hard at one point, after she has gravely shocked and disgusted him by attempting to mind-control another dragonrider. I can see how that adds up, but it still didn't read that way to me. Exercise caution, though.

Of course, out of sentiment and a willingness to be amused, I didn't try to poke holes in the plot and the various technologies. They may well be there, but I'm willing to be charmed out of it. For now. So for now, I found the time travel issues interesting, and the whole set-up of the problem pretty ingenious. ( )

While laying nauseous and pregnant on the couch I needed a book I could read with my eyes closed. For me this series fits that bill, I have read these books so many times I almost know them by rote.

I think this is the first time I read the book slowly and appreciate the talent that Anne McCaffrey has. She has created an imaginative world full of believable characters. She also has a talent for writing love stories that are passionate without being ridiculous. ( )

Read the full Review at Witchmag's Boekenplank

The first couple of pages I had to struggle to get into the story. There were a lot of words I didn’t get at first and the writing style felt different to me. Most of the words I didn’t get were made up ones. Although there was an index, which explains the words, at the end of the book, I didn’t feel like looking up every single word I didn’t get (which were a few). Why cant the author explain the words first and, if you have forgotten it later on, THEN you look it up? This would be so much easier, since I usually refuse to leave the story to look for the meaning of some word.

Even after I got used to the writing style and knew most of the words, I sometimes had trouble to follow the story. This was because of all the different names that were used and most of them looked almost the same. I’m terrible at keeping track of the names of lesser characters, I only remember the main characters and the characters that leave an impression on me. You can understand why I would have a bit of trouble with differentiating the characters and not understand what is happening.

The story itself was very interesting to read. It’s been a while since the last SF I’ve read and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Lessa isn’t a pampered princess and is very outspoken of her ideas. Sometimes (read often) this brings her into a conflict with F’lar, who can be as stubborn and conceited as she is, although he usually knows more about the situation and so able to make better decisions.

My overall rating is 4 hearts. I truly enjoyed reading this book and look forward to the next one (which I ordered immediately after finishing this one ) I’m dying to know how it ends with the dragons and their riders in the battle against the Threads! ( )

In the far future, humans colonized the planet of Pern. But Pern is a challenging place to live: it has an elliptical orbit around its red star, and whenever it gets close, it passes through an area of toxic material. This material does not burn up upon atmospheric entry; rather, it forms forms "threads" of spores, which descend from the sky and infect the land with a terrible plague that consumes all living matter. The colonizers developed genetically engineered creatures, dragons, that can help the colonists burn up the spores and thereby defend themselves.

The story takes place a tremendous amount of time after these events, when society on Pern has reverted to a medieval level of technology and most knowledge of history has been lost. It has been 400 "turns" (Pern years) since the last pass close to the red star, and most people think that the "threads" are a myth. The caretakers and riders of the dragons are in steep decline, with greatly reduced numbers of both men and dragons.

The story follows Lessa, a teenager with the inborn ability to telepathically communicate with dragons. She is discovered by the "dragonmen" when she engineers the downfall of the cruel lord of her hold and is taken to be "weyrwoman," the leading female figure in dragonmen society. The bulk of the book pertains to the dragonriders' attempts to combat a new surge of "threads" while badly undermanned and Lessa's efforts to discover (or really, to rediscover) the latent abilities designed into the dragons by the long-forgotten planetary colonists.

As I read this book, I couldn't help but feel that it compares unfavorably to Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn: The Final Empire." Both have a young, sort-of spunky female protagonist who begins in an impoverished background, but Sanderson's protagonist is dramatically more colorful, personable, and interesting. In fact, all of McCaffrey's characters feel like cardboard cut-outs who pursue simple goals and exhibit just one or two defining character traits. Similarly, while Sanderson crafts a very detailed city with castes, great houses, and multiple cultures and magic systems, McCaffrey provides almost no view into daily life inside the dragonmens' weyr (or elsewhere). The threads are an unusual choice for an antagonist- I'll definitely give McCaffrey points for originality on that score- but as vacuum-tolerant, ageless fungi (or perhaps self-replicating chemicals, or whatever), they don't add much as much depth to the story as a living, thinking antagonist often can.

Honestly, I was rather bored by Dragonflight. I might have considered stopping in the middle, if it weren't so short, and if I didn't want to read at least one novel by an SF&F author as famous as McCaffrey. It's an older book (originally published as two novellas in 1967), and I could see it being groundbreaking when it came out. But today, I think there are better options. For stories of teenagers bonding with dragons and having adventures, check out Jane Yolen's "Dragon's Blood" trilogy (best for young teenage readers). As noted above, Sanderson's "Mistborn: The Final Empire" is another good alternative to Dragonflight and is suitable for teens to adults (assuming you don't mind swapping McCaffrey's dragons for Sanderson's magic). Or if you just want cracking good fantasy, try Rothfuss' "Kingkiller Chronicles," which is not much like "Dragonflight" at all, but is the all-around strongest pair of fantasy novels I've read in quite some time. (The third book is forthcoming.) ( )

I absolutely loved Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight! It is simply superb in every aspect, and I devoured it! This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite books of 2013! Ugh...I don't even have words for how much I truly enjoyed it!



Our story is set in the mere future on the planet Pern- one of three planets found to sustain life. However, there is one fault in the planet: deadly “Threads” constantly fall from the sky – destroying everything they touch. The only way to destroy these Threads: breeding genetically-engineered dragons. And it works! For 400 years, society flourishes.
        Our story takes place 600 years after the last Thread attack. Society is suffering...again. And Threads are back! Unfortunately, there are very few dragons left for protection. The end of Pern is near...unless a young girl can find a way to unite all the Dragonriders!

Without a doubt, one of the highlights of Dragonflight is the well-developed characters. I am thoroughly impressed by how realistic and well-developed the characters are! They all - even the supporting characters! - have a certain layer of depth and realism that is hard to ignore - making it all the easier to emotionally connect with them (personally, I connected most to Lessa). This is one of the aspects I truly enjoy about this book!
And, though there is a romance in the story, at least the characters escape the perils of "Insta-Love." Surprisingly, the romance didn't bother me personally as much as it might have because it didn't overpower the story as a whole. At least that's a bonus! The plot? Superb; and practically flawless! This is probably one of the most creative and original books I've ever read, despite how average the summary makes it seem. I truly enjoyed it! The plot is just so creative and imaginative! How Anne McCaffrey came up with this whole plot is beyond me - I'm simply...

        The actual writing does not disappoint either. McCaffrey's writing is so eloquent - it's descriptive and amazingly vivid - somewhat like a screenplay. And I loved it! It was phenomenal!
        One of the highlights, plot-wise, was the wonderful world-building. McCaffrey truly has built an amazing world. I felt like I was in Pern with Lessa and F'lar! I loved the detail she puts into her world - from Pern's own personal currency and government to how it breeds genetically engineered dragons to fight off the Turns. It's just simply amazing!

This book is simply amazing, and I'd highly recommend it to fans of dragons and sci-fi stories. Actually, I'd recommend it to everyone! It's just that amazing! This is a book everyone needs to read at least once...



A solid 3.75 and rounding up. ( )