Dragon's Kin (The Dragonriders of Pern)

Fair warning: this is a watered down, younger reader’s version of Pern. And that’s okay!

The focus of the Dragonriders of Pern has always, rightfully, been the heroic dragonriders. But the society is supported by average, gritty people. Like miners.

While I was first surprised by the simpler and shorter story, I enjoyed the change of pace. I don’t recommend starting with this book if you’ve never read about Pern before. You’ll be getting a skewed view.

However, learning more about the watchwhers and a hardworking people was interesting. The Harpers continue to penetrate every aspect of Pernese society, which is always entertaining.

This book sets up an arc within the larger Pern universe, so dive in for a new story.

The story itself was small and intimate, with minimal stakes, which made it restful to read. It shows some facets of the great dragons' "cousins", the watch-whers, who had been barely explored in previous books. I'd recommend this book for any Pern-lovers out there!

This review is specific to "Dragon's Kin." It took a bit to get past Chapter 1, now whether that had anything to do with the fact that I have a habit of skipping the Prologue I could not say. I kept waiting for the book to tie into a previous story line. I don't think it does. Maybe it will tie into another further down the series, or maybe it is a freestanding portion of this Epic Saga, only you can decide once you have read them all.

Now, I have found one major fault in the storyline and one out-of-character question, but if you can overlook those discrepancies then you will be okay.

I was hesitant to purchase this book when it came out with Ann and Todd McCaffrey's names on it. I realized she was grooming him to take her place, and I wasn't particularly sanguine at the prospect. The book was truly a disappointment. It had none of the depth of other McCaffrey books, and plodded on and on. I was bored to tears. After my experience with this first joint book, I resolved never to purchase another coauthored book with Todd McCaffrey's name on it. I also determined that there was no chance that he could assume Anne's mantle upon her passing. Based on reviews of subsequent titles, it seems I was right.

As a loooooong time fan of Anne McCaffrey and Pern (I read and loved Dragonflight when it was first published as a novella in Analog, I won't say how many years ago!) I am delighted to read this latest installment and have high hopes of Todd McCaffrey's future efforts. If you are a fan, you will enjoy it; however I do NOT recommend reading this as the first of the Pern books if you are new to them, you will be left scratching your head about a lot of the references.....
That's not to say that I can't see some of the flaws that have been mentioned by other reviewers; however they did not detract from my enjoyment.
Those of you waiting for a "next installment" of the main storyline will be disappointed. The setting is a totally new time frame from any of the previous books - after the sophisticated technology of the first colonists has been lost but before the Long Interval so that much knowledge of the original colony still exists. For example dolphins and fire lizards are taken for granted. It takes place during an Interval and although there is no preoccupation with fighting Thread, everyone is quite aware that Thread is coming and what the implications are to the settlements. The main setting is a new mining Camp - where the mining craft is learning to undertake successful deep shaft mining operations as all the surface deposits are depleted.
We are introduced to new intelligent animal; the focus of the book is the watch-wher; the descendents of Wind Blossom's failed attempt to duplicate the bio-engineering of dragons. The interaction of man (or in this case young teenagers) and animal and their discovery of each other is vintage McCaffrey style and substance.
The two main protagonists: Kindan and Nuella - who are 11 going on 14 in the time span of the novel. The plot involves their "coming of age" while nurturing and training the Camp's new watch wher. More detail is included in the editorial reviews.
There are some fascinating new people to meet besides In my order of preference for wanting to know them better: M'tal, Weyrleader of Benden, Master Harper Zist, J'lantir bronze rider from Ista Weyr. There are several very well drawn minor characters, as well, such as Renilon the wherhandler from somewhere in Lemos. I do not agree with previous reviewers who say the characters are not developed - what I will say is that there are quite a few other minor characters who I wanted to know a lot more about: Miner Natalon (Nuella's father), Christov (son of the bad guy), Dalor (Nuella's brother) and Kindan's friend Zenor and his sister Jenna. The young age of the protagonists is nothing new - e.g Menolly, Piemur (Harper Hall novels), Readis (Dolphins of Pern), or even Lessa way back when it all started with Dragonflight.
Here's what I didn't like:
There are several continuity errors that a good editor should have found - towards the end a couple of the youngsters are said to have been born at Camp Natalon - when it was established only six months before the novel opens. The worst of these continuity problems is the knowledge, or lack thereof, about whether or not the whers can go between; this subject was treated in a very fuzzy fashion.
The book feels a little "thin" in places. I wanted to know more about what had happened before this novel opens - we were given hints but no details about what had happened to Tarik's mine or Master Zist's wife and daughter. Very unsatisfying. Also there could have been more details sometimes as the plot unfolded. Other books in the Pernese series have been written from several varying points of view - this one could have benefited using the same technique - for example, I would have liked to read about the dragon riders efforts at watch-wher education as they took place and not hear an account after the fact. Yes, I know that some readers find the multiple viewpoints very distracting; I've always loved the technique and wish this book had more of it.
In summary - a must for fans of Pern; keep writing Todd and Anne, please!

Anne McCaffrey created an intricate world spanning many centuries featuring the bonding of humans and dragons telepathicly in her PERN series. Now Anne has joined with her second son, Todd, to write this newest episode in the PERN.
Todd has 'grown up in PERN'; so readers can be confident that there is no variation in this newest PERN tale. The tone and complexity of the story is sure to delight McCaffrey fans and encourage thoughts of more adventures on the planet PERN.
Blurb and other editorials give a summary; so what more can I say? Teenaged Kindan, blind Nuella and Master-Harper Zist work together and learn the forgotten secrets of how the nocturnal watch-wher see in the dark and their ability to communicate with dragons. This reveals many new possibilities for the dragon-riders and watch-wher. Another cave-in at Natalon's mine leads to a future that both Kindan and Nuella never expected.
Mama McCaffrey shared her writing talent & inspiration with her son and they chose to continue to give us reader's a fantasy world to remember. Such a legacy is impressive; such skill is appreciated. Thank you Anne and Todd for continuing to 'share the dream' of PERN.

Before looking into DRAGON'S KIN, let us remind ourselves that this is a science fiction novel, designed for recreational reading, intended to be a diversion from concerns of our workaday world. As such, it escapes some of the criteria that we would apply to an analysis of a so-called serious novel, yet there is one that it must certainly meet if it is to be adjudged a success, and that is that the reader must enjoy his experience with it. To enjoy the story, two further criteria must be met, first that the story line and the characters be treated in a believable manner; that is, human characters must act like humans and non-human characters must act in a way that appears real and natural for their kind; second, that the flow of the story must be continuous without needless diversions and must be neatly wrapped up at its end.

With these criteria in mind, then, how shall we rate DRAGON'S KIN? By and large, the characters, both human and non, are interestingly drawn and react realistically enough with one another. If there is a weakness in this area, perhaps it is an inadequate explanation of Miner Natalon's bizarre decision to hide his blind daughter from the rest of the Camp. He so fears the exposure of her existence that he is willing to abide the crafty subversion of his uncle, who undermines the Camp leader's authority and influence at every opportunity. This behavior seems aberrant, especially when contrasted with Natalon's other personality and leadership traits, all of which are quite positive.

Greater weaknesses exist in the development of the story line and in the denouement at the end. Some apparently significant events fade away into nothingness as the novel progresses. For example, Kindan and Nuella absolutely enchant both Miners and Traders at the Gather when they sing and play "The Morning Dragon Song," a tune that carries significant emotional import for Kindan. The stage is set for both of these youngsters to become Master Harpers, perhaps remaining together to work their magic at other Gathers through the years, breaking the tradition of single Harpers being assigned to any one Hold or Weyr. Yet, despite the unprecedented success of their performance, never do we see them play together again.

Another example of a disappearing story line is the dragonriders' overheard conversation that alerts us to the fact that a girl with the potential to be the rider of a gold dragon, a queen, is in Camp Natalon but that she is always in darkness. Nuella's ability to befriend watch-whers, to communicate with them, and to teach them and their bonded humans to do likewise reinforces the reader's expectation that she herself will become a dragonrider, demonstrating that a blind rider need not be a strange concept after all. Alas, the dragonriders' conversation dies out in the night and nothing comes of this strong foreshadowing.

Speaking of dying out in the night, we cannot ignore the treatment of Tarik, Natalon's hostile uncle, or perhaps we should say the lack of adequate treatment of his character. At the conclusion of the novel, as Nuella and her band of supporters work to free Natalon and other trapped miners from the cave-in caused by Tarik's improper tunneling, we learn that Tarik is pumping air into the mine, increasing the probability of a disastrous explosion that would surely kill the surviving miners along with their would-be rescuers! However, following the successful rescue, Tarik is never mentioned again. Rather than being placed under arrest for the attempted murder of Natalon and his crew, he, like the prediction of the gold dragonrider, silently vanishes from the story, a character apparently forgotten and abandoned by the authors.

While, overall, I could lose myself in the story of DRAGON'S KIN and generally enjoyed the escapist recreational reading experience it provided, I cannot overlook the loose ends and the undeveloped and dropped threads that the authors began to weave into the story only to seemingly forget all about them after a few pages. Add to this the fact that the last chapter seems rushed, as though the authors felt that they must hurry away from their writing desks to catch the last train to the coast or some such thing, and we see that what could have been a delightful novel ends up as a rather mediocre one after all. I fear that Anne McCaffrey has lost her touch and that Todd McCaffrey has not yet found his. Still, for the entertaining look at the young watch-wher and for the enchanting character of Nuella, I feel easy in rating DRAGON'S KIN as a three-star read.

I totally enjoyed this book,,, it also takes us backward,,, or forward,,, to a time of fantasy. And perhaps even more dreams. The stories of Pern and the colonization of another planet with its different needs gives much more excitement. I like it very much.

This book is very well written and I think enjoyable for both children and adults. Some of the other Pern books have romance in them with some sexual scenes that aren't really appropriate for children (such as Dragonflight and Dragonsdawn). This is one of my favorite stories and I think they did a great job with both plot and characters. I highly recommend it!

Dragons Kin

Written by Anne & Todd Mccaffery

The world of Pern is an astounding place, filled with adventure, mystery, and anything a good reader could ever want. One could feel themselves living in the wondrous world, breathing the air, smelling the scents, even hearing the voices, like an echo across time and space. The young boy, named Kindan, grows up in a mining hold, which is where miners live in large groups. Kind of like a city and territory. He and his family moved to a mining camp to yet be approved by the lord holder, and things got bad. A few years into the camp life, and after a mysterious stranger appears, but is soon forgotten, for soon after, his father is trapped and killed in a cave in. His fathers' greatest help, a nocturnal creature called a watch wher, which were great for cave operations due to the usual darkness, and their ability to dig using their body weight with combined force from their strong arms, is killed trying to help. His entire family was in there with the father, and all perished. The sad ending eventually leads Kindan to needing a watch wher egg, because the only watch wher left had died. His adventure leaves the reader interested throughout the entire story as he discovers the stranger, and overcomes fears, solves a few mysteries, and saves a few lives. Interested yet?

Kindan is the reason I loved this book as much as I did, because he was passed off as the unfortunate child in an almost unstable home area with many conflicts. He had just so many qualities to attract the reader into his personality and life. His adventure also crosses roads with Wyers, which were the large, mass homes of dragons and their riders, whom are telepathically linked until death do they part. His interaction with such various people is another reason I am attracted to this book so much. Simply wondeful.

Kindans friend had seemed a little jumpy after the cave in, and seemed to be hiding something. He soon found out that a stranger was befriending his best friend, and the stranger wasn't even supposed to exist. Soon, him and the stranger, Neuella, became friends as well, and it even took him a while to find out that she was blind, because she hid it so well. The girl was about as old as Kindan was at the time, and eventually becomes a key part of the story. Her own little twists make you keep on turning.

The watch wher was turning Kindan into a nocturnal man, having to live at night to feed, walk, play, and train his watch wher. Both of them were getting new personalities as the tomes went on. The son of the camps first in command was one day spying on them from a distance, while before, he was only seen as a bully. Kindan found out that, despite the fact that the kid hangs about the second in command, whom said there should be no watch wher, the boy was interested in the creature who was still in her hatchling state, and soon, they were friends.

Dragons Kin is filled with such interesting things, that one could never stop turning the pages. Kindan makes everything seem more real, and that is the important part. For instance, when there was the cave in that killed his dad, he was flowing with emotions for the dieing watch wher and his probably already dead family. It was just a heartfelt moment in the book that sunk the hook. I was addicted at that point.

With Kindan, Neuella, and Kisk, the watch wher, the story never lost its interest appeal, and added so many twists, turns, complications, and solutions, that one could never be bored. Like when Kisk allowed Neuella to see through Kisks eyes through the telekinetics that dragons and watch whers are known for. Neuella saw everything in such vivid detail, and through heat sensitive eyes, that she began crying. Kisk and Kindan came to help right away.

Eventually the Wyer leaders became interested in a watch wher training program that Kindan had started with Neuellas help, on having the watch wher handlers become more attached and accustomed to their partners warnings and needs. This was a very interesting part, because Neuella went around doing the training with other handlers, while Kindan and Kisk stayed at the mine where they were needed. While Neuella was away, Kindan and Kisk found a problem in the problematic, second in commands part of the mine. The support beams were too thin, which could cause for a very easily provoked cave in.

The main point of this story leads up to facing your fears as Kindan, Kisk, and Neuella become trapped while getting people out of the bad part of the mine. They were caved in. I will not give away the end, no matter how much I long to, but I will say that a hidden feeling of love is discovered in the now 18 year old people. So for a romantic reader, this may be good if you would prefer such a thing as fantasy.

Everything was to like about this book and there wasn't a thing to hate. Like when Kisk hatched, the suspense was building up while the deformed egg cracked, and a little green nose pocked through. The cover of the book I read depicted this scene, so one could easily see what I mean.

I recommend this to readers of all ages, young and old, because when one begins, they will forever live in the world of Pern.

Review by E. Matish

The story itself was small and intimate, with minimal stakes, which made it restful to read. It shows some facets of the great dragons' "cousins", the watch-whers, who had been barely explored in previous books. I'd recommend this book for any Pern-lovers out there!

This book is very well written and I think enjoyable for both children and adults. Some of the other Pern books have romance in them with some sexual scenes that aren't really appropriate for children (such as Dragonflight and Dragonsdawn). This is one of my favorite stories and I think they did a great job with both plot and characters. I highly recommend it!

Dragons Kin

Written by Anne & Todd Mccaffery

The world of Pern is an astounding place, filled with adventure, mystery, and anything a good reader could ever want. One could feel themselves living in the wondrous world, breathing the air, smelling the scents, even hearing the voices, like an echo across time and space. The young boy, named Kindan, grows up in a mining hold, which is where miners live in large groups. Kind of like a city and territory. He and his family moved to a mining camp to yet be approved by the lord holder, and things got bad. A few years into the camp life, and after a mysterious stranger appears, but is soon forgotten, for soon after, his father is trapped and killed in a cave in. His fathers' greatest help, a nocturnal creature called a watch wher, which were great for cave operations due to the usual darkness, and their ability to dig using their body weight with combined force from their strong arms, is killed trying to help. His entire family was in there with the father, and all perished. The sad ending eventually leads Kindan to needing a watch wher egg, because the only watch wher left had died. His adventure leaves the reader interested throughout the entire story as he discovers the stranger, and overcomes fears, solves a few mysteries, and saves a few lives. Interested yet?

Kindan is the reason I loved this book as much as I did, because he was passed off as the unfortunate child in an almost unstable home area with many conflicts. He had just so many qualities to attract the reader into his personality and life. His adventure also crosses roads with Wyers, which were the large, mass homes of dragons and their riders, whom are telepathically linked until death do they part. His interaction with such various people is another reason I am attracted to this book so much. Simply wondeful.

Kindans friend had seemed a little jumpy after the cave in, and seemed to be hiding something. He soon found out that a stranger was befriending his best friend, and the stranger wasn't even supposed to exist. Soon, him and the stranger, Neuella, became friends as well, and it even took him a while to find out that she was blind, because she hid it so well. The girl was about as old as Kindan was at the time, and eventually becomes a key part of the story. Her own little twists make you keep on turning.

The watch wher was turning Kindan into a nocturnal man, having to live at night to feed, walk, play, and train his watch wher. Both of them were getting new personalities as the tomes went on. The son of the camps first in command was one day spying on them from a distance, while before, he was only seen as a bully. Kindan found out that, despite the fact that the kid hangs about the second in command, whom said there should be no watch wher, the boy was interested in the creature who was still in her hatchling state, and soon, they were friends.

Dragons Kin is filled with such interesting things, that one could never stop turning the pages. Kindan makes everything seem more real, and that is the important part. For instance, when there was the cave in that killed his dad, he was flowing with emotions for the dieing watch wher and his probably already dead family. It was just a heartfelt moment in the book that sunk the hook. I was addicted at that point.

With Kindan, Neuella, and Kisk, the watch wher, the story never lost its interest appeal, and added so many twists, turns, complications, and solutions, that one could never be bored. Like when Kisk allowed Neuella to see through Kisks eyes through the telekinetics that dragons and watch whers are known for. Neuella saw everything in such vivid detail, and through heat sensitive eyes, that she began crying. Kisk and Kindan came to help right away.

Eventually the Wyer leaders became interested in a watch wher training program that Kindan had started with Neuellas help, on having the watch wher handlers become more attached and accustomed to their partners warnings and needs. This was a very interesting part, because Neuella went around doing the training with other handlers, while Kindan and Kisk stayed at the mine where they were needed. While Neuella was away, Kindan and Kisk found a problem in the problematic, second in commands part of the mine. The support beams were too thin, which could cause for a very easily provoked cave in.

The main point of this story leads up to facing your fears as Kindan, Kisk, and Neuella become trapped while getting people out of the bad part of the mine. They were caved in. I will not give away the end, no matter how much I long to, but I will say that a hidden feeling of love is discovered in the now 18 year old people. So for a romantic reader, this may be good if you would prefer such a thing as fantasy.

Everything was to like about this book and there wasn't a thing to hate. Like when Kisk hatched, the suspense was building up while the deformed egg cracked, and a little green nose pocked through. The cover of the book I read depicted this scene, so one could easily see what I mean.

I recommend this to readers of all ages, young and old, because when one begins, they will forever live in the world of Pern.

Review by E. Matish

I consider myself a die-hard Anne McCaffrey fan. I've been reading her books since I was in 7th grade. I have read all of her Pern-series books multiple times and I must admit I cried when Masterharper Robinton died. Rereading one of her books is like catching up with an old friend you haven't talk to in a long time.

Anne has some not-so-well written books, but I love them anyway because of the characters and plot. I had been waiting in anticipation for Dragon's Kin's release and was so excited when I received the book for Christmas in 2003. I really tried to like Dragon's Kin because it's a continuation of the Pern series and it has the McCaffrey name attached to it. I gave the book 2 stars because I am a loyal fan, but I have to admit that it was terrible. My boyfriend is a sci-fi/fantasy speed reader and was able to zip through the book before I could finish it. While I was reading Dragon Kin I kept asking him "Does it get better?" just about every chapter. He kept answering me "no" so I was determined to prove him wrong. I couldn't, the book was just too terrible.

I couldn't get into the plot and characters, and the writing was just plain bad. I can see that the authors were trying to develop the story behind the watch-whers (the only thing that could grasp my attention long enough to finish the book), but the writing is so poor that I'm not sure if I want to attempt reading Dragon's Fire. I would strongly advise skipping Dragon's Kin if you are an Anne McCaffrey fan. I'm sure quite a few people have donated their copies to the library so I suggest borrowing it from there. Otherwise you'll be kicking yourself for spending $8 on the paperback.

Watchwher's have been around as long as dragons in the world of Pern but almost all knowledge on them has been lost. In this 4th book of Pern, we meet more of the incredible character of Pern as they work to learn all they can about the cousin's of the dragons.

I've always liked McCaffrey's books because of her talent for creating well drawn worlds (especially Pern) with interesting people and social structures.

With this one, Anne McCaffrey and her son Todd venture into another time period (several years before the second pass begins if I remember correctly) and explores the abilities of watchweres for the first time. She explained about the origins of watchweres as a batch of dragons that were messed up by Windblossom Ping in "Dragonsdawn". The poor creatures always seemed to be reviled and mistreated in all of the earlier books and appeared to be of very limited intelligence and use when compared to dragons or even fire lizards. The creatures were first mentioned in Dragonflight and in passing in other books in the Dragonrider series, and it was implied that they were somewhat telpathic (as the old Ruatha hold watchwere could communicate emotions and concepts at least with Lessa) and loyal to the noble family of their hold, but it was not implied in any of the dragonrider series that they bonded the way dragons do (impressed). In fact, the creatures were always collared, chained and wing clipped (that would hardly be necessary if they impressed someone the way dragons or firelizards did) and it was implied that some were even running wild and were hunted (people often wore werehide boots). Dragons always acted insulted when someone suggested that watchweres were related to them.

Now the idea is put out that the creatures are quite intelligent, can see in the infrared spectrum and be very useful in mines and impress (although they are capable of changing their bond over to a new person, unlike dragons) and that they have queens, greens, bronzes etc. They can even fly a bit (albiet only at night), which explains why they were wing clipped. It is nice to see the critters getting some respect and some explanations given about their biology, even if it is not entirely consistent with implied information in earlier books.

The main characters of Nuella and Kinden are interesting, though not as compelling as Menolly, Jaxom, Lessa and company. It is nice to see a yound woman who is blind as a well drawn and very competent character. Earlier books tended to treat people with various disabilties in a more one dimensional manner (like Camo in the harper hall books or the sailor who had lost his foot in Renegades of Pern). The story of this pass is continued in some of Anne and Todd McCaffrey's more recent books. These books should appeal to fans of Pern, but they are not as compelling as some of her earlier books. I hope that McCaffrey returns to her original time period one last time at least in order to tie off some of the loose ends left in "The skies of Pern". I've also noticed that the books set in this time frame seem to have a somewhat grimmer and more morbid bent than some of her earlier ones.

�Dragon�s Kin� is Anne McCaffrey�s latest offering in her long-running and best-selling �Dragonriders of Pern� series. It is also the first time she has permitted a co-author into the Pern universe: her son, Todd. This time McCaffrey tells the story of an earlier time in Pern�s history. The time is more than halfway through the second Interval, 16 years before the next Threadfall and the next pass of the Red Star. We are several hundred years before the events in �Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern� and perhaps a hundred years from the events of �Dragonseye�. So, this is the time period we are looking at.
The story is set in the Natalon mining camp, and this is one of the first times we�ve had a look at the miners. This is the story of Kindan, a twelve year old boy who seemed older when I read the book. Kindan does not expect anything more out of his life than to follow his father into the mines when he is old enough. All of this changes when there is an accident at the mine and Kindan�s father and brothers are all killed. He is left an orphan and he is taken in by the Masterharper, Zist.
What the title of this book refers to is the watch whers (they appear in several of the Pern novels). The watch whers are dragon like, though smaller and nocturnal, and are used typically as a nighttime guard or as the first warning if anything is going wrong. They are kin to dragons (hence the title) from when humans first settled on Pern. Watch whers play a prominent role in this book (though, the watch wher egg does not appear until close to half way through the book).
At times, �Dragon�s Kin� did not feel like a Pern novel. Dragons play such a limited role, and this story is such a sub-set off of what became the primary storyline throughout Pern. This was a quick reading story, but none of the characters were as engaging as previous characters. There is no Menolly, or Lessa, or F�lar, or Jaxom, or even any of the characters from �Dragonsdawn�. Kindan is too young, and while he may grow into a better character (assuming McCaffrey follows up with these characters), he isn�t interesting enough to build a novel around. The minor character, Nuella, she has potential. �Dragon�s Kin� is a decent enough Pern novel, but it is nothing to get excited about.

This book is BAD.Embarrassingly bad. I cannot imagine why or indeed how this book was ever printed.Anne and Todd Mccaffrey should get a new editor and fast! This is one of the most poorly written novels I have ever read, and I am an avid reader.This is one of the very few books I can remember not finishing, the other being Cold Mountain (a laughable book). The dialogue was repetitive,phony,amateurish and uninteresting.The plot was non-existant and boring. I don't understand the purpose of the new Pern books.Are they going to re-hash the same plot lines,character types ad nauseum? I was wholly expecting after Skies of Pern that the next novel would involve the story of Pern meeting people from other worlds. After all, Pern was an interstellar colony. That would have been interesting! Too bad. I won't read any more of the new Pern books,I'm sure. I find the positive reviews in this for this book quite disturbing.

Dragon's Kin is probably the most disappointing novel of Anne McCaffrey's that I have ever encountered (and I have read just about everything she has written or co-authored). As a huge Pern fan, I had to finish the book, although for once I had no problem frequently putting down a McCaffrey novel. The book was obviously written for a young audience, and as an adult I found the book predictable and tedious, and the plot poorly developed. Perhaps this was a result of different writing styles, but I have to say that this collaboration with Anne's son Todd was very disappointing.

There were several reasons this novel was no where near the calliber of McCaffrey's other books.

1. The book seemed obviously geared towards young adults or even children. I think even as a young adult I would have been extremely disappointed.

2. The plot is erratic, but predictable. None of the more interesting tangents are explored in depth (*warning* spoiling ahead!) including: Kindan's bonding with Kisk, Zenor's experience in the mine, Nuella's experience as a watchwher-trainer, Nuella and Nuellsk's new life, or Kindan's new life as a harper.

3. Character development is poor. The novel focuses on Kindan through most of the novel, but never explores much into his character development: (*warning* possible spoiling) how he copes with the loss of his family, his bond with Kisk, or his new life as a harper. And in the end, McCaffrey's essentially drop him as the main character and focus on a previously secondary character: Nuella. Nuella seems like a very intriguing character with high potential, but this potential is never explored.

4. There is a chronic lack of exploration into the watchwher. We learn some nifty tricks of the watchwer, but again the watchwher is poorly expored. I expected this book to give us a much better understanding of the watchwher and its purpose in the Pern society. Instead, the McCaffrey's provide more discrepancies with previous Pern novels in which watchwhers CANNOT fly or go between.

All in all, if you are a huge fan of McCaffrey's Pern series, you may wish to read this novel, but don't expect too much or you will be disappointed like I was.

I totally enjoyed this book,,, it also takes us backward,,, or forward,,, to a time of fantasy. And perhaps even more dreams. The stories of Pern and the colonization of another planet with its different needs gives much more excitement. I like it very much.

The story was OK, but the McCaffrey flair for character and story development was not there. I own all the other books in this series, and many of Anne McCaffrey's other series as well, and her ability to make realistic characters that readers actually like and care about is missing from this latest effort. Reading this book was like eating cotton candy -- you know you're eating, but you're not getting anything of substance. The idea was good, but this looked like a skeleton outline of a book that needed fleshing out.

This book reads like pretty good Pern fanfiction. If you really just want to read something about Pern, go for it. I appreciated that it focused on a side of Pern that mostly hadn't been touched on before. But it was really just kind of meh- flawed pacing, weird perspective shifts, weak character development. But it was definitely readable.

This book is "in the tradition" of the great saga of Pern & it's dragons. For all of us McCaffrey fans the book/the story fills in the gap between significant events and storylines in the lives of "dragonfolk" and those that they protect. For fans who found the books that delt with discoveries and pioneers of "First Landing" in the Southern area of Pern the story is plausible and pleasing.

I'm far from being a child, I am a fantasy fan who prefers not to read about odd ugly creatures(to me the dragons are odd but exempt from "ugly") so the stories of pern create another world that is not too bizarre to be entertaining. As a former libray assistant I got hooked because McCaffrey's books were in both the children's collection and the adult collections. I started reading to find out why. I'm hooked for life. I hope that Mom And Son persevere.

I was really disappointed in this book. Unlike the other books in the Pern series, this book was written through perspective of children and seemingly for children. It was lacking any of the complexity of a book written for adults. On top of that, the first half of the book dragged with little to no action. The pace picked up in the second half but the plot of the second half seemed poorly developed. Throughout the book, the reader is continuously "told" what is going on and rarely allowed to "discover" anything new about the story or characters. This is especially true in the second half and gives the book a very shallow feeling.

Whilie in a bookstore the other night I saw Dragon's Kin and got very excited to see a new Pern book out. I sat down at the bookstore and began to read. The book brought me right in like every Pern novel I've read, but the dissapointing thing was when I stopped reading I checked the page number and I was already 200+ pages into the book, in an hour and a half. Most other Pern books at least take a couple days of reading it. Good book, glad to see another come out, but you may want to wait for the paperback because this one reads at about a third or fourth grade level and finishes way too quickly.

This book had a great start. The characters were well developed and the story line kept you interested. That is up until about the last three chapters. It seemed like the McCaffreys got tired of writing and lost interest in the story line. Kindan was made out to be a main character but in the end was shoved aside like he was nothing. The book set itself up for a sequel but why read a sequel that has the potential to let you down the way this book did. It was very disappointing.

...will give fans the fix they've been longing for. McCaffrey and her son delve into the little known lore of watch-whers as the story of Kindan and Nuella unfolds. A wonderful addition to the series!

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.

I read this book with some apprehension when I saw that Ms. McCaffrey had let her son co-author it, and the apprehension was completely justified. I think the series got so huge that she gave up on writing with any elegance or style (not that she was an amazing writer to start out with, but her teen fiction series Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums was very nicely executed) and just wanted to fill in the gaps in Pern's history. That's why I kept reading her novels after the first few - the world is addictive, and it's not often an author gives you such a complete picture of a universe. However, that's no excuse not to put some effort into making the stories readable. I don't care if he's her son - she should be able to tell him, "Son, you need to learn to write."

The Pern series of books from Anne McCaffery are great. Better if you read them in order, (look online at her website for recommendations). This is futuristic science fiction, but if you liked Aregon, you would probably like this series too