Dragon's Time: Dragonriders of Pern

There were too many downright confusing moments and storylines in this book that I keenly felt the lack of an experienced author. Where Anne's books are clearly set out with a threat that the imaginative heroes of Pern conquer, Todd's storyline desperately twists and turns and becomes so convoluted with stuff that should be secondary to the imminent threat. There are glimmers of maturity in his writing that seems all but lost in his previous books but I think this maturity is due to Anne's collaboration. What still bothers me most is the ridiculous over-emphasis on the awkward social/personal convolutions (threesomes, younger mating flights in which the girls get much younger, and children). This seems to eclipse the story line which doesn't really pick up until the last 1/4 of the book. UGH! Do you really think two women can share one man with such a complete lack of real conflict? One can't help but wonder if this is a personal fantasy of the author because there are two threesomes going on and too much time is spent on this.

Did anyone else feel that they were often coming into a conversation between characters 1/2 way or the author's thoughts 1/2 way through? The reader feels more like a "third wheel" rather than drawn into the plot or the characters.

Like other reviewers I would beg Anne to pass the Pern mantle on to other more experienced writers who could do it justice.

Anne McCaffrey returns to the world of Pern to write with her son Todd. Her influence is felt in the middle of the book but the beginning and the end are all Todd's, that is not a compliment by the way.

The story line moves to much depending on timing and timing causes paradox so can only be done on a very limited basis. At one point things are flowing well and then another disaster strikes for no apparent reason as far as plot goes. The major flaw in my honest opinion is that the "rules" of Pern are broken on a regular basis.

If you could just read the middle half of the book and leave off the first three and last two chapters you will be pleased, otherwise it might be worth passing on.

I've enjoyed the whole Dragonriders series, and support the authors by buying initial releases of their hardcover editions....but this release, along with the last one or two leave me a bit confused. Too many names, too many jumps in the story line, too many assumptions that you remember the details from the (chronologically) prior editions....I'm just having problems following the story line. Maybe it will all come together in the end. Maybe if I had just finished reading the entire series it would make sense, but at about 50% finished with this book, I'm still not completely sure of what's going on. Sorry Anne, Sorry Todd, but the quality just isn't there any more.

Todd has absorbed his mother's love of Pern (Anne McCaffrey) - the book is best enjoyed by those familiar with Pern as it involves time travel by the dragons which might be a bit confusing if it is the first of the series you are reading - Todd has done a great job - great read

Anne McCaffrey returns to the world of Pern to write with her son Todd. Her influence is felt in the middle of the book but the beginning and the end are all Todd's, that is not a compliment by the way.

The story line moves to much depending on timing and timing causes paradox so can only be done on a very limited basis. At one point things are flowing well and then another disaster strikes for no apparent reason as far as plot goes. The major flaw in my honest opinion is that the "rules" of Pern are broken on a regular basis.

If you could just read the middle half of the book and leave off the first three and last two chapters you will be pleased, otherwise it might be worth passing on.

This installment in the "Dragonriders of Pern" series originated by Anne McCafrey and continued with her son Todd is a continuation of the chronicles of the second pass of the Red Planet since the first, surprise Pass that occurred after landing and initial settlement of the Southern Continent and the hasty move to the Northern Continent so they could survive and grow. This is about 5 centuries after Landing.
It is engrossing reading adn follows the high auality writing that has marked Anne McCafrey's life.
It is the next to last book Anne was involved in prior to her death in November 2011. Todd seems capable of continuing the series in the future.

I've enjoyed the whole Dragonriders series, and support the authors by buying initial releases of their hardcover editions....but this release, along with the last one or two leave me a bit confused. Too many names, too many jumps in the story line, too many assumptions that you remember the details from the (chronologically) prior editions....I'm just having problems following the story line. Maybe it will all come together in the end. Maybe if I had just finished reading the entire series it would make sense, but at about 50% finished with this book, I'm still not completely sure of what's going on. Sorry Anne, Sorry Todd, but the quality just isn't there any more.

Todd has absorbed his mother's love of Pern (Anne McCaffrey) - the book is best enjoyed by those familiar with Pern as it involves time travel by the dragons which might be a bit confusing if it is the first of the series you are reading - Todd has done a great job - great read

I have followed the stories Pern and find they continue to be spell binding. I look forward to more stories. I agree with what Ann McCraffrey wrote in saying she favored Lesa and F'lar and would like to see more of them if possible.

I read all of the negative reviews and bought the book anyway. The only good thing I can say is that I didn't pay the full price. I must admit that I was happy to see them collaborate again. The sexual poly-amorous storyline from the last two of Todd's books was thankfully toned down in this one.

The one comment I read repeatedly, that I found to be true, was the rush to complete the story and the disconnected timeline. It becomes very confusing as characters are added without much backstory and there is a whole section I was forced to read a few times as the characters try to determine what Lorana actually did. It's ok until you get around page 200. After that, it gets very messy and awkward.

I will go back and read Anne's books over and over again, but I must say I am glad she has not let Todd create stories with her classic characters. I don't think he has the skills necessary to evoke the emotions and connect the reader to the character. Maybe if he took more time with his ideas and committed to a longer story he would be more successful, but I don't think I will give him another chance.

Don't waste your time. You really aren't missing anything.

what a convoluted, backwards mess of a story/series.

Weryleaders that are so incompetant you wonder how they mangage to even get on a dragon, much less fight thread, no wonder they keep dropping like flies. Werywoman who keep getting younger & younger and all of this bed jumping. geesh. Ran out of good ideas?! just toss a few more extra characters in & have Lorana jump back in time blah blah blah There are a few good characters in this series but they seem to get lost in this muddle, or prehaps muzzy headed would be a better term, plot. And the ending? what in the world? it just ends with...with... i can't even discribe how lame this is

it is sad to see what Pern has been turned into and I can only hope that Todd never touches his mother's timelines. I would rather go without Final Fall/After the Fall is Over than have Todd destroy Flar/Lessa/Jaxom's world

I've been reading Anne McCaffrey's DRP series now for 25 years and I must say this is the worst book I've ever read coming from her. I've only managed to read two chapters of the book because I just cannot get into the book. I've never had that problem with the series and feel that its very "dark" and "gloomy" something I've never seen in any of her books. There is always a positive in them, a light at the long dark tunnel, but not so now, with Todd writing the series. Can't we go for something more positive? Can't we pick up in the 1st Pass where the short stories left off and write about those heroic events of establishing new Weyr's and new Holds? Can't we pick up in the 2nd Pass as the Red Star starts it run again?

I was charry when Todd first started co-writing with Anne, but everything he has written about Pern, so far, has been great! This story is part of a three book mini story with lots of "timing it". It is good to have a firm Perense background before reading but not 100% necessary.

I'm a McCaffrey reader for years now. I waspleased to see Dragon's Time was available and looked forward to reading it. Sorry...but it's simply nothing...nothing at all. Characters names appear one after another, hard to tell if they're male, female or names of dragons. After only a short while I was lost but hoped it would come together somehow. It didn't. Dialog is mundane...pages and pages of drivel...intersperced occasionally with a short bit of words that slightly move the story along...but not enough. People and dragons pop into the future and the past and talk to more people with names. Just a tremendous disappointment. I can't explain better what I am frustrated with...I'm confused by dialog, story line, find that a guy lost a baby from stress and up until then I wa suspecting he was female. Chaos and disappointment. Doubt I'll ever take another chance paying $12 for a kindle McCaffrey book. I'm sorry because I used to enjoy the series.

Anne McCaffrey never disappointed, and her son Todd is learning the rhthym of Pern. This book follows Lora a as she moves through time to try to save Pern n and its drogon's from the effects of the plague. Now that the plague has been eradicated and all the beings of Pern are safe from the illness, a way must be found to bring the number of dragons back up to full fighting strength for they down to less than a full weyer between all the weyers of the planet.
So Lorana goes forward in time to bring back dragons to help in the past. That doesn't work, so she back only to meet a seer from the traders, then she starts her search for a place to take the young and injured back to grow and heal.
The story itself was good, the jumping time is getting a little old. When Ms. McCaffrey used it in Dragon Flight it was new and exciting, then it was forbidden because you could lose yourself if not careful. This generation bounces around time lines so much it is no wonder that they aren't permently muddledvand fuzzy head. I give Todd points for keeping the story line cohesive enough that you always know 'when you are. I just hope that it doesn't become a story line crutch for future book.
Good read if you like Pern and want to keep up with old friends in the characters.

I have been reading the Pern series since I first bought "Dragonflight", with Lessa, in the white toga riding Ramoth, on the cover. I still have the original paperbacks of those first books. I also have EVERYTHING Anne and/or Todd have ever published. I am sorry to have to say that this is the single worst book of the Pern series. The time travel was the entire point but that was really badly done. Much of the time I spent reading it was going back and forth to try to make sense of the plot evolutions. There was also WAY too much emphasis on the sexual relationships of Fiona and her myriad lovers. I am truly disappointed and saddened. I'm hoping that there will be another dealing with F'lar and Lessa after the Last Pass but I'm not holding my breath.

Have always enjoy the Pern stories and Todd has done a great job. Big shoes to fill but he has done a fantastic job. I would highly recommend people reading this series. Great way to read a book , thanks the store.

I was quite skeptical of anyone writing Pern stories except Anne, but her son Todd has published a few that I actually felt were written in the same style and feel as the original books. This is another of those, that advances his story lines, but doesn't detract from what Anne has created in her world. I particularly loved how out of time sequence Lorana's story line goes. It seemed very "Dr. Who" reminiscent, and kept the intrigue for me of what exactly was happening.

Three Cheers for Todd McCaffrey..Even though we've lost his mother, Anne McCaffrey, her wonderful stories and characters will continue in her son's more than capable hands. Long Live The Dragonriders of Pern, and next we need to see them brought to life on the Silver Screen..

Anne McCaffrey's books are often hard to find. Except on the store. I haven't finished reading this one yet but Ann McCaffrey is always a good read if you like dragons and sci fi. the store has this available on Kindle and it loads in a wink. Stay with the store and shop with the store....you can't go wrong.

As a reader who discovered The Pern series for the first time just before Todd join in I can say that the divide in opinion seems to be a generational one. If you're a long time Pernese fan you may want to take the majority advice.

A lot of tradition seems not yet fully formed by this time in Pernese history. The loyalty and determination within the Weyrleaders and Weyrwomen is matched only by the forbodding despair which builds throughout the beginning of this story.

The storyline becomes more complex and confusing as the storyline progresses and the reader is left wondering how each episode of the effects of "timing it" will later come about. I personally enjoyed pondering all the possible twists that were to come.

At the risk of possibly spoiling some of the book. One of the parts of this book I enjoyed the most is the unanticipated consequences of our heroes' solution has in creating problems. You get to experience the more primitive and natural relationship which dragons have with the rest of Pern.

The book's eventual climax comes with the anagnorisis of Fiona and Lorana. Yours may be different but my experience was that this was more powerful a moment then the loss of Lorana's Arith, the Masterharpers last conversation with Avis, and even rivals the anagnorisis of Lessa in Dragonflight.

I think the imaginative understanding which Todd has in weaving his stories on a "realistic" Pern may be a culture shock to the more hidebound of readers but should be a source of pride for Anne and Todd as they forge what is still a compelling Pern series.

I was charry when Todd first started co-writing with Anne, but everything he has written about Pern, so far, has been great! This story is part of a three book mini story with lots of "timing it". It is good to have a firm Perense background before reading but not 100% necessary.

I'm a McCaffrey reader for years now. I waspleased to see Dragon's Time was available and looked forward to reading it. Sorry...but it's simply nothing...nothing at all. Characters names appear one after another, hard to tell if they're male, female or names of dragons. After only a short while I was lost but hoped it would come together somehow. It didn't. Dialog is mundane...pages and pages of drivel...intersperced occasionally with a short bit of words that slightly move the story along...but not enough. People and dragons pop into the future and the past and talk to more people with names. Just a tremendous disappointment. I can't explain better what I am frustrated with...I'm confused by dialog, story line, find that a guy lost a baby from stress and up until then I wa suspecting he was female. Chaos and disappointment. Doubt I'll ever take another chance paying $12 for a kindle McCaffrey book. I'm sorry because I used to enjoy the series.

Anne McCaffrey never disappointed, and her son Todd is learning the rhthym of Pern. This book follows Lora a as she moves through time to try to save Pern n and its drogon's from the effects of the plague. Now that the plague has been eradicated and all the beings of Pern are safe from the illness, a way must be found to bring the number of dragons back up to full fighting strength for they down to less than a full weyer between all the weyers of the planet.
So Lorana goes forward in time to bring back dragons to help in the past. That doesn't work, so she back only to meet a seer from the traders, then she starts her search for a place to take the young and injured back to grow and heal.
The story itself was good, the jumping time is getting a little old. When Ms. McCaffrey used it in Dragon Flight it was new and exciting, then it was forbidden because you could lose yourself if not careful. This generation bounces around time lines so much it is no wonder that they aren't permently muddledvand fuzzy head. I give Todd points for keeping the story line cohesive enough that you always know 'when you are. I just hope that it doesn't become a story line crutch for future book.
Good read if you like Pern and want to keep up with old friends in the characters.

I have been reading the Pern series since I first bought "Dragonflight", with Lessa, in the white toga riding Ramoth, on the cover. I still have the original paperbacks of those first books. I also have EVERYTHING Anne and/or Todd have ever published. I am sorry to have to say that this is the single worst book of the Pern series. The time travel was the entire point but that was really badly done. Much of the time I spent reading it was going back and forth to try to make sense of the plot evolutions. There was also WAY too much emphasis on the sexual relationships of Fiona and her myriad lovers. I am truly disappointed and saddened. I'm hoping that there will be another dealing with F'lar and Lessa after the Last Pass but I'm not holding my breath.

Have always enjoy the Pern stories and Todd has done a great job. Big shoes to fill but he has done a fantastic job. I would highly recommend people reading this series. Great way to read a book , thanks the store.

I was quite skeptical of anyone writing Pern stories except Anne, but her son Todd has published a few that I actually felt were written in the same style and feel as the original books. This is another of those, that advances his story lines, but doesn't detract from what Anne has created in her world. I particularly loved how out of time sequence Lorana's story line goes. It seemed very "Dr. Who" reminiscent, and kept the intrigue for me of what exactly was happening.

Three Cheers for Todd McCaffrey..Even though we've lost his mother, Anne McCaffrey, her wonderful stories and characters will continue in her son's more than capable hands. Long Live The Dragonriders of Pern, and next we need to see them brought to life on the Silver Screen..

Anne McCaffrey's books are often hard to find. Except on the store. I haven't finished reading this one yet but Ann McCaffrey is always a good read if you like dragons and sci fi. the store has this available on Kindle and it loads in a wink. Stay with the store and shop with the store....you can't go wrong.

As a reader who discovered The Pern series for the first time just before Todd join in I can say that the divide in opinion seems to be a generational one. If you're a long time Pernese fan you may want to take the majority advice.

A lot of tradition seems not yet fully formed by this time in Pernese history. The loyalty and determination within the Weyrleaders and Weyrwomen is matched only by the forbodding despair which builds throughout the beginning of this story.

The storyline becomes more complex and confusing as the storyline progresses and the reader is left wondering how each episode of the effects of "timing it" will later come about. I personally enjoyed pondering all the possible twists that were to come.

At the risk of possibly spoiling some of the book. One of the parts of this book I enjoyed the most is the unanticipated consequences of our heroes' solution has in creating problems. You get to experience the more primitive and natural relationship which dragons have with the rest of Pern.

The book's eventual climax comes with the anagnorisis of Fiona and Lorana. Yours may be different but my experience was that this was more powerful a moment then the loss of Lorana's Arith, the Masterharpers last conversation with Avis, and even rivals the anagnorisis of Lessa in Dragonflight.

I think the imaginative understanding which Todd has in weaving his stories on a "realistic" Pern may be a culture shock to the more hidebound of readers but should be a source of pride for Anne and Todd as they forge what is still a compelling Pern series.

Todd McCaffrey is busily filling in the history of Pern that had not been told by his mum, Anne McCaffrey. I must admit I got dizzy trying to keep track of who was where and "when". But just keep reading--all comes out to make sense in the end.
My only complaint is that now I have to wait for the next book!
First time readers of this series will not understand a lot of the references, they need to start at the beginning. No worries, it's worth it!

I was really looking forward to this book after reading the first 2 of the series. I was pleasantly surprised that they did not waste a lot of time and pages reminding us of all the little details we learned in the first 2 books, but instead moved forward with the story.

I won't give away any spoilers, but I will say it was exciting to read with a few surprises thrown in and I was happy to see everything turn out alright in the end.

I think JA Wisner and H. Klausner have already give exemplary summaries so I won't take up your time with another. I wanted to include my gratitude to Anne and Todd Mccaffrey for the opportunity to visit Pern. Buying your books allows me to visit your wonderful world, an experience I always treasure. I know buying the book doesn't give me ownership or management rights, admission to YOUR WORLD is a privilege. I am thankful Ms. Mccaffrey (and Todd too) are strong enough to weather the critics, and there have ALWAYS been some, and that you continue to honor us with your work! I hope we continue to hear from both of you and experience Pern for years to come!