The Skies of Pern

I am _done_ w/ the ninth pass. The ninth pass books fall into three categories: the pseudo-mediaeval ones (Dragonflight, Dragonquest), the girl-power/justice will prevail ones (Dragonsong, Dragonsinger), and the improbable PERN renaissance ones like this and those immediately preceding it.

Looking back, it's pretty obvious that the first two harper hall books are the best of the lot. But McCaffery really dug in and kept up the momentum, the events, the catastrophes, the scheming, etc. until the very end. Had she lived to write more, she would have kept it going, I'm sure. Is this great literature? No, it's not. But it does become a sort of science-fiction light: not too original in its science, not terribly well-researched, but still show more somewhat thought-provoking in its utopianism. But the dragons, who are some of our favorite characters, don't mix well w/ the science, so suspension of disbelief is a constant effort. show less

Definitely one of the lesser Dragonrider books, bedevilled by too many main characters all jostling for elbow space (and getting only paper-thin characterisation as a result), strawman villains, and the two halves of the plot sitting in uneasy relationship to each other. Having said that, there was some gravitas to be had from: A) the planet-wide emergency caused by the tsunami (this is lent extra weight by the fallout of the major tsunamis of the last five years in our own world), and B) by a terrible event befalling on a main character, which has genuine repercussions that aren't completely glossed over.

Now that Pern can look forward to a future without the threat of Threadfall, the people are free to leave their protective stone holds and spread across more of the planet, as well as improve their lives with the newly discovered ancient technology. Not everyone is happy, though. Some resist the change, and consider anything new to be an "abomination". And the dragonriders are uncertain: without Thread, what will their purpose be in Pernese society?
Then a new danger - again from the skies - looms. Once again, the people must pull together...And turn to the only ones who can solve the crisis: the dragonriders of Pern!

The story of the 9th Pass is taken up from where we left it back in "The Dolphins of Pern". Again it was rather longer than the earlier books, and there was a definite sense of the author having run out of momentum, but being required to keep churning the books out because the series is so popular.

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. In some ways I feel like the earlier Pern novels are better but then there is this novel which is probably in my top three favorite books of Pern.

Dragons, intrigue, suspense, hope... a gamut of emotions for this last Pern novel. All good things must come to an end, and this one was satisfying to the very last page.

after the victory over the red planet what now for the dragon riders of Pern?

i love this series and devoured this big book right away