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juushikaTitle: Dragonquest (Dragonriders of Pern Book 2)
Author: Anne McCaffrey
Published: New York: Ballantine Books, 1971
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 330
Total Page Count: 132,730
Text Number: 389
Read Because: interest in the companion animal trope, e-book borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: When Thread begins to fall out of schedule Pern is thrown into high agitation, aggravating troubled political relationships and sending dragonriders on a new quest: to stop the threat of Thread for good. For such a bold aim, Dragonquest is markedly undirected. It discards the flawed but compelling POVs of Dragonflight and replaces them with an ensemble cast, headhopping, and a pair of inspired minor protagonists. While largely political the plot lacks politicking (McCaffrey's antagonists are problematically characterized—there's a disgusting amount of slut-shaming—and blatantly wrong), the pacing is poor, and there's almost no "quest" to speak of: characters themselves admit that the solution to their problem is uninspiring and disappointingly mundane. At times, Pern is an interesting place—the lingering impact of the technologically advanced society that founded it is especially intriguing, and the dragons remain appealing although their newly-introduced miniature cousins bring little to the story. But McCaffrey's worldbuilding is heavyhanded, her writing clunky, and what little good the book has fails to save it from its plentiful flaws. I didn't enjoy Dragonquest and don't recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Anne McCaffrey
Published: New York: Ballantine Books, 1971
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 330
Total Page Count: 132,730
Text Number: 389
Read Because: interest in the companion animal trope, e-book borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: When Thread begins to fall out of schedule Pern is thrown into high agitation, aggravating troubled political relationships and sending dragonriders on a new quest: to stop the threat of Thread for good. For such a bold aim, Dragonquest is markedly undirected. It discards the flawed but compelling POVs of Dragonflight and replaces them with an ensemble cast, headhopping, and a pair of inspired minor protagonists. While largely political the plot lacks politicking (McCaffrey's antagonists are problematically characterized—there's a disgusting amount of slut-shaming—and blatantly wrong), the pacing is poor, and there's almost no "quest" to speak of: characters themselves admit that the solution to their problem is uninspiring and disappointingly mundane. At times, Pern is an interesting place—the lingering impact of the technologically advanced society that founded it is especially intriguing, and the dragons remain appealing although their newly-introduced miniature cousins bring little to the story. But McCaffrey's worldbuilding is heavyhanded, her writing clunky, and what little good the book has fails to save it from its plentiful flaws. I didn't enjoy Dragonquest and don't recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
