Dragon's Fire (Dragonriders of Pern, The)

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Dragon's Fire (Pern (published order) #19)

by Anne McCaffrey, Todd McCaffrey

3.78 · rating details · 2,752 ratings · 80 reviews

Bringing fresh wonders and dangers to light in the skies of Pern, Anne McCaffrey and her son, Todd, who demonstrated his writing talents in the bestselling novels Dragon’s Kin and Dragonsblood, return with their second collaboration: a thrilling adventure of discovery and fate.

Pellar is an orphan taken in by Masterharper Zist. Though born mute, Pellar is a gifted tracker, ...moreBringing fresh wonders and dangers to light in the skies of Pern, Anne McCaffrey and her son, Todd, who demonstrated his writing talents in the bestselling novels Dragon’s Kin and Dragonsblood, return with their second collaboration: a thrilling adventure of discovery and fate.

Pellar is an orphan taken in by Masterharper Zist. Though born mute, Pellar is a gifted tracker, and when Zist sets off to take over as harper for Natalon’s coal-mining camp, Pellar–along with his fire-lizard, Chitter–joins him on a secret mission of his own: to find out if reported thefts of coal are the work of the Shunned, criminals condemned to a life of wandering and hardship.

Halla is one of the children of the Shunned. Though innocent of their parents’ crimes, these children have inherited their cruel punishment. Lack of food, shelter, and clothes is their lot; hope is unknown to them. And what future would they hope for? Without a hold to call their own, there will be no protection for them when the lethal Thread inevitably falls again. Life is even tougher for Halla. Her family gone, she must fend for herself. Yet despite the brutality of her surroundings, Halla is kind and gentle, devoted to those more helpless than she.

As depraved as Halla is good, Tenim is in league with Tarik, a crooked miner from Camp Natalon, who helps him steal coal in exchange for a cut of the profit. But Tenim soon realizes there is a lot more to be made from firestone, the volatile mineral that enables the dragons of Pern to burn Thread out of the sky. Tenim doesn’t care what he has to do, or whom he has to kill, in order to corner the market.

Cristov is Tarik’s son. Dishonored by his father’s greed and treachery, the boy must make amends somehow, even if it means risking his life by mining the volatile firestone, which detonates on contact with the slightest drop of moisture.

When the last remaining firestone mine explodes in flames, a desperate race begins to find a new deposit of the deadly but essential mineral, for without it there can be no defense against Thread. But Tenim has a murderous plan to turn tragedy to his own advantage, and only Pellar, Halla, and Cristov can stop him–and ensure that there will be a future for all on the world of the Dragonriders.

From the Hardcover edition.(less)

Mass Market Paperback, 432 pages

Published November 27th 2007 by Del Rey

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Feb 14, 2009

Foomy rated it

· review of another edition

Todd is really grasping to find problems for Pern to deal with that don't involve some form of lord holder misbehavior. This time it's firestone that explodes when it touches any amount of water (sweat included, yet the moisture in dragons' mouths doesn't make it erupt somehow). So they have to solve this problem somehow. That seems like a stretch to me, but I'm not prepared to reject this book on that reason alone.

The worse problem in my opinion is that none of the characters in ...more

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Jul 25, 2011

Kathy Davie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

It's <strike>483.7 AL, 483</strike> 491.7 AL, 491 years and 7 months after landing, and Thread isn't expected for 16 more years. It parallels Dragonsblood and Dragon's Kin.

* I'm amending the date mentioned in the book. According to Dragonsblood, Thread is expected soon and it's 507 AL. In Dragon's Fire, McCaffrey states that Thread is expected in 16 years so subtracting 16 from 507 yields 491 and not 483. I figured I'd keep the .7. So shoot me, besides the action in this ...more

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Aug 27, 2010

Virginia rated it

· review of another edition

I finally slogged all the way through this book. Though I hate to give any Pern book a 2-star rating, I can't find it in myself to rate DRAGON'S FIRE any higher. To be honest, one of the problems I had with this version was the annoying vocal habits of the narrator -- his attempt to give each character a unique voice grated on my nerves to the point of distraction. Beyond that, the writing was not even close to the quality of the earlier Pern books that so captivated my imagination. This book is...more

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Jan 08, 2009

Sidhe1 rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Well, it's not really fair to judge Todd McCaffrey against his mama. Just because Anne McCaffrey is his mama doesn't mean he will write like her. And he doesn't, which is fine, really. If he tried and failed, it would be really disappointing. So that's why I think it's probably a good thing that he is writing about a different time in Pern history than Anne does, and his focus tends to be on the whers and the "civilians" rather than the dragonriders and the ruling class.

So...moreWell, it's not really fair to judge Todd McCaffrey against his mama. Just because Anne McCaffrey is his mama doesn't mean he will write like her. And he doesn't, which is fine, really. If he tried and failed, it would be really disappointing. So that's why I think it's probably a good thing that he is writing about a different time in Pern history than Anne does, and his focus tends to be on the whers and the "civilians" rather than the dragonriders and the ruling class.

So with that reminder to myself, I can honestly say that I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was pretty complex plot-wise overall. I liked the story of the Shunned and how they might be dealt with once Thread started to fall again. I also liked the little spin that maybe not *everyone* on Pern would jump at the chance to Impress a dragon. I thought it was really cool, actually, the way Cristov put his duty as he perceived it before his own desires. Of course, he got the bronze in the end, but it was almost an afterthought. We weren't even there for the Hatching. That's all right, though. I don't think anyone can write an Impression scene a fraction as well as Anne, so I'm a little relieved Todd didn't try.

I liked the plot of the firestone as well, which is good since it is the theme of the book overall. I was so confused when they were discussing how dangerous firestone was and how it explodes on contact with water. I didn't remember any of that from Anne's Pern books. Just that it was somewhat tummy-upsetting for the dragons. But I thought it was a rather unique and clever twist to make it a different kind. There was the added tension of knowing that the dangerous firestone seemed to be running out, and without it, the dragons can't flame Thread. So when the not!dangerous firestone was found, it was a relief, partly since no more dragons would get blown up from wet firestones and since the nicer firestone was implied to be much more plentiful.

One thing I noticed that I did NOT like was that the editing on this one was fairly shoddy. There was a Gather scene near the middle that was nearly verbatim of the Gather scene in the beginning. So much so that it gave me some major cognitive dissonance for a moment and I went back to the first Gather scene to review it. For a minute, I thought I got a defective copy that had been bound with a partial story, then the beginning bound again or something.

I also didn't care much for some of the slang he used. It seemed too out of place. I know that these Pernese are much older, closer to the actual colonists, than the original Pern of Anne's creation with F'lar and Lessa. But it still was sort of jarring when, some slang or expression was used that would sound proper in a teen today, not a Lord holder on Pern.

Overall, I give this one 3 stars because I liked it very well, but nnot loved it, and I doubt that a Todd McCaffrey book will ever earn 5 stars like Anne's. I remain hopeful, though, that I will prove myself wrong. I'd give it 3.5, if that was an option. 3 is a little too low but 4's too many. (less)

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Jul 08, 2009

Jeanne rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

Blech.

Either I'm getting too old for these or this book wasn't up to par. Too much exposition. I had difficulty differentiating characters (miners and bad guys). I didn't really care for any of them. It'd been so long since I read the previous book that it took me a while to figure out they were dealing with the same set of circumstances. I realize they wanted to make the one Weyr's second gathering flight the same as last time, but it's just plain laziness to cut and paste the ...more

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Jul 29, 2010

Debbie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, animals, sciencefiction

With a thread pass on the way, miners are working to stockpile an adequate supply of firestone, the rock that dragons eat in order to breathe fire. However, Tarik, a miner, and Tenim, a ruthless murderer, join forces to corner the market on firestone.

Three children might be the only people on Pern who can find a safe way to mine the much-needed firestone and to thwart Tenim's plot. Halla's parents were shunned long ago, so she travels with a group of children poorly cared for by Ha...more

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Apr 03, 2009

Aaron rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

A well written book in the series, this book does a good job in filling out some of the details and background of the events that happen prior to, during, and after Dragon's Kin. The first half of the book directly overlaps with Dragon's kin, while the second half picks up where it left off and refers to the lives and plights of The Shunned. Those who've been exiled from teh holds for certain crimes and the dangers of the occupation of mining firestone. The dragonriders and miners must discov...more

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Mar 02, 2010

Tamcamry rated it

• This was an interesting book because it showed another side of the events that happened in Dragon’s Kin. It also introduced some interesting characters, and told the story behind Fire Hold. Like with some of the other T.M. books, he seems to go overboard with the deferential treatment that the dragon riders get. It’s not as bad in this book as it is in some of the other books. I do like the themes that T.M. goes into, like redemption and tolerance. I also like that some of the protagonis...more

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Jun 15, 2011

Cass rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2009, books-i-own, sci-fi, 2011

Todd McCaffrey did okay with his first novel Dragon's Kin, but this offering is the beginning of a disappointing journey.

Dragon's Fire has some good qualities thought I suspect not ones that the author intended. I actually enjoyed reading about Master Zist. The character protrayal was at such odds with other characters previously associated with Harperhall (which are usually either the epitome of wisdom and purity or grumpy old professors). Master Zist is the first character in all of...moreTodd McCaffrey did okay with his first novel Dragon's Kin, but this offering is the beginning of a disappointing journey.

Dragon's Fire has some good qualities thought I suspect not ones that the author intended. I actually enjoyed reading about Master Zist. The character protrayal was at such odds with other characters previously associated with Harperhall (which are usually either the epitome of wisdom and purity or grumpy old professors). Master Zist is the first character in all of the Pern novels to have serious flaws, however I must reiterate that I don't actually believe the author had this in mind.

Master Zist is a bitter and slightly insane man set on solving the problem of the Shunned (exiled people with big blue 'S' tattooed onto there foreheads). He first sends an apprentice, Moran, (presumably barely more than a child) to go find them. Moran becomes what he set out to find. A thief happy to sway and be swayed by a sexual mother and daughter all while trying to care for a band of children. His reasoning for not taking the children to the nearest hold or Harper only serves to show how truly lost the young man was.

Zist then attempts to find the Shunned himself. The sad result of this is his wife and baby die while trying to cure a fever amongst the Shunned. Zist is left with only his mute foster son who he finally agrees to apprentice. Zist is shipped of to a remote mining hold (Camp Natalon from Dragon's Kin) and thus begins an attempt to add Pellar as a main character in a previously written story. This is achieved by having the twelve year old boy camp by himself in the forest and being rarely allowed to visit Zist (and in doing so have a good meal and a comfy bed). Zist displays no paternal care, hunting Pellar out the hut in the middle of the night, flaunting his new apprentice and talking about gatherings in which Pellar cannot attend.

I find his character to have many layers and his lack of care for his apprentices, his stupidity in sending boys out alone was a refreshing change from such perfect and wise Harperhall residents as Menolly, Sebell and Robington.

This is the first book in which it becomes obvious that the author has a thing for prepubescent and barely adult main characters. It worked in his first novel Dragons Kin but in this book it becomes difficult to relate to an eight year old girl galavanting around the forest chasing trails and surviving on her own, let alone being encouraged to do such by her new Lord Holder (*spoiler* At one stage the girl seeks refuge in a hold, she is willing accepted but quickly sent back out by the Lord Holder to find the Shunned).

Later when a romance and bonding occurs between two children, barely adults, it becomes difficult to swallow. Likewise when three children discover and establish three firestone mines I am left wondering where are all the adults in this book? Towards the end of the book the author stages a conversation between the three main characters, all of which must be under fifteen, in which they explain to each other, presumably to satisfy the reader, why they are so mature and ready to form lifelong partnerships. It is difficult to swallow.

2.5 stars(less)

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Aug 16, 2008

Tara rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: loathed, sci-fi-fantasy, anne-mccaffrey, couldn-t-finish

Ok, so I know it's frowned upon to write a review on a book that you didn't actually read the whole way through, but I honestly did try.

I'm a big Anne McCaffrey fan, the Pern series being my favourite of hers. But unfortunately, writing doesn't seem to be a skill that was passed from Mother to Son, because Todd McCaffrey is not all that great.

The characters were dull and uninteresting, their motivations were often confusing or just plain stupid, the story rambled and by ...more

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May 31, 2011

Ericmgb1974 rated it

· review of another edition

Very uneven quality throughout. The story is riddled with inconsistencies, both internally and within the canon of the earlier works. The ending was so poor it felt like it had been written in a high school creative writing class at the last minute before the story was due. Skip this one unless you just have to read all the Pern works. I'm giving it 2 stars only because there appear to be 2 good short stories buried somewhere in all that wasted space.

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Nov 10, 2008

Roberta rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Not a bad novel. I like the character of Pellar perhaps because I can identify with a person who cannot talk much (he can't talk at all).

In this novel, the Shunned (those who are outcast for being slacker, thieves, or murderers along with their families) play a major role along with the mute son of Masterharper Zist who is trying to figure out about a coal shortage.

I think Tenim has to be one of the evilest characters I've seen in McCaffrey's fiction. He's flat out an opp...more

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Mar 08, 2011

Jo Rhett rated it

· review of another edition

Can I give this book 0 stars? It rambles from place to place like something undead. Characters move and interact, but there's no point in the interaction because nobody grows. There is sex but no desire, there are personalities but they don't come into play. After 3 hours of listening I found myself banging my head against the window praying something would happen that I could care about.

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Sep 11, 2011

Jan rated it

· review of another edition

I thoroughly enjoyed this book of Anne McCaffrey and her son. They work well as a team. I had read all of her Dragons of Pern series when I was young so this was a revisit to the world of Dragons and thread falling. I have encouraged each of my grandchilren to read this book and the world she has created.

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Feb 15, 2009

Kristi rated it

· review of another edition

It was good. Not Anne McCaffrey in her prime good, but still good. I think that Todd is not the author that his mother is, and that shows in the books that they have co-written. The premise had a few holes in it and the characters weren't quite as well developed as in earlier Pern books, but it was still very nice to be re-immersed in the "world" that I have enjoyed so much.

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Mar 16, 2011

Amelia rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, dragons

More with the screwing up details. He gets the time line muddled in the beginning and something else that irriated me I can't remember now. Still, it wasn't bad. I'm not sure if any of the Todd books are going to exceed "just okay" for me.

It's sad to watch a good series die a slow death.

Ah well.

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Jan 26, 2010

Kerry rated it

· review of another edition

I cannot tell what Anne wrote and what Todd wrote. All I know is that it is another Pern novel and fits well into that series. Keep on writing Todd! We have an heir apparent. (Not that I'm trying to get rid of Anne, or anything. She is one of the classiest people that I have ever met.)

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Jan 30, 2009

Gregory rated it

· review of another edition

This is the second in the series, it's pretty good, but I just hated that Tenim the bad guy seems to just keep getting away and all the good guys just keep suffering for it. Guys like him make the death penalty truly worth it... to bad there's not one on Pern.

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Jul 15, 2011

Jim rated it

· review of another edition

I approached the book with two authors with a little trepidation, I needn't have worried, the story was brilliant and I failed to notice two different styles. This was one of those books I couldn't put down. Loved the image of the dragons chewing the firestones.

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Aug 18, 2010

Marita rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

It has been so long since I read McCaffrey that it was so much fun to "visit Pern" again. The character development was not quite what it used to be, I think Todd is more into adventure than inner feelings that motivate people, but all in all I liked it a lot.

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Nov 10, 2009

Cecelia rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Pern Lovers

Shelves: fantasy

It's a nice trip through Pern, but not really good on charactor development or logical plot development. However, I read the Pern books because they are what I call bubble gum for the mind - so I'm not really upset or bothered too much by some serious logical flaws.

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May 06, 2011

Jake rated it

· review of another edition

Audio Book. The story takes place completely during an interval and is about finding fire stone. Firestone is eaten by the dragons so they can make flame. During the book they discover a less volatile form of the fire stone after several of their mines

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May 06, 2011

Jake rated it

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May 31, 2008

Jen rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Pern fans

I love Pern books, so this couldn't go too wrong, but this amalgam of Anne McCaffrey's writing and her son's feels just like that. It feels disjointed and disconnected. The best of her books are the ones that focus on a single character and really make you feel that you know them: Moreta, Nerilka, Menolly, Jaxom, etc. This book doesn't have a central character or even a central plot line. Even halfway through the book, I wasn't sure what the book was supposed to be about. Was it the Shunned...more

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Jul 24, 2011

Jackie Krasuski rated it

The McCaffreys have got to be my favorite science fiction authors ever. I got hooked on Pern during high school when I read the Harper Hall Trilogy, and then I went on to explore the rest of the world with Anne and Todd in the book adventures of a lifetime. I highly recommend any of the Dragonriders of Pern book series for any science fiction lover.

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Jun 20, 2010

Uriah rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, sci-fi

I liked parts of this story pretty well but others seemed like he was just attempting to tie up loose ends. The end of the book came way too suddenly as I felt it was building some excellent relationships but then switched to an epilogue.

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Jan 26, 2010

Mf rated it

· review of another edition

My main issue was that the plot had some jumps and discontinuities with too much change happening off camera. Anne writes much better than this. Todd has written better than this too. It's acceptable, but not the quality read I expected.

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May 14, 2008

Sora rated it

· review of another edition

( Spoiler ) In a magic land in the future there are master harpers that can talk with their dragons with their thoughts where the harpers have to protect Pern from the Thread (alien life form that eat any organic material)and other alien lifes that are threatening Pern. I liked how the author described allot each thing with allot of details, the book was really intresting and the morals at the start of each chapter are really poetic.The technique of the author was to change of one place to anot...more

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Mar 22, 2009

Dave rated it

· review of another edition

Unlike McCaffrey's other "collaborations," where she simply loans her name to another writer's work, this one's pretty consistent with her early books. Maybe her son has talent, or maybe she's more invested with his involvement, but something works.

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Jan 18, 2009

DDog rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: from-library, dragons, fantasy

An enjoyable addition to the massive oeuvre of Anne McCaffrey. The characters were quite rich and the story was dramatic. Pern's history is so long, I hope there will be many of these little additions to fill in additional background with stories.

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About Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey was born on April 1st, 1926, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at 1:30 p.m., in the hour of the Sheep, year of the Fire Tiger, sun sign Aries with Taurus rising and Leo mid-heaven (which seems to suggest an early interest in the stars).

Her parents were George Herbert McCaffrey, BA, MA PhD (Harvard), Colonel USA Army (retired), and Anne Dorothy McElroy McCaffrey, estate agent....more

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Quotes from Dragon's Fire

“Fire-lizard dance on wing
To the raucous song I sing.
Fire-lizrad wheel and turn,
Show me how the dragons learn.” — 5 people liked it

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Dragon's Fire (Pern (published order) #19)

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