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juushikaTitle: Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern Book 1)
Author: Anne McCaffrey
Published: New York: Ballantine Books, 1968
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 320
Total Page Count: 132,400
Text Number: 388
Read Because: interest in the companion animal trope, e-book borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: As dragonriders search for a woman, Lessa, to bond with a newborn dragon queen, the Red Star rises: after four centuries of safety, the dragonrider F'lar must rally Pern to action before deadly Thread begins to fall from the sky. Dragonflight is an uneven but successful entry into the world of Pern. McCaffrey's voice is unskilled and the plot manages to be both predictable and ad hoc, but the protagonists are promising—they're often unlikable and share no chemistry, but they have robust and rewarding agency. But the real reason to read Dragonflight is for its archetypal example of the magical companion animal trope. The dragons lack personality, exist solely for human benefit, and are artificially stratified, but they're undeniably compelling.
While not well explored in its own right, it's a fascinating and formative beginning—and familiarity with Pern's archetypes give depth to other incarnations of the trope. This in no way makes Dragonflight a better book. As well as poorly written, it's deeply problematic: Lessa is a strong female character, but she's pitted divisively against women who have less agency (as a result of Pern's sexist society), more sex, or more body fat; dragon mating creates an implied but unaddressed threat of human rape. I don't recommend Dragonflight unless you share my interest in the magical companion animal trope; but if you do, it's successful as an archetype of the trope and while flawed remains a readable novel.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Anne McCaffrey
Published: New York: Ballantine Books, 1968
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 320
Total Page Count: 132,400
Text Number: 388
Read Because: interest in the companion animal trope, e-book borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: As dragonriders search for a woman, Lessa, to bond with a newborn dragon queen, the Red Star rises: after four centuries of safety, the dragonrider F'lar must rally Pern to action before deadly Thread begins to fall from the sky. Dragonflight is an uneven but successful entry into the world of Pern. McCaffrey's voice is unskilled and the plot manages to be both predictable and ad hoc, but the protagonists are promising—they're often unlikable and share no chemistry, but they have robust and rewarding agency. But the real reason to read Dragonflight is for its archetypal example of the magical companion animal trope. The dragons lack personality, exist solely for human benefit, and are artificially stratified, but they're undeniably compelling.
A feeling of joy suffused Lessa; a feeling of warmth, tenderness, unalloyed affection, and instant respect and admiration flooded mind and heart and soul. Never again would Lessa lack an advocate, a defender, an intimate, aware instantly of the temper of her mind and heart, of her desires. How wonderful was Lessa, the thought intruded into Lessa's reflections, how pretty, how kind, how thoughtful, how brave and clever!
—Dragonflight, 72
While not well explored in its own right, it's a fascinating and formative beginning—and familiarity with Pern's archetypes give depth to other incarnations of the trope. This in no way makes Dragonflight a better book. As well as poorly written, it's deeply problematic: Lessa is a strong female character, but she's pitted divisively against women who have less agency (as a result of Pern's sexist society), more sex, or more body fat; dragon mating creates an implied but unaddressed threat of human rape. I don't recommend Dragonflight unless you share my interest in the magical companion animal trope; but if you do, it's successful as an archetype of the trope and while flawed remains a readable novel.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
