The White Dragon

The White Dragon is the concluding volume to the original Dragonrider trilogy, but having now read the book it doesn’t much feel like the conclusion to anything. So I suppose it’s fortunate McCaffrey continued to churn out Pern novels for a few more decades…

The White Dragon follows directly on from Dragonquest. It focuses on Jaxom and Ruth, the teenage heir to Ruatha Hold and his undersized dragon, which is white if you hadn't guessed. Ruth, the dragon, proves to be better at some things than the other dragons, despite being undersized and not sexually developed. He is faster and more manoeuvrable in the air, he has an excellent memory which is useful when travelling between (which is always italicised), and fire-lizards love him. show more Fire-lizards were introduced in the previous book and are sort of ferret-sized (I think) pocket dragons, about as smart as cats, and have been adopted by many on Pern as pets. They also seem to remember events that happened in the distant past.

The dragonriders, hold lords and master craftsmen have determined that humans first settled Pern on the southern continent, but they can find no record of why they fled north. The oldtimers - dragonriders from 400 years previously who helped save the day in the first book of the trilogy, Dragonflight - were given land on the southern continent because they were causing problems with the present-day dragonriders and holds. But it looks like there’s lots more, and more desirable, land available on the continent.

And The White Dragon is more or less about that - exploring the southern continent, uncovering the ruins of the first human settlement on Pern, some political wrangling between an ambitious hold lord on the southern continent and the established holds on the northern continent, and Jaxom’s romance with the sister of said ambitious hold lord… There’s no plot per se, just a series of events which develop the characters and the background, and hint at the actual history of the planet.

Which doesn’t mean it’s not an entertaining read. Jaxom is an engaging character, as are the immediate supporting cast, more so at least than in the earlier two books, and Ruth can be amusing at times. Things happen… but there’s no real plot, no climax, no closure, no suggestion the story has concluded. Looking at the Pern books, it doesn’t seem so much a series as a collection of linked trilogies, and I’ve no idea which novel actually continues the story from The White Dragon.

I’ve enjoyed reading the trilogy, far more than I expected to, but I’ve no plans to read any more. If there is a book that follows on directly from The White Dragon, perhaps I might give it a go. But Wikipedia is no help, and I don’t intend to read umpteen books on the off-chance I find it… So, for now, I shall bail - but I will no longer malign the Dragonriders of Pern series as it’s actually not that bad. show less

We were getting ready to go on vacation and I wanted something to read during the long car drive. This book stood out to me in the grocery store, so it was the one I bought. I saved it until we left, but after starting it, I didn’t want to stop reading it. I hadn’t realized it was part of a trilogy because the description on the back didn’t make it sound like a continuation. It worked reasonably well as a stand-alone novel since it was centered on different characters, but I went to the library soon after vacation to borrow the first two books to fill in what I missed, and later bought my own copies.

I liked Jaxom and Ruth. I was so glad when he rescued Ruth from the egg, when Ruth couldn’t break out of it. I would have wanted to show more do the same. And, I could relate to them not exactly fitting in. I adored that Ruth was such a smart little dragon. It was exciting when Ruth and Jaxom discovered another ability that dragons had. It was among the favorite books I owned growing up.

I let my sister loan the trilogy book by book to her friend Rosemary, who never returned this last one. It had so many good memories associated with it, I reminded my sister for several years to request it be returned, but it never was. When my sister asked, she said she still had it and would need to pull it out. I don’t know if she really lost it, or maybe she liked it too much to return it. Since I often chose a book to get for a vacation trip, it was a memento, so not getting it back was depressing. But beyond that, I enjoyed the book so much that when I had the opportunity to get the trilogy in one volume for the price of a single book, I bought it so I could read The White Dragon again. show less

"Get on the dragon wagon" was the marketing slogan when this was released in paperback back in 1979 so I hopped on and have enjoyed the ride since. This is the final book in the first Pern trilogy (several additional books have been released since which continue the story) and tells the story of Lord Jaxom of Ruatha and his impression of the white dragon, Ruth.

This is, as with many McCaffrey novels, an extremely fun read. I have re-visited Pern many times since the original read and it hasn't lost its luster yet.

I can recommend this to any fantasy fan and especially those who enjoy her storytelling.

As much as I loved the first two books of the Dragonriders of Pern series, The White Dragon remains my favorite. And not because of Jaxom, whom I never liked as a lead character/protagonist. Ruth was my favorite character. Ruth, the stunted runt totally unique White Dragon.

The archaeological discoveries on the Southern Continent at the original landing site are the most memorable and compelling parts of this installment in the saga of Pern. And Ruth's abilities to manipulate time and space are unparalleled in the evolution of the dragons.

As with most of McCaffrey's novels, I tend to skip over the romantic story lines as they bore me to tears. Rarely does she write a romantic subplot that engages me. And her attempts at jealous revenge show more subplots also grates on me.

But that aside, I enjoy the early Pern novels, and this one, along with Dragonsong are my favorites. show less

After wading through all of these as an adult, what becomes clear to me is that Anne McCaffrey has created a peculiarly Irish utopia - a not exactly feudal preindustrial society in which warriors and poets share the top rungs of power, followed by craftsmen, hereditary lords, and sailors, and where the skies are filled with what are basically flying horses. No wonder I loved them as a kid. They weren't as bad as I feared they would be upon rereading, either. I think she's underrated.

The third book in the original trilogy, this book mainly follows the young dragonrider Jaxom and his dwarf/runt albino dragon, Ruth. Both are outcasts, partly because of Ruth's strange genetics, but they both have useful skills that develop as the book goes. Perhaps my favorite of the original trilogy. Well written, creative and enjoyable.

He's just an overgrown fire lizard!

He'll never be a real dragon!

The white dragon Ruth was never supposed to survive. Small for his size and stuck in his egg, Lord Jaxom saved his life. Now the young boy who isn't quite a Lord Holder, and the dragon who never should have lived have a life time bond. While Ruth pays no mind to the insults thrown his way, Jaxom is determined to prove his friend is just as good as the great bronzes.

The first half of this novel I have to admit dragged on. It mostly focused on Jaxom and Ruth exploring their capabilities as dragon and rider, which was entertaining, but there wasn't a huge amount of conflict. A few political spats from the Lord Holders and the familiar threat of thread, but aside from that not show more much happens until the exiled Southern Riders decide to meddle in the affairs of the North.

The Southern riders are old and dying. We've known this since book two. Exiled due to their greed and treatment of Pern, they have been a long overdue thorn that has decided to burrow in deeper. The hot headed and egotistical T'ron chooses to commit a heinous crime that nearly sets dragon upon dragon. This is the first conflict we see, where Jaxom and Ruth begin to prove themselves and is a turning point for the plot.

The Northern riders begin expansion into the Southern Continent, far away from the Southern Weyr so as to avoid further conflict and in search of a lost rider. Jaxom and Ruth soon stumble upon fire lizards who can give the riders clues to their mysterious ancestors and a curious ability only Ruth can use. As the Northerners begin to dig into the past that surrounds them, the bits and pieces they uncover start to unravel the mysteries surrounding the ancestors.

I do wish the two stories, that of Jaxom and Ruth's realization of their self worth and the expansion of the Southern Continent had been split into separate books. I don't feel like Jaxom and Ruth went through enough trials to become who they are by the end of the book. It was more like they overcame school yard bullying than anything else, which in itself should be rewarding, but it fell flat.

I am also not one to enjoy politics, even if they are fictional. The plot structure could have also used work, as it sometimes jumped to a person's POV that was summing up what happened in the previous novels and the current one. None of this summary was needed and interrupted the storyline.

I'm not willing to give up on Pern just yet. I do want to know more about the ancestors and if the current inhabitants of Pern can deconstruct and figure out all that has been left behind. I also know there are a few books that take place during the original trilogy and I would be interested to know what has been happening in the other Weyrs. show less