Cubbyhole Beneath The Stairs

The Journal Of A Very Lazy Reader Who Yearns To Read More

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Name: B. Dragon

"Watch your step. Spoilers are like Kraken around here..."
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Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Dragonquest (The Dragonriders of Pern) by Anne McCaffrey



DRAGONQUEST: The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey





THE DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN

AUTHOR: ANNE MCCAFFREY

ISBN: 0-345-34024-8

JACKET ILLUSTRATION BY RON DILG






JACKET:

DRAGONQUEST. Most Pernese are grateful to dragonkind for keeping Holds and Craftshalls safe. But some, resenting their obligations to the weyrs, have begun to complain about the privileged status of dragonriders.

When a few ambitious Lords decide that dragonmen should go to the Red Star - using their beasts' teleportation ability - in order to destroy the Threads at their source, F'nor, brother of F'lar, is intrigued. But his brown dragon needs a detailed image of a place in order to go there... and the images F'nor picks up - from an unexpected source - are terrifying!

My Opinion Is...
This is for the second book, Dragonquest.

My first opinion was that the book was merely being continued for the sake of continuing it. It's about seven years later, people fall into routine with the old timers set in their isolated ways while the people of Benden Weyr are struggling to make the old timers realize that a lot has changed in 400 years.

The introduction of the fire lizards was pretty neat but I think that's the only interesting thing I liked. The other stuff was a bit boring. I wouldn't say I struggled through the book but it was just... Eh. So-so.

I believe I'll take a break from this book and read another book. I don't want to putter out through the White Dragon.

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Thursday, February 26, 2009

Dragonflight (The Dragonriders of Pern) by Anne McCaffrey



DRAGONFLIGHT: The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey





THE DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN

AUTHOR: ANNE MCCAFFREY

ISBN: 0-345-34024-8

JACKET ILLUSTRATION BY RON DILG






JACKET:

The first humans to settle on Pern barely noticed a distant planet in the same system; their descendants couldn't afford such an oversight. For the orbit of that Red Star swept it close to Pern at perihelion - and when that happened, deadly silver Threads would fall through the skies of Pern, mindlessly searing all they touched.

To combat these invasions, Pernese bred huge sensitive flying beasts that could teleport themselves in an instant, and destroy Thread in midair with flaming breath. Men and women with telepathic ability were trained to ride the dragons, giving rise to countless heroic tales... and the thrilling saga recounted here:

DRAGONFLIGHT. In return for protection, land Holders and Craftsmen have traditionally tithed food and supplies to the dragonweyrs to which they are bound. But it has been nearly 400 years since the last Threadfall, and some people have come to doubt that the menace will ever strike again.

F'lar, rider of Pern's greatest bronze dragon, has no such illusions. The Red Star is near; Thread will fall soon. And unless the dragonmen find a new Weyrwoman - a woman of sufficient sensitivity and intelligence to bond with a queen dragon - Pern will not survive.

Then F'lar meets Lessa, last of a noble bloodline that had already produced Pern's most legendary weyrwomen. And between them, Lessa and F'lar create a new legend.

My Opinion Is...

This is for the first book, Dragonflight.

The first thirty pages or so, I couldn't absorb anything. That was discouraging. I kept re-reading paragraphs and nothing was sinking in. It got to the point that I would just glide over sentences waiting for something to be snagged in. Eventually the story DID surface and I got a handle on things before too late.

I did like the story. It was pretty neat how dragons can blink between and go places and whatnot. I especially liked it when Lessa discovered something very interesting about the between. Some people who know me would know why I liked THAT very much. hehehe.

I really liked all the weyrs and how they had to fight the Thread to try to save Pern from it during this Red Star's turn around and whatnot. I am actually looking forward to starting Dragonquest.

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