| $@%&! level: Medium-Low “Bedroom” level: Medium-High (dragons mate, which means that their riders do too) Violence level: Low (although one guy does sort of let himself out of an airlock into deep space) Back Cover: “Here are five gripping episodes of early Pern—from the very first space survey recommending colonisation, to the last, where the early world, its young dragon culture undetected, is condemned to be isolated in space. Here is the saga of the mass evacuation from the volcanic southern continent, an entire group of people moved across the dangerous seas, guarded and guided by a flotilla of dolphins. Here, too, is the story of the creation of Ruatha Hold—a mammoth undertaking in the early days of Pern. And here is one of the most fascinating dragon tales ever written by Anne McCaffrey, when Fort Weyr was the only weyr, and when dragonriders and dragons were overcrowded to danger point. As the news broke of three fresh weyrs to be established, a young girl, Torene, came to realize that her dragon could be the next Queen of the newly formed Benden Weyr.” |
I admit I'm not so fond of the beginning and ending stories, which catalog the very first and very last of the outside visitors to Pern. The first one is all right, but I could've gone the rest of my life without encountering Stev Kimmer again. Evil is one thing, but evil and annoying is just too much. Then again, he does finally get a comeuppance, even if his arrogance and condescension never do get properly humbled. He's certain that his own viewpoint is the only right way of looking at things right up until the end, and never does give it up. And it's a bit tragic that no one from anywhere else will ever know about how great Pern is once the dragons are properly established.
The other one to watch out for is the founding of Benden Weyr. Great story, with an unfortunate sex scene. Not a highly detailed one, admittedly, but still. Disappointing. On the other hand, I'm constantly pleasantly surprised by how truly exciting these books can be given how little actual violence goes on. I guess you don't really need the action hero battle scenes when the entire planet is trying to kill you one way or another.