The Dolphins of Pern (Dragonriders of Pern)

A great installment to the Dragonriders of Pern, this book gives a refreshing look on the events of All the Weyrs of Pern while bringing back the wonderful dolphins from Dragonsdawn and The Chronicles of Pern: The First Fall The Dolphin Bell. A must-read for fans of the series.

While this particular book isnt centered around dragons its still a nice addition to the collection. Staged in the southern continent you get a little taste of life for the pernese and get to meet some new characters in fish form.

I have always loved reading Anne McCaffrey's work, and I'm sure, had I purchased the book it would have also been a good read. But the Kindle version of this book is absolutely BAD!! Whoever edited this book needs to find another vocation. There are mis-spellings galore, and I suspect portions of the book are clearly missing, as the storyline jumps in places that make no sense whatsoever.

Too bad, as my husband bought me a Kindle Fire for my birthday, and while I like the device, several of the books I have read on it have the same poor editing to some degree.

Step up your game the store!!

Another hero's quest from the Mistress of Pern. Perhaps not strictly a quest but Readiss did have to leave home to prove his worth. He put his heart for the dolphins above all else and gained his dream. Isn't that what we all want?

The Dolphins of Pern takes place during the events of "All the Weyrs of Pern", albeit from a different perspective. The novel focuses primarily on two things - the rediscovery of dolphins and their intelligence, as well as the increasingly greedy interest in the lands of the Southern Continent. Both plot points were mentioned in "All the Weyrs of Pern", but were essentially footnotes compared to the project to end Thread. 'Dolphins' instead focuses on those points, with AIVAS and the Thread project as a backdrop.

The primary plot covers the dolphins, as several Pernese - spearheaded by Masterfishman Alemi, his nephew Readis, and young dragonrider T'lion - rediscover how to communicate with the dolphins and utilize their various abilities. While the fishcrafters are fascinated with their potential for locating fishing spots, navigation hazards, and weather prediction, the healers of Pern become enamored of the dolphins' unique skill to diagnose medical conditions using sonar. Young Readis, however, finds in the dolphins a kinship and acceptance that he lacked on land.

The secondary and less-fleshed-out plot concerns the growing immigration problem facing the Southern Continent and the increasingly greedy actions of Toric - Sharra's brother and Lord Holder over Southern Hold. Both the main characters at Landing and the new ones dealing with the dolphins find themselves coming closer to a confrontation with the Fax-like ambitions of the once-agreeable Toric.

This book takes place years later than the Harper Hall trilogy. AIVAS has been discovered again at Landing, on the Southern continent. It has promised to help to rid the world of Thread forever, and is educating the population to its purposes. It needs to learn the specifics of the Dragons powers, and their bond with their riders, and it needs to bring the planet to a much higher technological level. Of course there are always people who are against improvement and change, and there is violence between both camps.

Still, one of the wonders to discover on Pern, are the shipfish. Of course all the fishers know it is bad luck to trap a shipfish in your nets, and there are many stories of them saving people from drowning. But to think they are intelligent and can talk? It is not until Alemi and young Readis get saved by shipfish, that they hear them talk and believe it. And AIVAS confirms what Alemi reports to him. The shipfish are dolphins, who came to Pern from earth, with the original colonists. To work alongside men in charting the oceans of this wondrous new planet, and tell the fishers where the best fish are swimming. To save people from drowning in storms, but they are also a very valuable tool for the Healer hall. With their sonar they can tell the Healers often what is wrong with a patient. So much knowledge has been lost, but many people refuse surgery, even if it will save their life, or that of their loved ones. Master Oldive has a long way to go to get his Masters and Journeymen to embrace the new knowledge AIVAS provides.

Readis is grateful to the dolphins for saving his life, and he is really interested in those creatures. They are so friendly, and they love the new contact with man. They never forgot their duties, even though men forgot about them. But his mother doesn't want him to consort with them, she even blames them for the bad thorn he got in his foot, that nearly cost him his leg. And so Alemi builds a relationship with the Paradise River pod on his own, and they really help him with his fishing, telling where the schools are swimming, warning of bad weather, and even warning about invading ships from the North.

Other people are interested in the dolphins as well, like Master Fisher Idarolan himself, and he too has many hidebound masters under him who don't want to believe that shipfish are intelligent and can talk. Talking is for humans, not for animals. But those that listen to him, and listen to the dolphins, improve their catches.

Bronze rider T'Lion is also very interested in the dolphins since he met them that first time with Alemi in Monaco Bay. Whenever he has some spare time, he spends it on the beach. His bronze dragon Gadareth likes the dolphins as well, they help him scrub his belly in the sea, and he enjoys the games they play.

But still, people don't think dolphins as important as people, and when there are some badly injured ones after the big storm, it are TLion and Readis who take care of them, when the human healers don't want to take the time. And they get in trouble for it as well. SO when Readis' mother orders him to never see the dolphins again, he refuses. He has obeyed her for the last ten years, and has never been alone in the ocean with them. But now she has gone to far, he won't promise, and that leaves him no other choice but to leave home. A few days further along the coast he finds some caves that are perfect for the first Dolphin Hall of Pern, and he sets out to provide for his own shelter and food, and a life jacket so he can swim with the dolphins.

Another of my favourite books by Anne McCaffrey, with lots of characters from previous books. Like Readis' parents, and Alemi and Menolly, the Master Harper Robinton and firelizards. Still, the dolphins ad a great new species to the mix, more available to everyone than the firelizards and dragons as they bond to one specific human.
I love Anne McCaffrey's writing style, she writes such lifelike characters, people you want to make friends with. I care for them, I cry with them and for them, and I am happy for them when they find their own place on Pern.

I think you can read this book as a stand alone, as there is a long prologue with explanations of this world in the front of the book.

10 stars.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian

Readis, the small son of holders Jayge and Aramina, is out with his fisherman uncle when a sudden squall - typical of Pern's southern oceans - capsizes their boat. They're rescued by "shipfish," the dolphins who accompanied their human ancestors from Earth to this new world in a time beyond memory. What happened in Pern's early days is coming to light now, though, with the re-discovery of the colonists' original landing site and the computer entity Avivas. Readis learns that the dolphins still faithfully observe their ancient agreement with humans, despite the humans' having forgotten all about it. They also retain their ability to use human language in a limited way, and the boy quickly realizes just how intelligent these creatures are. But his mother blames the dolphins for the danger to which Readis has been exposed.

T'Lion, a very young dragonrider, transports holders from place to place as he waits to grow old enough to fight Thread. When he's introduced to the dolphins who rescued Readis and his uncle Alemi, and bronze Gadareth immediately takes to these intelligent sea creatures, T'Lion and Readis become friends. Many of Pern's leaders, though, share Aramina's fear and scorn where the "shipfish" are concerned. Among those leaders is Toric, Lord of Southern Hold, who has his own ideas about how the great Southern Continent's vast vacant lands should be distributed - especially after the last Threadfall, when the Dragonriders will finally be able to move to lands of their own and never again depend on the tithes provided by those whose holds they protect.

I started reading the Pern series about the time its first paperback came out, but I have taken a break from it in recent years. Picking up this 1994 installment in the saga surprised me pleasantly. I enjoyed it as I might a visit with old friends, and as usual McCaffrey's writing pulled me in and held my attention. I may have to sample the Pern books that McCaffrey and her son now co-author.

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of 2005 science fiction EPPIE winner "Regs"

"The Dolphins of Pern" is one in author Anne McCaffrey's series of novels that take place on Pern: a world where the descendants of human colonists live together with huge, winged creatures called "dragons." The dragons of Pern have some similarities to the mythical creatures of ancient Earth, but McCaffrey throws in some science fiction twists. "Dolphins," as the title suggests, adds a new element to the culture and history of Pern.
As McCaffrey explains in the book's prologue, the spacefaring humans who first settled Pern brought with them dolphins who had been endowed with the ability to speak human language. But over the course of time, the hostile environment of Pern caused the dolphin and human communities to gradually lose touch with each other. This book is the story of the attempts to rediscover and reestablish the ancient ties between the two species.
To the cynical, the concept of this book might seem like a "gimmick" to bring a new element to the Pern series. But believe me, "Dolphins" is no gimmick: this is one of the best in the entire series. McCaffrey creates a rich and moving portrait of the dolphin community -- a community with a compelling culture and history. This is also a beautiful "coming of age" story that focuses on Readis, a boy of Pern who has a remarkable bond to the dolphins. McCaffrey superbly weaves the dolphins' history and Readis' very personal story into the epic story of Pern's humans and dragons. I recommend this book to both Pern fans as well as to newcomers to the series.

Hmm - how to describe 'The Dolphins of Pern'. Well, I've read nearly all Anne McCaffrey's dragon works (except 'Red Star Rising' and 'The Girl who Heard Dragons'), spent hours browsing bookshops, libraries, wearing out copies etc and I must admit that the earlier works (especially the Harper Hall books) are a much better read. I'm not sure if ideas are starting to run out or the concept is becoming a shade jaded, but this latest offering didn't light my fire much. I knew all the characters almost too well, more drama next time please! It seems like, after all the fuss surrounding the Oldtimers and AIVAS, Pern is all happy n content with no more fuss. Aramina's character development seemed a bit confused. Why she suddenly became harder seemed a bit of a mystery to me. Surely, dragon contact hadn't affected her that much. Her antipathy towards the dolphins seemed to be unexplained as well. Not quite sure where the saga goes from here - the book left that very cloudy. Perhaps a recontact with the original explorers (even though they interdicted Pern). The alteration of the Red Star could be enough to bring em back. But I am of the old school, who prefer the earlier tales (Dragonsong + Dragonsinger particular faves) so this latest tale isn't up to par. Sorry to any I may offend!

Dolphins of Pern was a very enjoyable read. All the favorite people are back and again you are transported to the beautiful Pern. This is a good bridging book in that is picks up right after Renegades, and then parallels All the Weyrs of Pern and then goes on a bit farther.
I had only two problems with this book. One was Aramina. How did she go from being the poor abused lovely heroine in Renegades to being the shrewish "female-Janus" in Dolphins? Did she go and take lessons from Menolly's parents on how to be an evil person?
My other problem was the feeling that on page 360, Anne must have looked up at her clock, realized what time it was and decided to get the book done with NOW! The last few pages read like "and all the people had a change of heart, and all dreams come true, and everyone joins together in a happy party and everyone lives happily ever after."
Personally I feel that it would have been better to have ended the book when Readis walked out. Anne could then have picked up the story in another book and given some more details instead of the way it was hurried over in the last few pages.
I would have loved to have given this all five stars. but the ending was so rushed and glossed over that I can only give it four.

After reading at least 5, maybe 10, Pern books, I think I need a break. The Dolphins of Pern isn't quite as enthralling and exciting as the others. Latter parts of the book basically retell the events of All the Weyrs of Pern.
One thing that really bugs me about Anne McCaffrey's books is the subtle but overall feeling that men are superior to women. Men make all the decisions. Only men can be lord holders (basically the rulers, much like medieval lords). Only men can ride dragons that can actually fight thread. (Queen dragons, which only women ride, and which are the only dragons that breed, fight thread, but only with puny flamethrowers--they can't chew the rock that allows them to breath fire because that makes female dragons sterile.) Yes, women do some things--some of them are even brilliant. But in the end, they all wind up sitting at home, pumping out children for their beloved husband. The only woman so far who wanted to be a Lady Holder (remember, usually only men can be rulers) ended up going renegade and being a heartless robber and killer. The main purpose of the riders of queen dragons is to keep their dragon healthy so it can spawn, and sleep around so they can pop out some more potential dragonriders.
Anne McCaffrey's books are very good. I do recommend you read them. I do think there is an undertone of male superiority, but, well, most of the books are enjoyable enough that you can get over that. Like I said, they are good books. You (probably) won't be wasting your money.

This book is a wonderful addition to the Pern series of stories. Who wouldn't love dolphins? After the voyagers from Earth landed on Pern, they had brought many animals with them. The oceans of Pern are wonderful and perfect for marine mammals. They could communicate easily with the people.
Everything was peaceful until thread fell out of the sky and killed anything it touched.

In the horror the dolphins were forgotton and swam wild for many, many years.
Finally someone realized that there were on Pern for a purpose.
This story has a great ending and everything turns out well.
If you love Anne McCaffrey's books on Pern, you will love this one.

. . . but certainly not the best of the Pern series.

The concept of dolphins who could communicate with humans was introduced in "Dragonsdawn" and the notion of seemingly intelligent "shipfish" have been seen in several Pern stories.

Now, in "The Dolphins of Pern", the relationship between humans, dragons, and dolphins on Pern is re-established. The book could be viewed as a sequel to "The Renegades of Pern", as much of the action surrounds Jayge, his wife Aramina (the girl who heard dragons) and their son Readis. The book also runs concurrent with many of the events in "All the Weyrs of Pern".

Why only three stars? Because, frankly, the character development is, frankly, unbelievable. Jayge, Aramina, and Readis have all, at different times, been rescued from probable death by dolphins. Readis -- probably twice. Why then are his parents (especially his mother) so against the boy's interest in them? This seems forced to me. (Especially since most of the rest of the Pernese leadership -- including persons whom Jayge and Aramina greatly respect -- and owe much to -- are inclined to permit Readis to pursue his interest to the benefit of all Pern?

Also, once the Oldtimers, the Renegades, the Red Star, etc. have all been dealt with, where do we go for a villain? We've got to invent one, of course! Toric, now Lord Toric of Southern Hold -- who has in other novels been a character on the fringe of trouble -- is now the new designated "bad guy".

Overall, the story seemed too contrived. NOT the best book in the series -- NOT by a long way.

This book started off with promise as the Pernese dolphins rescue Alemi and his nephew, Readis, from a wild storm at sea. And I did like how a handful of humans tried to re-establish relations with the marine mammals. Interesting to see the dolphins butcher the English language, which led to some problems of understanding between the two species. But then the story ground to a halt. Everything went swimmingly between man and dolphin and there was hardly any conflict I could see. The efforts to stop Thread just got breezed over, and the problem Readis' mother had with him communicating with dolphins could have been expanded on a lot more. To be honest, I did not even get to the end of the book. I just couldn't see any goals that needed to be achieved or conflicts that needed to be resolved and did not see the need to continue on to the end.

A lot of people have said that Anne McCaffrey lost something with the Dolphins of Pern, but I disagree. I think that the book ties together a lot of loose ends from throughout the series. It adds on to The Renegades of Pern, and lets us know what happened to some of the charachters that were forgotten in All the Weyrs of Pern. The Dolphins of Pern occurs (mostly)in the same time period as All the Weyrs of Pern, so that it does get slightly boring at times hearing things we already know. I think that it's worth reading through whatever boring parts there are though. In my opinion one of the best parts of the book is seeing the main charachters(and the leaders of Pern) through the eyes of some of Pern's lesser residents. We also finally get to know F'lessan (F'lar and Lessa's only son), who we don't hear too much from in the other books. This book is a must read for all those dedicated to the series, but it definitely isn't the place for someone new to the series to start reading. You should really to start with one of the other books if you want to fully appreciate this one.

This is an interesting part of the Pern series that focuses mainly on the Dolphins of Pern. The Dolphins are an important part of the history of Pern. The Humans and Dolphins lost touch along the way. Now the old bonds are being reforged. However, not everyone treats the dolphin's with the respect they deserve. Hardly anyone does in fact. Most view them as having less value than dragons, and certainly less than humans. Even though the dolphin's intelligence is equal to human's. But one young man does not feel this way. In fact he is willing to risk everything (including his overprotective mother's rage) to be with the dolphins. This is mainly their tale.

This has always been one of my favorite Pern books. Even though I like the more traditional Pern-style books, which I define as the ones in the 'old' Pern, this is better than some. It revolves around the 'Ship-fish', which are smarter than the Pernese gave them credit for. Timewise, it occurs around and during 'All the Weyrs of Pern', and several references are made to events happening in that book. ATWOP, however, doesn't, so reading it first might make more sense. Still, this is a wonderful book, and continues the wonderful legacy and history of Pern.

I very much enjoyed another story about Pern from another perspective. The dolphins were an enjoyable addition to the lore. I am not such a purist that I couldn't overlook some of the minor inconsistencies other reviewers complained about. Suspend your disbelief and enjoy.

I enjoyed "Dolphins", just as I have enjoyed all of Ms. McCaffrey's Pern books. However, the plot similarities to some of the previous books in the series (Menolly, anyone?) made it hard for me to get really thrilled about this book. I could predict what was going to happen within two chapters. It really reads like a last-ditch, I've-run-out-of-inspiration-but-I-have-to-write-this-book-anyway effort.
Reread the old books. You'll have more fun.

I think The Dolphins of Pern is a fantastic book. Sure in the beginning of the Pern series the dolphins did not talk, but they were most assuredly there on the ships coming to Pern. The dolphins, like the fire lizards are a wonderful addition to Pern. They can diagnose health problems before they get too bad, and they make a little boy into a wonderful, helpful person. Read this book. It is a MUST in the Pern series for true fans of Anne McCaffrey.

There will never be another Anne McCaffrey. Her books cover the complete fantasy realm, and I think her Dragonrider books are what started my dragon collection! Her characters come to life in the pages of her books.

Anne McCaffrey has done it again! The future of Pern has never looked so bright. Did you ever wonder what the deal was with all those talking shipfish? This book will tell you how and why they talk, how they are re-integrated into Pern society, and why they insist on saving lives. This is positively one of the best of McCaffrey's Pern books

This one of my favorites of all the Pern stories. It shows the intelligence of dolphins and how they might interact with humans if they could talk. Anne McCaffrey had the ability to populate her worlds with very likable characters.

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 think the Dolphins of Pern was a wonderful book. The Dragonriders of Pern is probaly one of the best book series that I've read. I felt so sorry for Readis and T'lion when everyone said the "shipfish" were a bad influence and should be avoided. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes Anne McCaffrey books. If I could give more than 5 stars, I would.

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

I have read every book published by Anne, and this one rates very high on my readability index. It provides lots of story thread conclusions, but also opens up more vistas to explore. The only problem is that I have read all the Pern books so often, that I know every event, and indeed almost every word. Keep up the good work Anne (please continue the Dolphineers thread).

What a terrible book; I can hardly believe this is the same author who wrote Dragonflight/Dragonquest/The White dragon. I kept glancing at the front cover searching for another name. From the opening pages the story is clumsy, insipid, and awkward -- and those are the nicer things I can say. What a terrible disappointment.