Anne McCaffery has definitely passed her talent to her son. If you love the Pern books, you will love this one.
Step by step, moment by moment.
After being a candidate at an Impressing, but failing to Impress a dragon, Kindan returns to Harper Hall to find it more busy than usual. Kelsa and Nonola, the only two female apprentices, find themselves constantly the sources of jokes and tricks. Kindan steps in to Kelsa's defense and suddenly finds himself challenging the much older and stronger Vaxoram to a duel which turns into an unusual friendship that neither of the boys quite understand.
Meanwhile, a clutch of fire lizard eggs were brought to Fort Hold, and Kindan was told that one of the eggs was reserved for him. Dismissed from classes to go to the hatching, Kindan walks into the room and meets the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Koriana, Lord Bemins daughter, patiently waiting by the eggs, also hopes to Impress a fire lizard. After the hatching, Kindan finds himself holding a beautiful baby fire lizard and winning the heart of Koriana. It is a love, however, that does not have the support of Korianna's parents. Lord Bemin distrusts all Harpers, and will not even contemplate a match between Kindan and his daughter.
Things are about to change, however, when a deadly flu starts tearing through Pern. With few Healers and no knowledge of the plague, it quickly spreads throughout the land. People everywhere are falling ill and dying from the unknown disease, and it is up to Kindan and his friends to find a solution and try to save Pern. Will he be able to succeed or will the mistrust of others prevent him from accomplishing what must be done.
This was an excellent book and a very inspiring and motivating read. Aside from the main storyline, saving Pern from the plague, there are tiny little personal stories between the characters that just pop up and fit in perfectly. The reader is given little surprises throughout the book, and it was rewarding to see how the McCaffreys connected situations and tied everything together.
As a reader, I found myself comparing some of the characters and situations to my own life and felt that the authors captured many of life's struggles and problems and illustrated how they can be overcome. It is a story about how love and sacrifice can sometimes conquer all, and I would heartily recommend this to anyone!
After being a candidate at an Impressing, but failing to Impress a dragon, Kindan returns to Harper Hall to find it more busy than usual. Kelsa and Nonola, the only two female apprentices, find themselves constantly the sources of jokes and tricks. Kindan steps in to Kelsa's defense and suddenly finds himself challenging the much older and stronger Vaxoram to a duel which turns into an unusual friendship that neither of the boys quite understand.
Meanwhile, a clutch of fire lizard eggs were brought to Fort Hold, and Kindan was told that one of the eggs was reserved for him. Dismissed from classes to go to the hatching, Kindan walks into the room and meets the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Koriana, Lord Bemins daughter, patiently waiting by the eggs, also hopes to Impress a fire lizard. After the hatching, Kindan finds himself holding a beautiful baby fire lizard and winning the heart of Koriana. It is a love, however, that does not have the support of Korianna's parents. Lord Bemin distrusts all Harpers, and will not even contemplate a match between Kindan and his daughter.
Things are about to change, however, when a deadly flu starts tearing through Pern. With few Healers and no knowledge of the plague, it quickly spreads throughout the land. People everywhere are falling ill and dying from the unknown disease, and it is up to Kindan and his friends to find a solution and try to save Pern. Will he be able to succeed or will the mistrust of others prevent him from accomplishing what must be done.
This was an excellent book and a very inspiring and motivating read. Aside from the main storyline, saving Pern from the plague, there are tiny little personal stories between the characters that just pop up and fit in perfectly. The reader is given little surprises throughout the book, and it was rewarding to see how the McCaffreys connected situations and tied everything together.
As a reader, I found myself comparing some of the characters and situations to my own life and felt that the authors captured many of life's struggles and problems and illustrated how they can be overcome. It is a story about how love and sacrifice can sometimes conquer all, and I would heartily recommend this to anyone!
I read the Pern books long ago. Decided to re-read in "chronological order". Then I got to the ones Todd McCaffrey wrote, both in conjunction with his mother and on his own. I made it through the first, Dragon's Kin, which wasn't TOO bad, and the second, Dragon Harper, which was okay, then got through about half of Dragon's Fire, and now a quarter of the way into Dragon Heart, I just can't go on. When I look at the ratings, I'm astonished to see his books rated as high as hers...is it just loyalty? Why can't people see the vast, gigantic difference between her most excellent writing and his pathetic attempts?
His books are pedantic, fluff-filled, stilted and downright boring. There is no life to them, the ones I've read are all about plagues, there's no humor, there are so many characters thrown in, I can't keep track of who's who, or even who's a dragon and who's a human. The dialog is terrible, the "plots" ramble around in circles...I am totally mystified as to why they get such high ratings. I hope that people READ the 1 and 2 star reviews and don't just assume from the star count that they're as good as the REAL Pern books. I wasted some money, won't read the rest of what he's written.
His books are pedantic, fluff-filled, stilted and downright boring. There is no life to them, the ones I've read are all about plagues, there's no humor, there are so many characters thrown in, I can't keep track of who's who, or even who's a dragon and who's a human. The dialog is terrible, the "plots" ramble around in circles...I am totally mystified as to why they get such high ratings. I hope that people READ the 1 and 2 star reviews and don't just assume from the star count that they're as good as the REAL Pern books. I wasted some money, won't read the rest of what he's written.
