The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall

The feeling, common to prequels, that a story will not surprise you because you know how things must work out, permeates the weaker stories of The Chronicles of Pern. Will the first Hold be established? Well, uh, yes. Will there be more Weyrs? Of course. McCaffrey has a somewhat annoying tendency to not let things evolve from what we saw in Dragonsdawn to where we started in Dragonflight, but to depict it as happening in a single moment as a single decision. For example, in the story "The Second Weyr," we learn that one guy made the decision about how Weyrleaders and Weyrwomen would be picked, and his rule was followed for the next thousand years exactly as is without any changes. It doesn't feel historically real. Another story is show more mostly about how someone got across a river in order to set up how Ruatha Hold got its name: dead boring exposition of something I didn't care about. Another story tells the evacuation of the Southern Continent from Dragonsdawn in more detail, and falls victim to the "cozy" problem of later Pern novels; what ought to be a harrowing trip comes across more as a heartwarming story of an old guy rediscovering love. Plus despite being titled "The Dolphins' Bell," I felt like the dolphins were barely a factor!

"The Survey: P.E.R.N.ᶜ" isn't really a story but is kind of neat to read, about the explorers who first discovered and classified Pern. For me, though, the real standout of the whole book, and what made it worth it, was "Rescue Run," about a Fleet ship coming into the Pern system and checking for survivors. The final line of the story is a genuine killer. A great read, Anne McCaffrey at her tough best. show less

It’s difficult to rate a book like this, set up like an anthology. I really enjoyed some of the episodes, close to how much I enjoyed the Dragonflight trilogy, but some I could have done entirely without. As such, I’ve just sort of thrown my hands in the air and given it the middle rating.

I would suggest reading this book, not straight through as normal, but rather by picking and choosing the characters you wish to follow and reading those episodes only or first. I wish I had done something similar.

I liked this book of short stories of Pern, which fill in the details of events implied in the novels of the dragons of Pern. It's a good book for fans and those who have read some of the novels, especially the ones at the beginning of the Pernese time-line, but (though it could be read as a stand-alone book) a first-timer to the world of Pern would miss those references which make it a richer experience for people who have read other books. Though it is (necessarily) less dragon-centric than most of the novels, I liked the tone of the book, and (unusually, for me at least) found it well balanced for a short story collection, with all the stories being very satisfying. Usually in a collection, I find one or two stories I hate, one or show more two that are outstanding, and the others fall in the middle; but I liked all of these.

This is a good mix of short stories, both fantasy and sci-fi, covering the discovery and naming of Pern by a space survey ship; the Second Crossing, when colonists found the southern continent too dangerous to inhabit, and still had remnants of old-Earth technology to help them cross to the north; the stories of the founding of new holds and weyrs (you see what I mean when I say it helps to have some background knowledge), and a final story when a relative of one of the founding colonists visits from space.

Highly recommended, especially for fans of Pern. show less

The first three stories (The PERN Survey, The Dolphins' Bell, and The Ford of Red Hanrahan) are really only for hardcore Pern fans. Some interesting info about characters we've already met, but they don't really stand as stories.

The fourth one (The Second Weyr)works much better as a story, with all the elements we've come to expect: dragons, Thread, high adventure and a bit of romance.

The last one is a a good stand alone story explaining why rescue never came -- it did, but couldn't find anyone. Kimmer has become too villainous, he's just a stock figure, but that doesn't detract too much from a story with a good plot.

I was asking myself why I didn't read this when it was first published because I read everything McCaffrey wrote. Then I remembered that when this book was first issued I was back in school after almost 20 years absence and I wasn't reading anything non-school related. I did, in fact, come across one of these stories, The Dolphins' Bell, in a second-hand book store a few years ago but didn't realize it was part of a larger work. So, I'm pleased to fill in another part of the Pern story.

As the title indicates the book takes place during the time of the First Fall of thread although the first installment actually deals with the initial survey of the planet and the last takes place just after the first fall is finished. The Dolphins' Bell show more tells the story of the exodus from the South Continent when it was determined that Thread could not be defended there. The Ford of Red Hanrahan takes place some years later when Red Hanrahan moves from Fort Hold to a new location which he calls Ruatha. The Second Weyr takes place a little later when the original weyr at Fort becomes too crowded and it is decided to establish new weyrs. The final story, Rescue Run, takes place when an interstellar ship comes close to the Rukbat system and notices the flag that indicates a distress signal was received over 40 years earlier. The ship sends a small cruiser to investigate and they find 11 people who swear they are the only ones who survived.

As always, an enjoyable read. show less

Dolphins, Dragons, Holds and backstory...

From a writer's perspective, one needs to understand where one's characters, and the history of the world in which they live, are coming from, and knowing how long it can take to create or visualise this backstory when the world is new and alien, and its people as unusual as the world itself, I understand that this is an investment of a great many hours. So, perhaps a writer can be forgiven for wanting to share these snippets of backstory with a loyal readership, no?

That is as may be and all to the good, but please do so in a way that is as engaging and affirming as the novels themselves. Show the reader what is happening, do not just tidy up the notes you made as backstory and publish them, show more telling us, lecture style, what happened when the volcanos errupted, or the old holds filled to overflowing meaning that new must be established.

If I were not as involved in the life stories of the dragons of this world, then First Fall might well have killed the series of books for me... but because I am, I ploughed through, filling in the gaps in description and engagement with my own experience of Pern; with what I know, and feel and believe. The one good thing to come out of reading this, I'm now more interested in reading of the Dolphins of Pern - which just happens to be the next book in this series. show less

Anne McCaffrey is the quintessential writer of fantasy books pertaining to dragons. These books are always wonderful, well written, and perfectly characterized. All of her series are great but the ones that take place on Pern are the best of all. Usually I do not particularly enjoy short stories but I love all the stories in this book without reservation.