Book: The Dragonriders of Pern – Dragonflight
Author: Anne McCaffrey
Published: 1968
Synopsis:
Dragonflight is the story of a fierce, resourceful young girl of high blood—Lessa, whose hold is brutally conquered by a ruthless, morally bereft antagonist—Lord Fax. For ten turns (in Pern, years are referred to as turns), she poses as a lowly drudge, covered in grime, slowly biding her time while subtly sabotaging Fax’s tenuous rule.
Lessa’s problems are soon put into perspective when she is swept up into a world of dragons, dragonriders, and the deadly threads that fall from Pern’s skies, threatening to annihilate every last scrap of life on the planet. Normally the dragonriders would stand against this threat, burning the threads from the skies with fire, but there’s just one problem: Nearly all the dragons and their riders have been missing for hundreds of turns. Now Lessa, and the dragonrider F’lar must figure out how they will stop the threads from reaching Pern’s soil, turning it into a barren wasteland.
Review:
The first book in the Dragonriders of Pern series is most definitely a memorable one. I have encountered other reviews of this book criticizing its prose, claiming that it was early in Anne McCaffrey’s career, and therefore her writing was less refined. I tend to disagree with this assessment. I found her prose to be quite fitting for the story, and there were more than a few moments where I found myself searching the definition of a word she’d used.
The storyline itself was interesting, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there was more to it than simply a tale of becoming a dragonrider. It included sci-fi elements that went beyond the setting (a planet in a distant solar system), delving into the paradoxical nature of time travel.
The characters were unique, well thought out, and for the most part, believable, and the ending resolved any lingering questions I had. On that note, I felt there could have been a little more mystery to pull me along to the next book.
My one big gripe with this book has to do with how the female protagonist—Lessa—is portrayed. There is a bizarre sense of incongruence arising from her interactions with the main male protagonist—F’lar. Lessa’s actions and dialogue lead you to believe she is a powerful, independent woman, untamed and destined to lead. Despite this, she is cowed by F’lar, and there are multiple instances in the story where he grabs her by the shoulders and “shakes” her. Toward the end she is so afraid of his “shaking” punishments, that she is hesitant to return home for fear of his admonition. All this, and she still returns his affection, and I get the impression they are meant to be falling in love with each other.
I understand that this book was published in 1968, but this kind of male/female dynamic made it really hard for me to actually like F’lar. In addition, it made it harder for me to buy into Lessa being as strong as McCaffrey would have me believe.
Despite these issues, I still find myself regularly thinking back to the world of Pern. It’s such a masterfully crafted, well thought out universe, that it became real for me. I truly enjoyed Dragonflight, and I look forward to returning to the world of Pern in the next book, Dragonquest.
Dragonriders is my favorite sci fi series of all time. I have been reading sci fi since I was 12 (46 years ago) and Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders is one of the few I have reread and is definitely the series I have reread most often. While the first book is not her best, I had obtained the Dragonriders of Pern which contained 3 books through the science fiction book club in the mid70s so that Lessa became a strong character much more quickly when reading all 3 as one huge novel. I do believe the characters on and the author grew in depth together as the series progressed. I did not care much for those books in which her son created a story and series of characters that were much too young for the actions in which they engaged. It is a series well worth reading and one which engaged my daughter in science fiction past the Star Trek phenomenon of the 90s.
Awesome – I have the next two in the series as well, and I’m looking forward to getting into them. I can see why these books are beloved by so many. The setting is so unique and just pulls you in. Great stuff!
I love the Perm books. My fantasy wish involves me, hot sands, a cracking egg, and a telepathic bonding with a baby dragon. Dragons flight may be the first of the Perm books she wrote but, in my opinion, the book that should be read first in the series is Dragons Dawn. If you decide to check it out you’ll know what i mean immediately , even if you disagree with my feelings it should be read first. It just happened to be the first book of hers I ever picked up. Reading Dragons Dawn first enriched the rest of the series for me. I dont know about all the criticism. When I finish a book if I feel grateful that I was allowed some time in a new adventure,with characters that,while staking a place in my heart,have made me laugh, cry, get angry,or get so caught up in their story that I lived it with them, then I consider myself way too lucky to get caught up in the prose. As far as F’lar and Lessas’ relationship i think Ms. McCaffrey may have had a romance novel or two as part of her reading experience. I think the incongruity comes from her overcoming that, even though it’s actuallty more realistic to see a strong person who still has moments of being unsure of themselve. Also if I’ve put it together right Lessa would only be 16 or so with F’lar not much past 20. That would explain some of the reason why they act immature at times. She got much better at that as she went along. Don’t we all? All I know is that at the end of her books I’m so happy that I got to experience it, sad that it’s over, can’t wait to read another one, and will be rereading them every few years for the rest of my life.
I totally agree. Have you read Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle (first book is Eragon). Very similar theme, and I definitely see the McCaffrey influence. If you haven’t checked those books out you should (as a heads up, the Paolini books are YA targeted). I found the prose criticism odd myself, as I actually enjoyed her prose, along with the world building, and character development (aside from my comments above). I hope my criticisms didn’t come across as too harsh, I just love seeing strong female characters in fantasy, and I so badly wanted Lessa to stand up for herself more.
I’ll definitely be picking up Dragons Dawn based on your recommendation – the other two I have lined up in the series are Dragonquest, and The White Dragon. So many wonderful books to read, so little time!
I think this is my favorite book all time ever. The characters in this Dragon based Dawn is written with such great mastery. Anne McCaffrey is the greatest fantasy writer of all time. I have all her books in hard and or softback as they came available way back when. I take them off the top shelf and read them at least twice a year. Going to try get them on Kindle as my eyes are getting really to bad to read book, books. And Ms. McCaffrey’s are Number one. Want to read Dragon’s of Dawn Now I do wish I could meet Ms. McCaffrey in person, but as I’m getting up in age I do not travel much anymore. Does she ever come to Houston, Texas?
Dragon’s Dawn – yet another one to move to the top of the queue. How lucky am I that I get to discover these for the first time? As for Ms. McCaffrey, I just checked and she’s currently 85 years old – I doubt she does much traveling anymore, unfortunately. Thanks for your comment!
She passed November 21, 2011. A very sad day but her books live on and still touch many people. Her son writes and has done some on Pern.
I started Pern with Dragonsong. I was having huge problems with dyslexia my reading level was well below my grade. I had been sent to live with an aunt so that I would have a better chance with schooling. My father on a visit left the book and told me to read it. I picked it up because I didn’t want to hear him go on about not reading it when I went home for Christmas. It was the first time I understood reading for pleasure. I was so glad to find that there was more. I started the school year with everyone saying read and ended with everyone saying put down the book and pay attention. It’s my all time favourite series and a series that I re-read. I recently bought Dragonsong and Dragonsinger as audiobooks so that I can visit Pern while doing other things. I am so enjoying it I will be buying the rest. Apparently I need her books in all three formats.
I hadn’t really thought of Lessa’s relationship as an adult I fell in love with all of Pern as a teenager. Next time I re-read it I will try to not get lost in the story and think about the characters. Not sure it will work as the love of the story overshadows any criticism. I have to admit that I am in awe of authors even if I don’t like the story the ability to put words on paper that invoke pictures in my mind as well as feelings is truly amazing. I still fight with words spell check isn’t all that helpful to dyslexia especially if while miss-spelling a word you spell an other. Words that most people can’t see as remotely similar are difficult to dyslexic like left and felt they were the same as I saw them which makes reading and spelling nonsensical. I was very lucky to have parents that wouldn’t let me give up on words and fought to in still a love of reading.
Wow, what an inspiring story, thank you for sharing it, Robin. Your passion for this series makes me all the more excited to read Dragonsong – I’m now tempted to skip right to it!
The first huge fantasy series that really grabbed me and didn’t let go was Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time. Those books aren’t without their flaws, but the characters, their stories, and the world itself were unforgettable to me, which is why I’ve read through the thirteen book series multiple times.
You say you’re in awe of authors who can invoke pictures and feelings with words, well I think it’s all the more impressive that you persisted through your challenges, conquered them, and cultivated your love of reading.
There would be no Game of Thrones dragons without the Dragonriders of Pern! Just re-read it after twenty plus years and couldn’t put it down!
Oh that’s a great comparison – I hadn’t even considered it before now. I need to jump back into this series again!
The categorization of this book is “juvenile fiction,” yet I found myself searching for definitions nearly every time I sat down for a reading session. Did children of the 1870’s simply have a larger vocabulary that we have today? Or perhaps authors were less afraid to challenge young readers? Either way, this read most certainly had an educational element to it.
I agree – this book doesn’t strike me as juvenile fiction either. I think the juvenile/YA label has changed a lot over the years, both in terms of language and content. If you’re looking for a truly educational experience, try picking up the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay. I had to read that series with a dictionary in hand, and I’m glad I did. It’s a work of art. Thanks for your comment!