| $@%&! level: Medium-Low “Bedroom” level: Low (although it's openly discussed) Violence level: Medium-High (the border guards get pretty brutal, although it all happens before we arrive) Back Cover: “It's been two hundred years since the deadly Thread fell like rain upon Pern, devouring everything in its path. No one alive remembers that first horrific onslaught and no one believes in its return—except for the dragonriders. For two centuries they have been practicing and training, passing down from generation to generation the formidable Threadfighting techniques. Now the ominous signs are appearing: the violent winter storms and volcanic eruptions that are said to herald the approach of the Red Star and its lethal spawn. But one stubborn Lord Holder, Chalkin of Bitra, refuses to believe—and that disbelief could spell disaster. So as the dragonriders desperately train to face a terrifying enemy, they and the other Lord Holders must find a way to deal with Chalkin—before history repeats itself and unleashes its virulence on all of Pern...” |
But, although all this is going on in the background, the major story is about Chalkin of Bitra (again, how did that woman get a Hold named after her?). It's basically a lot of politics and maneuvering that has to happen in order to get rid of him, and meanwhile he's doing cruel and terrible things to his people and refusing to believe in or prepare for the approach of planetary disaster. Which does sort of inspire the need for signals like the star stones, of course. And luckily, Chalkin is just as blind to the possibility of anyone challenging his power as he is to the possibility that dangerous, flesh-eating organisms are about to drop out of the sky on him. Still, it takes an unacceptably long time to oust a criminal Lord Holder.
In terms of story arc, it's a little jumpy, with several different stories going on simultaneously and sort of weaving through each other but not really deeply related. That means there are several climactic moments, which does serve to keep the book interesting throughout. I think it's because of the global nature of the story itself—it needs several different main characters having their own stories in order to really give a full picture of the culture in this time period. In any case, I've always felt that Anne McCaffrey had an episodic style of storytelling, and she does it so well that I don't mind in the least.
In fact, I really have only one complaint, and it's not just about this one novel but about a marked tendency in the whole Pern series. Far too many of the strong female characters seem to harbor a secret wish to be dominated by the strong male characters. This is especially true in a sexual context, which means that there are a number of encounters where the woman actually resists before succumbing to seduction (which in my view is tantamount to rape). That doesn't happen in this particular novel, but there are aspects of it. It's sad, because there are such really good, strong female leads in these books, and it's a pity that strength gets undermined this way so often.
On the other hand, the love story with Debra and Iantine is perfectly sweet and rather adorable.