Dragon's Fire (The Dragonriders of Pern)

McCaffrey's work is consistently excellent, and this novel is no exception. She manages to build suspense, then carry her reader through to an ending both satisfying and unexpected in its twists and turns. I'm reading the whole series this winter. I heartily recommend it!

This was a wonderful book. Todd has really captured the essence of Pern. It was very interesting to hear more about the whers. They were largely ignored in the original series, except for their use as night guardians.

I sorely wanted to believe that Todd McCaffrey's concept of Pern would pick up Anne's McCaffrey's visionary thread, in harmony or counterpoint, and am therefore saddened to report that his handling seems so unevenly discordant to me that I may not trouble to read another of his tales.

Where Anne McCaffrey's Pern always held a note of optimism and hope through the most difficult of times, Todd McCaffrey's Pern is jarring and uncomfortable as it explores the unsavory underbelly of the culture--a Pern I never expected to see and honestly can't believe exists. The very concept of a "Shunned" subculture in the numbers posited; of Weyrleader D'gan threatening to kill an injured, albeit Shunned miner? Firestone so unstable and volatile a substance that a drop of water will explode it? ("Dragon's Fire") (Shards! Let's hope a rider doesn't sneeze while passing his dragon firestone! Or fly through a moisture-rich cloud!) Dragons dying by the dozens and an acutely sensitive Lorana, who can feel every death, not being rendered catatonic by the horror of it? Lorana continuing to function, even to the extent of learning genetic manipulation (!), after her own Queen, Arith, dies? ("Dragonsblood") Flight games continuing with little emotional impact or comment after the death, by firestone explosion, of a weyrling delivering firestone? ("Dragon's Fire") Compare that to Anne's description of the acute psychic agony suffered by Lytol years after the death of his dragon, brown Larth ("Dragonflight", "The White Dragon"), and I find myself asking, who ARE these people? They dress like Pernese, they attempt to speak like Pernese, yet they haven't the sensibilities of folks who have been reared with and lived in the company of the lofty dragons of Pern.

I've read the covers off of Anne McCaffrey's Pern sagas until the characters are as familiar to me as childhood friends, and this is not the Pern I know.

And the discomfort inflicted by Todd McCaffrey's tales is interminable--heaping disaster upon disaster and horror upon horror through chapter after chapter until I can barely stand to continue reading. If I wanted to wallow in this type of dark emotion, I could simply stay on present-day Earth, turn on the telly and absorb the news of the Middle East. In the past, I've escaped to Pern to soothe my jangled psyche by immersion in a culture more inherently honorable and magical than my own. I'm afraid that Todd McCaffrey's Pern is too realistic, if you will; too unpleasantly akin to my own world, to entice me to visit again.

Anne McCaffrey and her son Todd McCaffrey have collaborated a second time to write a novel of Pern's earlier days. Dragon's Fire takes place during the same time period as their first collaboration Dragon's Kin, which would be the end of the Second Interval after Landing (the settlement of Pern) before the Fall of Thread. This novel has to do with discovering new sources for firestone, the material needed by the dragons to breathe fire. Pellar, a young mute boy is apprenticed to Masterharper Zist and they work together to search for Moran, another Harper who has gone missing trying to help The Shunned. The Shunned are a segment of Pernese society which have been outcast for various crimes but also at the whim of a Lord Holder. Pellar's story intertwines with Halla, a homeless girl, and Cristov, the son of a miner. There are references to the characters of Dragon's Kin, but this serves more to place the story in a time period rather than illuminate the story here.

While Dragon's Fire is, at its core, about finding a safe way to mine firestone, most of the novel focuses on the various adventures of Pellar as well as Tenim's (a villain) desire to gain power and money. Dragon's Fire does not seem to tell the story it claims to tell, and the issue with firestone is almost an afterthought except for discussions on the challenges of mining firestone because of how volatile the material is. Midway through the novel the story picks up and the McCaffreys start driving towards a conclusion, but the first half of the novel meanders around without accomplishing much. By the end Dragon's Fire is a better novel than Dragon's Kin, but it does not hold up nearly as well against Anne's classic Dragonriders of Pern novels. Interestingly enough, Todd McCaffrey's solo Pern novel, Dragonsblood, is also a stronger novel. The fact that the stakes do not feel very high or important has to do with the reasons why this novel is not as effective as other Pern stories. This is a problem in telling stories set early in a long chronology because we know that the dragons have firestone and no previous mention of the danger of firestone has been seen in prior novels, it is difficult to feel that there is a chance that the story will not end well for Pern.

Sometimes I wish that Pern would start to go the way of Darkover (Marion Zimmer Bradley) in that the lost colony will eventually become re-discovered by Earth and the culture conflicts. Anne already set this up in All the Weyrs of Pern with the discovery of working technology and the old space ships. There are stories to tell in this direction, but I fear that Todd will continue to write in the older days of Pern and do little to expand our understanding of the world.

-Joe Sherry

Todd McCaffrey's version of Pern continues to depart from the world his mother created - full of Mary Sues, Gary Stus, and political correctness. Todd's books are more like an extensive fan-fiction world, allowing for things that his mother permitted in fan fiction, but would never have allowed in her own written world.

I purchased and read three of Todd McCaffrey's books in this extended universe Pern series, but will not consider them part of canon Pern, and will not be purchasing any more of Todd's books.

I found this book very compelling. I was upset that there was more violence than in the other stories, but was satisfied by how it all worked out in the end. The final paragraph is worth the whole book!

This book has nearly quenched my desire to read any more of the dragon series. The three young male characters seem to have interchangeable personalities. The story seems to meander without any real focus. We have a much overused reuse of the arrogant wyerleader theme. The bad guy vs one of the young male characters is poorly detailed and repetitive. I've read the 9th pass books and all of the ones prior to this one except Dragoneye and so far this is the worst one I've encountered. If you're trying to read all of the series, then I guess you'll read this one, but don't expect much.

"Dragon's Fire" is the second collaboration between Anne McCaffrey and her son Todd (a published novelist in his own right). Judging from these collaborations, and from the publication of a "Pern" novel under Todd's name alone, it is clear that the torch is being passed from one generation to another.

This is not the strongest of the "Pern" stories -- nor, however, is it as bad as, say, "The Dolphins of Pern" (the point of which I still have yet to ascertain!) Set toward the end of the Interval between the Second and Third Passes, the inhabitants of Pern deal with the several challenges including:

1) Firestone problems

2) Shortage of dragonriders

3) Shortage of watchweyrs

4) What to do about "The Shunned" -- a culture of pariahs seperated from the rest of the Pern civilization.

5) An irresponsible Weyrleader (of whose appearance in the next novel I have little doubt!)

A couple of unique characters add to the charm of this novel.

Virtually no new ground is broken here -- but what is presented is pleasant and entertaining.

(I would be interested to hear if other readers caught the same parallels to "Oliver Twist" as I did. Please feel free to e-mail me.)

Since following the first serialized episodes of the Dragons of Pern trilogy in the late 1960's, I have looked forward to the Pern books (novels, short stories, etc). This one falls below the usual quality, and altho's I gave it 4 stars initially I think that it might rate 2 stars on reflection. (It has been a long interval since my last read of a book on Pern!)

The first think that I reacted to were the egregious typographical errors. Then there are the grammatical errors--missing words, scrambled sentences, additional nonsensical words...often requiring the reader to use context to make some sense of the sentence (or even, paragraph). Then there is the herky-jerky way the book is put together. This is reminiscent of the collaborations between Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon (books I have avoided like the plague) where it is painfully obvious that 2 different authors are colliding in the same book.

Next, character development is sketchy. The "personae" page lists 2 characters (Cayla and Carissa) whose parts in the book are brief and who contribute nothing more to the storyline except a brief insight into who and what Pellar is. And Pellar, who should have been a strongly developed character, is, despite his presence throughout the book, strangely 1 dimensional. The same holds for Tenim. And the denouement between Pellar and Tenim lacks any real drama or ability to engage the reader. Much the same can be said for almost all characters. Halla is the best developed, but still tends to be sketchily drawn.

Overall the book is like an ensemble TV series that tries to do too much with too many "stars"; some get their moment(s) while others come and go or just languish in the scenery until they are dismissed. To fully develop this book and its cast would have taken maybe 2 books--something that Anne McCaffrey has not been afraid to do in the past. I'll try the other books (Dragon's Kin, Dragonsblood and Dragonholder) I haven't yet read. I'll get back to you on those.

Anne McCaffrey's Pern is a favorite retreat of mine ever since I read 'Dragonflight' back in the 1970s. Some of the books are better than others, but all have familiar characters and those marvelous dragons.

This latest in the saga of Pern nicely fills in more details about the planet and its fight with the carbon-devouring Thread, but it does not rank among those that I'll read over and over again. Lessa, F'lar, and Robinton are marvelous creations, as are Sean, Sorka, Admiral Bendon, Emily Boll, and Kit Ping. Pellar and Halla are good but don't quite rise to the levels of other Pernese.

Still, it's always a treat to be taken off to this world where humans fight against their own weaknesses and limitations as well as the strange forces on their new chosen home. With little more than natural abilities and ingenuity they succeed in making steps forward in their respective quests.

Pern has been such a rich, living tapestry that I never expected the series to get to this point. Reading Anne's books has left me with a full sense of the depth of her world and the vitality of its inhabitants. I cried at the death of Robinton, having felt that I would almost have recognised him, Menolly, Lessa, Piemur, etc., on the street.

Dragon's Fire is... nowhere near. Instead of being immersed in depth, instead of being swept along on the tide of the story, I feel like I'm wading in an ankle-deep creek. I'm skipping through the story without understanding who the characters are, where they are, or why they act as they do.

The idea of Games continuing through the violent death of a wyrling blows my mind. And since when does firestone blow up on contact to water? Have they never fought Thread during rain or heavy fog? How in the world could the firestone miners go all day without water while working, when the guy in the stocks couldn't even tolerate just sitting there without, and yet there was only one guy coming out all day?

It's just... like someone read some of Pern and decided to write a faintly related story, with no adherence to anything that didn't suit their storyline. Altogether, not a good recommendation of the continuing series at all.

Dragon's Fire was an interesting book to read. It has its moments and at times is entertaining, but it is also a mess. From the start, the book had me thinking "Can Todd McCaffrey not think of any new plots?!" The first half of the book is largely are rewrite of Dragon's Kin with a new cast. While it reveals a new depth of intrigue and purpose in the other book, I still found this somewhat troublesome. The second half, dealing with Cristov felt more genuine to me...but at the same time came out of left field. The plot and development of the story overall is very disjointed and meandering. Granted, I can understand why this may be so and how it could be used to develop characterization, but it ends up being too heavy handed.

Any fan of Pern can bemoan the fact that this is not the work of his mother, but if you can get past the book's many flaws there are some interesting ideas hidden in each of Todd McCaffrey's books. I just hope his writing improves...though after reading three of his books, I have serious doubts.

The sad fact is that Todd Johnson, who changed his name just to capitalize on Mommy's name recognition, is not a writer. Anne's books developed some problems over time which her fans attributed to her increasing age, but Todd doesn't have that excuse.

I can't speak for the story because I couldn't get past the writing long enough to finish the book. He seriously overuses dialogue tags--for every "said" he bothers to use, there are probably a dozen others: continued, told, agreed, shrieked, suggested, told, asked, called, replied... this is something I remember being warned away from in high school. Some pieces of dialogue don't even make sense in context, not to mention the fact that he plays fast and loose with the canon his mother previously established for the world of Pern.

The beginning of the book is littered with fantasy cliches... bad poetry! Disabilities that don't reduce the attractiveness or seriously interfere with the lives of the disabled! Random capitalization of important words! It lacks any compelling story to force the reader to continue. There's no reason to wonder what's going to happen next. I plowed through almost a hundred pages on the sheer strength of my adolescent love for Pern novels, but finally had to give up.

It's not worth the money, and shame on Anne, Todd, their agents and the publisher for wanting to capitalize on her fame with such a shoddy piece of work. If they want to salvage the series, I would suggest they consider employing a ghostwriter for the next book. Or, perhaps better, if Anne is unable to continue, let Pern rest in peace.

I introduced my mother to the Pern books years ago, and since then we've reduced our collection of Anne McCaffrey books, Pern-related and otherwise, to a well-loved stack of dog-eared, broken-spined, bathwater-and-chocolate-spotted wrecks. When Todd McCaffrey began writing, Mother and I were both thrilled. More Pern books! NEW Pern books!

I, for one, am now extremely disappointed. This is not the same Pern. Suddenly there are Shunned everywhere, and there is a healer who works mainly with stones; firestone is highly explosive; watchwhers (which now fly thread at night) are tremendously important but never adequately described; dragonriders lose their dragons -- a tragedy described in Dragonsfire as so much worse than the loss of a child -- and then go normally about their business in the Weyrs, pausing now and then to wince when something dragon-related reminds them of their loss. (Whither Brekke?) One-dimensional bad guys abound, being, apparently, arseholes for the sake of being arseholes. There is little in the way of motive -- and even if the motives were explored, the reader is given no particular reason to care, as the characters are rarely fleshed-out enough to inspire sympathy.

That leads me to another gripe. There are many characters in Todd McCaffrey's Pern books, most of whom are indistinguishable. Names are too similar, and descriptions few and far between, which leads to confusion [see D'lin, D'gan, D'vin]. I mentioned this to Mom, who said "I thought it was just me, not concentrating well enough to keep the characters and locations straight."

"Mom," I said, "think back. I bet that right now you can actually picture Robinton, or Sebell, or Piemur -- all harpers, but all very different. You can picture Ruatha Hold, Cove Hold, Paradise Hold, Benden Weyr. Now try to picture Kindan. Try to picture Camp Natalon."

"You're right," she said.

In Anne McCaffrey's books, you could generally see the room in which the characters stood, or the layout of Hold or Weyr. There was atmosphere. There was distance. The characters were individuals, with individual traits and tics -- think about F'lar's constant battle with hair in his eyes, Piemur's quick and hyperactive ways, Jancis sturdy and dimpling, Mirrim charging about like a particularly bossy bull in a china shop; simpering, puffed-up Esselin, somber Lytol, massive Fandarel and his never-ending quest for maximum efficiency. Even those who were not necessarily physically described were often recognizable through dialogue alone.

There are large mistakes in the new books. During the Games (also new), a weyrling blows up due to firestone, for no apparent plot-related reason other than to emphasize yet again the danger of firestone -- and the whole affair is quickly forgotten in the awarding of prizes. Lorana supposedly has a sort of inferiority complex due to the loss of her family during the Plague; this is pointed up now and then, in direct opposition to her assertiveness in handling dragons, dragonmen and obnoxious Weyrwoman alike. Pellar does not love Aleesa's daughter, and then he does. He sees a red-headed boy going into the mine, but though the boy and his hair color are important enough to be noticed, he isn't important enough that we are able to put a name to him. Later on, I believe a dragon actually changes color over the course of a few pages, but I can't be sure without the book here; the dragon in question was Telenth, though I could have him mixed up with Talith, which brings me back to the name problem. Even the minor name issues are an irritation - overuse of similar letter groupings (Pellar, Halla, Allera, Nuella, etc.), or first letters of names, like the slew of "K" names used in Dragonsfire. It is nearly impossible to keep everyone straight. Reading Pern books is not supposed to be work.

I'll grant that taking on a complete fictional world is an enormous task. Comparisons to that world's creator are inevitable. Complaints about any change to that world are also inevitable, and for good reason. Todd McCaffrey, if you want a different world to write about, create one, and if you aren't up to the task of taking over your mum's world, with her carefully-crafted characters and elegant descriptive passages intact, don't do it!

This seems to be a parallel book that runs alongside an earlier book. Worth reading but the characters don't seem as well developed as in other Pern stories. Very little about the dragons and their riders in this one.

Fans of Anne McCaffrey's Pern series will want to give a pass this attempt by her son to repeat her success. It is a lackluster telling of what could have been an excellent tale. Todd McCaffrey has none of his mother's talent for involving the reader in the tale or character development. The characters lack depth and the story line jumps and jerks rather than gliding from chapter to chapter.

I wanted to like this book. I was mildly disappointed by Dragon's Kin and EXTREMELY disappointed at Dragon's Blood. I am 32 years old and I have been reading Pern adventures for over 20 years. There is no feeling or heart in Todd's books. Everything is so perfunctory. I feel like I'm going through a checklist from a bad screenplay. Children die. Check. Fire lizards die. Check. People die. Check. Character development is so lacking that the reader could really care less when something "significant" occurs.

The saddest thing is that this doesn't seem like Anne's Pern at all. It's not consistent with what I know of it. Obscure, irrelevant, extreme events occur for the sake of pushing the story. Nothing about it seems natural. Nothing about it flows. If Todd had writer's block during the creation of this book, it's obvious by the stinted, stilted storying telling. Maybe he should stick to computer science.

Is Anne Mccaffrey losing her falculties that she is just aggreeing to allow her son to write these "stories"? Anne, take your meds and open your eyes, your son is destroying the Pern series. Stop agreeing with him. Stop writing with him. He is ruining your masterpiece. Everytime I see a new Pern book with todd McCafrey's name on it, I cringe. I read it in the store first. If I like half the story, then I will buy it. This story is ridiculous. A mute harper? harpers are supposed to teach through song. How does a mute harper do this, through sign language? The "Shunned" reminds me of the "others" in Lost. I miss my heros, Lessa, F'Lar, Brekke, Menoly, Robinton, F'Nor, T'gellan, etc. I miss my heros.

Long live Pern, it was great while it lasted. May it rest in peace.

This book, one of the son/mother collaborations, is just not good. Compared to the original books of the series, there is little character development, a completely simple and one dimensional story line, and a lot of cliches. I had my teenagers laughing over some of the maudlin prose. Very disappointing, with none of the rich description and depth or complexity of the older works. And speaking as a woman, it seems that it was written more by a man than a woman. Don't buy it - check it out from the library and be happy you saved the money.

I got "Dragon's Fire" at the library, looking for a good dragon read. I constantly found myself wondering, where's the plot? "Drangon's Fire" was disjointed and confusing; there were many points that contradict the original stories. It felt forced and strained. Anne McCaffrey gave me a a magical world that I've visited over and over; sometimes I fall asleep dreaming of riding my dragon with my fire-lizards flitting about me. I am so disappointed and saddened that my beloved Pern has fallen this far. I need to get busy reading "Dragonquest" to get my head back into Pern.

I have read every Pern book written, most of them several times, and I am sorry I wasted my time reading this one even once. Where was the editor? The book rambles, the plot jumps around, and the storyline is quite confusing. I liked Pellar, the main character, but most of the other characters were so minimally developed that you don't understand them or care about them. If you are new to Pern and the Dragonriders, please go read the early series, they were terrific. Don't judge by this one.

This book was definately not your typical "Dragonriders of Pern" style book in that It does not look to dragonriders as the main characters. Although they are important characters, McCaffrey sheds light on other aspects of Pernese life such as how firestone was mined, how people were judged and how they became holdless or Shunned, as well as the friction between holders, whers and crafts.

If you are looking for a repeat of Dragonflight, Dragonquest, or the White Dragon, You may be disappointed, but McCaffrey creates new, intriguing, and very enjoyable aspects of pern while interweaving adventure with a new brand of hero.

Well Done, Mr. and Mrs. McCaffrey!

-Stephanie Ellis

Just finished this book and must say I really enjoyed it. I was hoping for some novels about the time of Lessa and the days after the last Thread fall, but it is really nice to see some of the events that happened earlier in the history of Pern. If you love the Pern series, then get this book.

A great plot revolving around the need to mine the dangerous firestone necessary to supply the dragons of Pern, with the means to destroy the parasitic thread which threatens all life on Pern. A richly detailed world. Dragon's fire focuses on four intriguing characters : Pellar (a mute harpist), Halla (a young girl of the Shunned) and Cristov the son of a disgraced miner, and the evil Tenim ( a thief and worse)...it s about the dangers of mining Firestone and what to do with the Shunned...
I will be looking out for other Pern novels...

most of the reviews have ripped the book apart, however, i don't think the book deserved such negative reviews. yes, the story jumps around but it's a good story that pern lovers should read. i love the characters Pellar and Halla and want more stories with them involved. of course, nothing can be as good as the first 2 series(sorry Todd) but dragon's fire and dragon's kin give pern lovers another side of pern which is interesting.

This book was a terrible disappointment. I just kept slogging thru it, hoping at some point it would finally hold together. It didn't. The big "search for Maron" just fizzled. The guy was never held accountable for what he did wrong, which just doesn't jibe with the way Harpers are supposed to me.

The thing I've been noticing with the trend of these latest books in the Pern series, is that no one is ever happy. There is only misery and a lot of back-stabbing. The only happiness seems to come in the last two sentences.

I am severely displeased with Todd McCaffrey's writing. It's sappy, sugarcoated, and the stuff of Disney princess movies. The corny ending made me gag and I cannot believe Anne McCaffrey chose this moron as her prodigy for Pern. Surely there are better writers out there who can continue the legacy of Pern...anyone!? I am saddened to see how Todd McCaffrey is desecrating the world of Pern one book at a time. If there were a lower rating than one star, that is what I would give this vile waste of paper.

I have been reading (and revisting) the Dragon novels of Annie McCaffrey since the 1970's and have a nearly full set : this novel does not disappoint, in fact builds on Anne's already very high standards and lets us see a little more of Pern's history through another mind - as always the characters, and the planet come to life as soon as the book is opened, making me often wish I could be part of Benden's Weyr. Todd shows us a little of the darker side of Pern's people, in a sensitive but realistic way.

The Mccaffreys have collaborated again to create a Pern saga that revisits characters such as Master Zist and Kindan. In this volume, the reader is introduced to Pellar, the mute Harper apprentice, Cristov, a miner's son, Halla, a homeless young girl, and Moran, Harper to the Shunned. This entertaining fable includes breathtaking dragon flights and the discovery of a new source of firestone to be used in fighting the dreaded "Thread" falling on Pern. Great summer reading.

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.

In eighteen years, the Red Star will orbit around Pern and the parasitical spoor will rain down on the land destroying all organic matter. The fire breathing dragons are Pern's first line of defense but to burn thread out of the sky, the volatile substance firestone is needed and only one mine is operational. That mine is destroyed when the Shunned Tarik, set up by his partner Tenim, causes an explosion that destroys the facility.

Tenim, who has a grudge against Tarik's son Cristov, sets him up so that it looks like he stole something from a weyr leader. However, Cristov volunteers to open a new mine where he insists firestone waits to be dug up. The leaders of Pern have a plan to save the Shunned outcasts and the innocents who are with them. However Tenim has a countermeasure that would put all Pern in jeopardy and the only person who can stop him is a person long thought dead who doesn't have any recollection of who he is.

DRAGON'S FIRE is very different from most of the other Pern books as team McCaffrey focuses on the dark elements in the planet's society who are willing to commit crimes, some heinous in nature, if it means turning a profit. There are more villains than heroes in this exciting science fiction tale, but the protagonists who put Pern before themselves are willing to risk their own lives for future generations of Pernese. The Pern saga is generations old but its creator and her son keep coming up with new ideas and original storylines to keep readers happy.

Harriet Klausner

While several people have said bad things about this book I really enjoyed it. Todd's style isn't quite the same as his mother's and that may be the reason for some of the negative reviews. But he brings some fresh ideas and I, for one, love that.

I love how the books continue to unravel whats and hows of Pern's history.

In this book, a Harper who doesn't talk, the son of a shunned miner and an orphaned girl find a better way for dragons to produce flame to burn the thread that will be coming soon.

In the tradition of Anne McCaffrey and Pern, this book is seamless with the rest of the Pern series. I have been reading this series for over 20 years, and enjoyed this one as much as any that Anne wrote by herself. Todd seems to have taken up the torch well, and I look forward to more from him in the future.

Well written fast paced tale set in the time between "Falls". Having heard thet the son is not the writer his mother is, I was surprised and pleased to find that is not the case. I look forward to more from this young author, and his beloved parent. Very good read!

Again, the McCaffrey family has outdone themselves. I started reading the series as a youth and past 40 I am still reading the series. I wait with great anticipation for each new book. I am glad that her son is now writing.