Dragon song – Anne McCaffrey
Menolly (whose name aptly sounds like melody) is a talented young girl, although a little on the odd looking and often mistaken for a boy. Forced to hide her talents as a harper by her old fashioned family to prevent disgrace falling on their hold. She becomes disillusioned with the society she lives in, (don’t we all), and makes her own way in the world.
Menolly (whose name aptly sounds like melody) is a talented young girl, although a little on the odd looking and often mistaken for a boy. Forced to hide her talents as a harper by her old fashioned family to prevent disgrace falling on their hold. She becomes disillusioned with the society she lives in, (don’t we all), and makes her own way in the world.
OK so I’m meant to be doing a million and one things before reading book but hey ho! I had never heard of Anne McCaffrey and am reading these books as part of a challenge – not sure how to link to the page though! This lady has written like 100 books though which is quite impressive and seems to have evolved her own society within it. There are lots of book challenges out there and I’m also signed up too Haruki Murakami challenge which is on my to do list.
`Continuing the outstanding chronicles of Pern…` Ok… Ok…. so I know I’ve started with the wrong book as the first one I was meant to read was... dragon flight, but you have to blame Sheffield library for that!
I ordered the ones before but this is the first one they gave me. As you can see below I spent the first forward trying to figure out what the hell this mythical world was!
Why don’t books have more pictures? Maybe it would have been easier to follow if I’d read the one before but oh well!
Inside the cover it states `Anne McCaffrey’s books can be read individually or a s a series. However for greatest enjoyment the following sequences are recommended...` it would be useful if someone could please draw the libraries attention to this fact! (They have also given me the third book in a series when I wanted the 2nd and. ..Well it’s just annoying) Ok…Ok I take all that back as Sheffield library are v helpful a lot of the time and have even ordered a print on demand book for me in the past – I love you Sheffield library!
Anyway on with the book and world of Pern… My Microsoft word seems to have a `write a blog` document feature so I’m trying that out today and will see how it goes….bear with meJ I’ve never really been a fan of Sci fi to be honest. I enjoyed the lord of the rings and read a few Terry Pratchett but I think they classify as fantasy not Sci Fi. I did enjoy hitch hikers guide to the galaxy and still have a copy of it that I stole from an ex (he he! Yes if you are reading this you will never get it back cause I’ve had it for about 7yrs :P)
As I said below is my map to try and understand Pern – v artistic I know!. I drew Pern, which for no real reason I have decided is light blue, with the intention of drawing the dwellings on it but it all got a bit confusing.
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| Map in the book of Pern - Upper arrow = Benden Weyr- where protective dragons live and lower arrow = Half Circle Menolly's hold. |
The book focuses on her life with her lizards dragons who she accidently impresses (becomes their mother) when she prevents them from committing suicide. Well ok that’s abit dramatic but after hatching to quench their appetite they try to throw themselves off cliffs in search of food while dangerous threads fall from the sky. And so she begins her life with her 9 fire lizards who are portrayed as just the cutest little pets – apart from when they fly at you with their claws!
Spiderclaws, Wyre’s, dragons, jealous sisters, grouchy uncles who sometimes try and stand up forgetting they have no legs, stubborn fathers & friends in all shapes and sizes the book is quite an enchanting read. Different family values and hatchings introduce all kinds of characters who I am sure feature in the many other books in this series.
An outdates hold where women are still kept in their place – sound familiar??
Important things to know if you are reading this book so it doesn’t all sounds like its written in code:
People live in holds.
Holds consist of average people and craftsmen with special skills.
1. People live in holds
2. Holds consist of average people and craftsmen with special skills.
3. People are fostered between holds to prevent inbreeding and share skills.
4. Only men are craftspeople.
5. Harpers (teachers), farmers, fishermen etc… are crafts people.
6. Dragonmen & women protect the people who live in the holds and provide for them by fighting thread that fall from the sky.
7. Thread’s destroy everything in their path but can be stopped by dragon fire.
8. Threads fall from the red star that passes Pern every 200yrs.
9. Dragonmen & women bond (impress), with their dragons for life when the dragons hatch.
10. Dragonmen & women live in baron volcanic land where they cannot farm.
11. Dragonmen & women are busy busy protecting the planet from thread so have no time to grow veg etc…. so the hold’s provide for them and their dragons.
12. Fire lizards are related to dragons but not as big or strong…..oh and they can teleport so are impossible to catch and rare to see…unless they need your help and want to make friends.
Get all that………….??
The story is that of a normal hold dwelling girl who learnt the skill of the old harper when he was dying. She is not allowed to take his place though because she is a girl. So really we are looking at the peasant’s story within this society – she is very working class but her family think she’s got a head full of notions above her station.
I was surprised to find this to be a darling little book, easy to read and the idea of fire lizards darting around is pretty cute. I often get confused between which name is the dragon and which is the rider so the glossary at the front is useful.
Although here meant to be read in sequence I quite want to read `The White Dragon` next…..
Many lines are opened up for this story to travel down and I can understand why there are so many strands. It feels abit like I’ve read a bite size story. When I like an authors work I tend to them track down there back catalogue and usually get disappointed after reading 3 or 4 of their book to realise they haven’t written anymore….I don’t think I’ll have this problem this time. Although I wonder if the stories will begin to get boring?? I will see…J
Even if you want to just read something abit different I’d give this a go. I do wonder why these books have fallen out of fashion. I would have thought with all the hype around this type of genre they would be an ideal never ending TV series.
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