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Dragonflight

(Dragonriders of Pern #1)

Anne McCaffrey

4.08 · Rating details · 129,906 ratings · 3,423 reviews

HOW CAN ONE GIRL SAVE AN ENTIRE WORLD?

To the nobles who live in Benden Weyr, Lessa is nothing but a ragged kitchen girl. For most of her life she has survived by serving those who betrayed her father and took over his lands. Now the time has come for Lessa to shed her disguise—and take back her stolen birthright.

But everything changes when she meets a queen dragon. The bo ...more

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Paperback, 299 pages

Published July 26th 2005 by Del Rey (first published 1968)

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Average rating 4.08 ·

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· 129,906 ratings · 3,423 reviews

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Nov 25, 2012 Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, all-time-favorites, jericho-fucking-barrons, high-school, romance, ya, quest, sci-fi, to-review, alpha-male

I understand that this book (and series) has a lot of haters. Their complaints are valid, but I still regard this as one of the best sci-fi fantasies I've ever read.

I started reading this series really young, and got so caught up in the whole "OMG DRAGONS" part of it that I didn't even realize until later that this book had sci-fi elements, namely, that we are on a different freaking planet here. It's a mishmash of several genres that worked surprisingly well.

From the other reviews of the book ...more

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Feb 29, 2020 Merphy Napier rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction, one-star

(I'm sorry in advance to everyone who grew up loving this book. I promise you, I really tried to love it too)

What I liked:
- our mc started out great. She was strong, scrappy, sure she was impulsive and rude at times, but it all made sense for where she came from.
- fast paced and easy to read plot
- generally fairly interesting ideas

What I REALLY didn't like:
- most of the characters are very shallow and really not well developed or layered at all.
- the execution of the plot was also really shallow (I'm sorry in advance to everyone who grew up loving this book. I promise you, I really tried to love it too)

What I liked:
- our mc started out great. She was strong, scrappy, sure she was impulsive and rude at times, but it all made sense for where she came from.
- fast paced and easy to read plot
- generally fairly interesting ideas

What I REALLY didn't like:
- most of the characters are very shallow and really not well developed or layered at all.
- the execution of the plot was also really shallow. Sure, it was fast paced and easy to read, but also NOTHING WENT WRONG! They regularly put themselves in dangerous situations but nothing ever went even slightly wrong. Tension? This author doesn't know her.
- set up of the story. (removing this part because a couple people have mentioned that more time had passed between the attacks than I had thought. I apologize for my mistake)
(now lets get to what moved this from a low three star all the way down to a one)
- the romance. So due the way this world is set up ("dragon sex makes me horny" is what it narrows down to), our mc is boarderline raped. The man who does it even admits to it. "He had not thought to control his dragon-incided emotions, and Lessa's first sexual experience had been violent... He had been a considerate and gentle bedmate ever since, but... he would coax her into responding wholeheartedly to his lovemaking eventually" (page 104) So basically, she's taken away from her home, forced into the experience, sexually assaulted, and then ends up in this really abusive relationship (and it's not just abusive because of the sexual assault)
- the love interest. Not only does he sexually assault her, but he also verbally abuses her, and physically assaults her. He constantly degrades and insults her, SHAKES her regularly, and slaps her! What a great guy.
- our mc's arc. Lessa's love interest really breaks a lot of her spirit in this book and she generally fears disappointing him because she knows he'll continue assaulting her. Here's some more fun quotes, "Oh, F'lar will be so angry with me. He will shake me and shake me, He always shakes me when I disobey him." "He'll shake me," Lessa cried, like a little girl." (and there's a lot more lines like this). I hear her character grows to be incredibly strong throughout the series. I'm glad to hear that because she deserves it.
- MORE ROMANCE MADNESS! Don't worry guys. She grows to love her abuser. So it's romantic.

I know a lot of people grew up loving this book. And I think if I had read it at a much younger age, I would have had a great time reading the fast and easy plot. And a lot of this other stuff would have gone over my head. But man, this is a book I'm not passing on to my kids to read.

Edit:
Obviously this review made a few people mad. it's a well loved story so I get being defensive of it. And I really don't mind people having differing opinions than I do. But keep in mind that just because the book was written in 1968 doesn't mean it's depiction of a romantic relationship can't be viewed with a critical eye. ...more

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Aug 05, 2014 Lilyan rated it it was ok

Shelves: dragons, fantasy, series, not-impressed, slow-and-boring-reads, series-i-dont-want-to-continue

This whole review is a "Spoiler" so don't read it. On the other hand, nothing interesting happens in the book anyway, so might as well save yourself the trouble of reading the actual book.

People of Pern: What's that in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a Plane? Is it SUPERMAN? Ugh, no.. It's those goddamned Dragonmen, trying to filch our resources.

Dragon People We are Dragonmen! We will protect you from the evil threads!

Evil Threads:

People of Pern: Sod off, there's no such thing.

Lessa: Aha! The d ...more

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Nov 09, 2007 Mike rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Nobody

Shelves: xcharity-2011, fantasy

What a disappointment. It started out just fine with Lessa, sole survivor of her family wreaking revenge on the evil dude who conquered "Ruatha Hold". The whole dragon/human mind meld thing was okay too. The part that really disgusted me was the whole raping/physical abuse shtick by the supposed hero. My thoughts were, if this was my daughter as the heroine, then the only thing to be done would "bag and tag" that F'lar a**hole cause I would have invented the .45 cal and then blown his head off w ...more

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May 06, 2014 Markus rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy, 2016, science-fiction

It always pains me when a beloved classic is just not good enough. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey was unfortunately plain unenjoyable.

The setting is the least intriguing one I have been faced with in quite a long time. There was just nothing to pique my interest on the world of Pern. In the author’s defence, she wrote this book in a time when only Tolkien had had the vision and ambition to take a fantasy world to marvellous complexity, and long before the intricacy and skills of the likes of Jor ...more

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Mar 31, 2017 Phrynne rated it it was amazing

I cannot imagine why I have never read this before. I have had plenty of time to do so since it was first published in 1968. It is fantasy/ sci fi, two of my favourite genres. And it has dragons in it! What more could I want?
Well I have now read it and I am joining the side of the people who love it! I thought the world building was extremely good and I liked the idea of the threads (some kind of weird fungal growth) periodically falling on the planet and threatening to destroy it.
The idea of t ...more

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May 16, 2007 Jessica rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: re-reads

It should be stated that I squandered most of junior high reading Anne McCaffrey's sci-fi/fantasy novels near-exclusively, but this was my first time revisiting her since then. I was surprised to find that the first book in the Dragonriders of Pern series actually does have a good story, with interesting characters and an excellent invented world. However, the writing is just abominable, and in spite of being a woman, McCaffrey is frustratingly chauvanistic. The (lack of) copyediting makes me cr ...more

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Feb 02, 2017 Sarah rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi-fantasy-challenge-2017

This was an entertaining book and I enjoyed most of it at a three star level. However, the romance drove me absolutely insane. I was gritting my teeth and wondering if I could actually count the number of times that F'lar shook Lessa, because we women love being shaken into sensibility, and a bit later I ran across these.

"Oh, F'lar will be so angry with me. He will shake me and shake me. He always shakes me when I disobey him."

"He'll shake me," Lessa cried, like a little girl.

"I told you he'd sh ...more

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May 23, 2009 Brad rated it liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, sci-fantasy

Lately I have been noticing a recurring observation about the quality of first books in various series. There seems to be a growing consensus in reviews that the first book of a series, particularly if it is the first book published by an author, is inherently weak because the author is "learning their craft."

It seems to be both an excuse for what is perceived as poor quality and an excuse for going on in the series despite being underwhelmed by the opener.

I had this in mind as I began reading ...more

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Oct 28, 2011 Sebastien Castell rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction

It's been ages since I read Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey. It was my first introduction to her writing and more specifically her world of Pern with its blend of fantasy and sci-fi (everything looks fantasy but is explained – thanks to the ubiquitous prologues across the series – as science fiction.) I rarely re-read books, but felt like going back to something familiar and so thought I'd give Dragonflight a try to see how it has aged in the intervening years.

The first thing that strikes a moder It's been ages since I read Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey. It was my first introduction to her writing and more specifically her world of Pern with its blend of fantasy and sci-fi (everything looks fantasy but is explained – thanks to the ubiquitous prologues across the series – as science fiction.) I rarely re-read books, but felt like going back to something familiar and so thought I'd give Dragonflight a try to see how it has aged in the intervening years.

The first thing that strikes a modern reader is how remarkably gendered everything is in that world. Women and men serve very different roles, which sometimes feels so off as to be grating. This didn't surprise me since, even as a teenager, I remembered finding Dragonflight oddly sexist in ways that sometimes felt out of step even with the world as presented in the pages of the book. What I noticed this time was that it was a bit funny how even the dragons get this treatment: gold dragons are vital, matronly forces whose primary function and source of pride is producing large quantities of eggs. Green dragons are . . . well, kind of promiscuous for the hell of it.

The women in the books tend towards similar descriptions, either being consumed with the idea of maternal duty or with sleeping with as many dragonriders as possible. There are plenty of exceptions, of course, otherwise the book would descend into self-satire, but the trend feels so consistent as to sometimes make it hard to distinguish between one secondary character and another. More troubling, of course, is the constant shaking of women, the use of physically dominant actions even as modes of affection, and the unclear way in which consent is understood within the world.

I'll dispense with this part of the review quickly, since I lack any useful training or qualification for delivering much of an analysis other than, "Geez, it sure seems kinda sexist a lot of the time." I do find it kind of embarrassing to read online the far-reaching justifications for the world of Pern, that so often seek to find some explanation for its preposterously gendered rules beyond the obvious one that Anne McCaffrey just happened to have views about gender that don't fit all that well in our contemporary world. This always seems like the problem with call-out culture, though: if something is popular enough, rationales are constructed by which to grant the author a pass, even when it's the work itself and not the author that we should have the issues with.

But why does that desire to preserve the sanctity of McCaffrey's books exist in the first place? Because they're just really good stories. The world of Pern, its peculiar dragons and dragonriders, the economics and politics and social conflicts that emerge from the threat of spores that periodically come from the sky, destroying everything in their path, makes for interesting reading even decades later. It's worth noting that Dragonsong, McCaffrey's third book set in this world, remains my favourite children's book of all time and though I have nothing demographically in common with Menolly these days, I still have no difficulty seeing the world of Pern through her eyes and sharing in her adventures.

It's also worth noting that even in Dragonflight, Lessa, the main character of the book, has loads of agency despite the highly gendered world she lives in. I wouldn't go so far as to say she challenges those roles, but certainly she chooses to interpret them in her own way despite the resistance she gets from everyone around her.

All of this confuses and conspires to make Dragonflight a mixed bag for me. The quality of storytelling seems undeniable, and even the problematic aspects of the book are sometimes confounded by McCaffrey's own narrative choices. At first I thought the sexist aspects were just my present, much older self reading with the voices of online outrage culture shouting in my head, but as the book went along I remembered that all these elements struck me as troubling even as a teenage boy.

I suppose all that leaves to say is this: Dragonflight is a good book, and one fantasy and sci-fi fans who haven't yet journeyed to Pern for the first time are likely to enjoy, even as they may find themselves staring curiously at the pages, wondering why it was so damned important that women fit into such narrow roles. ...more

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Oct 26, 2007 Steph rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I read this book back in sixth grade and thought it was exciting in the "wow, dragons are so cool; I wish I had one!" sense. I read it again on a whim and found it unintentionally disturbing. It's not just that the writing seemed dry and the characterization wooden. I realize the book was written in the late 60's, but the male-female dynamics still seem uncomfortably dated. The text seems to condone F'lar's treatment of Lessa; he patronizes her, yells at her, shakes her when he's angry, and prac ...more

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May 01, 2009 Libby rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, read-in-2009, fantasy-epic-and-series, fantasy-fairytale-and-myth

I truly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to continuing with the series. This work is a well-written, creative adventure novel with the perfect amount of romance. It’s storytelling at its best.

The book is a nice mix of Science Fiction and Fantasy. The setting is the world of Pern. We are told in the Prologue that Pern is a planet settled by Earthlings but now long forgotten. It has apparently reverted back to a feudal type society where most of the citizens live in “holds” which are hist I truly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to continuing with the series. This work is a well-written, creative adventure novel with the perfect amount of romance. It’s storytelling at its best.

The book is a nice mix of Science Fiction and Fantasy. The setting is the world of Pern. We are told in the Prologue that Pern is a planet settled by Earthlings but now long forgotten. It has apparently reverted back to a feudal type society where most of the citizens live in “holds” which are historically protected by “Weyrs”. The biggest threat facing Pern is environmental; the Threads fall from a neighboring planet and destroy all organic matter on Pern. For centuries the Dragonmen, residents of the Weyrs, have used their dragons to sear the Threads out of the sky before they can infect Pern. But now, over 400 years have passed without any Threads falling and the people of Pern believe the danger is over and that the Dragonmen have outlived their purpose. Too late, we find out that failing to maintain and believe in tradition has weakened the people of Pern and there are dire consequences when the Threads return.

I’ve seen a lot of criticism here that the book lacks character development and/or that the main romantic relationship is sexist and abusive etc. I do agree that this book is somewhat dated and that how writers represent romantic relationships has certainly altered to reflect the current social norms. However, I think the romantic relationship between F’lar and Lessa, while dated, is not outright abusive. As the setting of the book is feudal, I think the male dominate culture is appropriate. Further, much of this resolves as you see their relationship evolve over the course of the book into a relationship of equals. All that aside, this is a Sci/Fi / Fantasy novel not a dating manual. I find it odd that readers expect to see healthy, politically correct relationships and/or that they expect people to emulate the relationships they read about in books; if that’s true so much for Wuthering Heights. The relationship fits the setting and works for the novel. I think people may read too much into it.

The highlight of this book for me is the amazing relationship between a rider and his/her dragon. Once a dragon Impresses a rider they are forever two parts of one whole. The relationship is unique and moving. It’s a great companion aspect to the fast paced and engaging plot. I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys a book that is a lighter read while still being a richly told adventure story. ...more

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Mar 02, 2019 Graeme Rodaughan rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Anyone who loves a great story.

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy, dragons

Reads like fantasy - actually science fiction, and pure genius. I fell in love with this book when I first read it. Leesa, is a genuine heroine and standout character, and the dragons are marvelous.

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Jul 10, 2020 L.S. Popovich rated it liked it

Shelves: 3-star, 2020, fantasy, american

The start of a well-known series. While the writing was on par with many fantasies I've read, the characters and setting did not amaze me. It is dragon-centric, so heavy with dragon-lore and dragon-activities and dragon-relationships and dragony stuff that it left me curious about the characters.

For all of its world building, threads and mind-tapping, and so forth, it fell rather flat for me. I can see how plenty of people will enjoy the series. It has the right tropes, and it is competently wri ...more

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Feb 17, 2014 Alexa rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy

Around 2.5 stars.

This book's prologue is terrible.

It's an opening narration supposed to serve (as they usually do) as an introduction to the story. However, it feels like an unnecessary info dump, placed there because apparently readers are too stupid to figure stuff out on their own and need to be spoon fed all the important facts.

From then on things weren't that bad. The story is easy to read and I found the mix of Sci Fi/Fantasy really interesting. But the plot has holes and coincidences an ...more

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Mar 30, 2013 David Sven rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

A quick and easy read. The world building is light with a lot of unanswered questions, but I'm assured that the series as a whole "fills out" in that regard. I enjoyed it.

The prologue had me doing a double take because it was pure scifi, with Pern being one of many colonised planets which eventually became isolated and forgotten by Earth. The technology then regressed to the more fantasy feel medieval style setting. There are dragons, but even these are indigenous animals that have been bred to ...more

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Mar 12, 2008 Sean rated it liked it

Shelves: sci-fi

The Dragonriders of Pern series really caught my imagination back in my preteen/early-teen years, when I picked up a library copy of The Renegades of Pern that my mom had put down. I next read All the Weyrs of Pern (thrilling at the brilliant cover art by Michael Whelan) and then started from the beginning, whipping through Dragonflight, Dragonquest, The White Dragon, Moreta, Nerilka's Story and the Harper Hall Trilogy.

I recently had the urge to revisit those carefree years of meaningless scienc ...more

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Sep 10, 2010 Vivian rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

10/2014 Buddy Reread: Reliving my preteen years with Don

Once relieved of imminent danger, Pern settled into a more comfortable way of life. The descendants of heroes fell into disfavor, as the legends fell into disrepute.

Hooray! This book was as good as I remembered. The Pern books had a huge influence on my preadolescent self and I was a little nervous about rereading it and finding out that it wasn't as good. Afraid that it would destroy the related memories I made while reading these stor ...more

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Jul 18, 2020 Justine rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-tbr-challenge, 2020-read

3.5 stars

My first time reading this 1968 classic!

I read this for my 2020 TBR challenge for the category of a book published before I was born. This was actually way more enjoyable than I expected it to be. I liked all the interesting ideas, and even though I had it figured out before the end it was still pretty exciting to read.

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Mar 09, 2008 Cathy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Why is this one of my favourite fantasy series of all time? Sentient dragons, talking telepathically to their riders. People fighting the good fight on dragonback. A really cool world. Entertaining story telling. This is really fun to read. Eat your heart out, Christoper Paolini!

The first 150 pages are a lot of set-up and world building. I can live with that in such a long running series. The romance is mostly non-existent. They meet, they become a pair due to external circumstances, they seem t ...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Jerry rated it really liked it

Anne McCaffrey, who sadly passed away some years ago, has long been heralded as one of the queens of science fiction and fantasy. Her short story "The Smallest Dragonboy" has even found its way into middle school literature textbooks. Dragonflight is the first entry in her insanely-long Pern series, and felt like a television series premiere in many ways, good and bad. The story was compelling, the writing was mostly good (though there are a few rough spots), and it made for good interplanetary ...more

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Apr 02, 2009 DivaDiane rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, sffbc-book-shelf, diane-s-meager-effort

I read this first in a pre-GR era, 21 years ago, to be exact. I loved it then and looking back at my records I see that I read most of the series within 2 years.

Now rereading it as a much more mature person, I find that it is just as fun but I noticed certain odd things this time around. Most notably F’lar’s behavior towards Lessa, which is quite overbearing and possessive, right from the get-go, bordering on a rapist’s thoughts and behavior, which he barely manages to rein in. And what’s with ...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Bradley rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, worldbuilding-sf

I was told to read these novels many years ago, and I have no excuse I can say why it has taken so long. I am ashamed. Why did I make assumptions? I suppose I expected overused tropes and kitschy twists, since I knew this was science fiction masquerading as fantasy, not to mention dragons, dragons, dragons... But I stand corrected. At least for this first book in a long series, I stand corrected. I do feel the draw of a very open and wide horizon, a backdrop for many wonders, and I must discover ...more

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Feb 24, 2015 Silvana rated it did not like it

Shelves: fyeahfantasy, sci-fi, shitty-books, disappointing, dnf-i-just-cant, female-nonbinary-authors, series-i-abandoned

What the hell did I just read? All I can remember is that confusing prologue, breeding project, a girl who kept taking showers, and many, many people with apostrophe in their names. I gave up. My reading time is too precious for this crap. AND RAPES! SO MANY RAPES! Dragons mating led to rapes? Come on!

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Sep 05, 2007 Alexandra rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Alexandra by: JoAnn

Shelves: sci-fi, favorites, own-on-audio, given-to-susan, own-on-kindle, own-on-audible, pern-series, read-more-than-once, to-re-read-audible, its-not-fantasy

*** 6/30/19 $2.99 for Kindle. ***

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Dec 02, 2011 Apatt rated it really liked it

I read a few Pern books in my teen, I thought they were readable but at the time I was not all that taken with them. At that age I was not too discerning, I cared nothing for characterization, dialogue or prose. I read only for fun and escapism, not for the artistry of the works. Well, I am way out of my teen now, and I have cultivated an appreciation finesse to compensate for my own deficiency in that department.

Since her recent passing tributes have been pouring in for Anne McCaffrey from nume I read a few Pern books in my teen, I thought they were readable but at the time I was not all that taken with them. At that age I was not too discerning, I cared nothing for characterization, dialogue or prose. I read only for fun and escapism, not for the artistry of the works. Well, I am way out of my teen now, and I have cultivated an appreciation finesse to compensate for my own deficiency in that department.

Since her recent passing tributes have been pouring in for Anne McCaffrey from numerous quarters, including major sf/f writers including Neil Gaiman, David Brin, Lev Grossman, and Vonda McIntyre. These tributes reminded that I never really gave Anne McCaffrey's books a fair chance. Now is as good a time as any to start exploring them in earnest.

When I first heard about this series decades ago the idea of fighting threads did not fill me with enthusiasm, I mean fighting threads? May as well fight balls of yarn! I thought. Ah, but then there are threads and there are Threads, these things are more menacing than I ever gave them any credit for. They are basically mindless, true, but so are zombies and the threads are even more deadly. They burn and they burrow and they are of course relentless

This is not a YA book, it is not action packed, those looking for heart pounding scenes of dragon conflagration are not likely to be satisfied. The major strength and enduring popularity of this book - and I imagine the entire series - is the immersiveness of Pern. The slower chapters depicting day to life on Pern is what makes the world realistic, after all life is not full of nonstop action on a daily basis. The author wants you to live with her characters not go on missions with them. That said she really makes you wait for the threads to make an appearance though! The author's meticulous attention to details is awe inspiring.

This is also not a fantasy book, not in the sense that Lord of the Rings or The Wheel of Time are. Anne herself has always been adamant that she is a science fiction author, no disrespect to the wonderful fantasy genre of course, but she deliberately backed the Pern fantasy tropes of dragons and medieval life with science. Pern is a planet, the dragons are genetically engineered and the lack of technology is due to some event that caused a fall of technological civilization. So no magic, no elves, no unicorns and no Dark Lord with a funny name (thank gawd!). Any way, what label you stick on a book does not matter, especially for a book of this calibre.

Anne's prose style is - as her legions of fans would attest - is beautiful, clean, clear, concise and literary. The main characters are skillfully fleshed out, unfortunately my one complaint is that the protagonist Lessa is unrelentingly ill-tempered and willful to the point of being a pain in the posterior. I am looking forward to many more visits to Pern.

"That was well flown, I say. Well flown".
R.I.P. Anne. ...more

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Jul 30, 2017 Beige rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: zread-1-fantasy

2 stars + 1 bonus star for dragons.

This classic fantasy was interesting. I had made assumptions that since this series was still beloved it would read like a modern tale. Maybe in 1968 this did feel modern with a strong heroine proving herself in a patriarchal world. However, to me it seemed shockingly old fashioned, I expect that from Jane Austen but not from the 60s. I should have known better since I have seen every episode of Mad Men :) Parts of it read like a movie from the 40s where women ...more

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Dec 21, 2012 Kim rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-literary-exploration-challenge, action, book-club-sword-and-laser, classic, fantasy, sci-fi, adventure, hugo-winner, nebula-winner, female-author

When something mentions fantasy/sci-fi and dragons the first thing that comes to most peoples minds is Pern. Even if they haven't read it. I've been hearing about the Pern books for as long as I've been reading those genres. I can remember looking at the books in the library as a kid and picking them up from shelves in bookstores but for some reason I never read a single one.

With this year being about challenging my reading habits and having to choose something for fantasy I thought it high time When something mentions fantasy/sci-fi and dragons the first thing that comes to most peoples minds is Pern. Even if they haven't read it. I've been hearing about the Pern books for as long as I've been reading those genres. I can remember looking at the books in the library as a kid and picking them up from shelves in bookstores but for some reason I never read a single one.

With this year being about challenging my reading habits and having to choose something for fantasy I thought it high time I actually read a Pern book. And there's nowhere better to start than the beginning.

Originally conceived as a couple short stories that went on to win awards McCaffrey pulled 3 short stories together plus a bit of writing between the gaps and Dragonflight was born. So far the Pern books have continued on for another 22 novels and a couple short story collections.

But after reading Dragonflight I just think really? I really liked the concept. A strange planet where people and dragons fight this mysterious infestation that only occurs every 200 years (sometimes longer) and lasts around 60 years each time. But the execution was lacking. I think Lessa could have been a much better character. She started out as a strong, intelligent woman but by the end of the book was treated as a stupid, unthinking girl. She has to be controlled by the male Weyrleader. For a book written by the first woman to ever win a major sci-fi/fantasy award she doesn't really treat the female characters that well. Lessa was a virgin who was practically raped (the male character even says it was pretty much that) yet she never mentions it at all. There are at this point only 3 other female characters who have any lines. One dies at the start, one is the wise woman in charge of the stores of the Weyr (cliche much?) and the other is a slut.

The ending was frustrating. Cliffhanger of course. After a very long setup the last part of the book, the bit you've been waiting for, just ends without getting to the good parts. After the way the book went I honestly don't think I want to keep reading the Pern books. Disappointing for a book so many people seem to love but it just goes to show again there's no accounting for taste. ...more

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Aug 10, 2015 Susan Kennedy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This was a reread and I thoroughly enjoyed this book again. I love these characters and the story.

Lessa is such a strong female protagonist. I love her boldness and stubbornness. She does make some rash decisions, but over all she is a fantastic character. I love the Weyr leader, F'lar and his brother F'lon. Robinton shows up in these books and he is such a great character. The story itself is fantastic.

It has been 400 turns since the last threadfall and the holders and residents of Pern have de ...more

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Aug 28, 2016 Kaitlin rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Magical Space Pussycats pick for August was this book and I have to say I was super excited to try this out, but I had some serious problems with this book. This is definitely a fun fantasy/sci-fi story. It has Dragons and Dragon-Riders, creepy enemy Threads, and is set on another planet called Pern. We have a young heroine who is called Lessa and is plotting to avenge her dead family, and we have the Dragonmen who have an ancient evil they need to fight but they need a new Queen to do so. All o Magical Space Pussycats pick for August was this book and I have to say I was super excited to try this out, but I had some serious problems with this book. This is definitely a fun fantasy/sci-fi story. It has Dragons and Dragon-Riders, creepy enemy Threads, and is set on another planet called Pern. We have a young heroine who is called Lessa and is plotting to avenge her dead family, and we have the Dragonmen who have an ancient evil they need to fight but they need a new Queen to do so. All of that was SUPER exciting, the problems came a little later on...

What I didn't like about this is that it suffered from a very convenient plot. Lots of things that happened to solve the problems of the story were very much BIG chance/luck. I don't mind so much when one or two things are solved this way, but in this book it felt like almost everything happened that way and there was not a whole load of reasoning behind why characters did things or how they jumped from one idea to the next.

The other MAJOR issue I had was the ABUSIVE relationship. Lessa is a young girl who has already been through hell when she meets the dragon riders but then when she joins up she meets a man who, instead of teaching her and helping her, rapes her...many times. Now I definitely don't think that this is necessary AT ALL and there's no reason I can see for McCaffrey needing/wanting to put it in, so it came as a bit of a nasty shock to me when, out of nowhere, rape. Not only do we have that we also later see this same man gripping our main character and physically shaking her and we see that she's terrified to displease him becuase of what he may do. This is not empowering to readers, or to our main character and it was not necessary... Just super disappointing for me.

Besides those two major problems this was a really easy and fun read at times and I found it being a book I did always want to pick up and read on with. Although I had pretty large issues with some of it, the raw ideas are very intriguing and I hear the series improves as it goes and I do still want to know what happens next. It's definitely a book which feels pretty old-school and has some bad problems, but it's an adventure too and so for that reason I had to give it a 2*s overall. I'm definitely conflicted on this one! ...more

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About Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey

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Anne McCaffrey was born on April 1st, 1926, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Her parents were George Herbert McCaffrey, BA, MA PhD (Harvard), Colonel USA Army (retired), and Anne Dorothy McElroy McCaffrey, estate agent. She had two brothers: Hugh McCaffrey (deceased 1988), Major US Army, and Kevin Richard McCaffrey, still living.

Anne was educated at Stuart Hall in Staunton Virginia, Montclair High Scho ...more

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Dragons, demons, kings, queens, and the occasional farm boy (with a special destiny, of course): Fantasy literature has it all! To celebrate...

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“Dragon kind was no less cruel than mankind. The Dragon, at least, acted from bestial need rather than bestial greed.”
~ A thought by Lessa ~” — 42 likes

“My eyes are green, my hair is silver and I freckly; the rest is subject to change without notice.” — 19 likes

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