For some reason, after posting my review of Dragonflight, the first book in the Dragonriders trilogy, I never got around to finishing my review on the follow-up book. But it's a new year, and I'm making it my resolution to finish what I've started. So here, without further ado, is my review of Dragonquest by Anne McCaffrey.

The World
The planet Pern is much like Earth, and is, in fact, populated by humans. The humans share the planet with large, telepathic dragons who can chew a stone which enables them to breathe fire. These fire-breathing friends are especially useful in combating Thread—the showers of deadly, parasitic spores which fall into Pern’s atmosphere at regular intervals.

The Story
Caution—this review contains spoilers for the first book in the series, Dragonflight. If you don’t want that book spoiled, please don’t read this review. You have been warned.

Seven turns after Pern is saved from certain destruction by the return of Thread, the planet is facing a new series of crises. The Holders and Crafters have become resentful of the domineering attitude of the Oldtimer Dragonriders that came forward in time with Lessa; the Oldtimers are frustrated at the changes in Pern’s society compared with 400 turns ago and they feel that they are not respected in the way that they should be; and F’lar, finds himself caught in the middle as the de facto leader of the modern Dragonriders, and the only Weyr Leader who has the respect of the Lord Holders and the Craft Halls. The societal clash comes to a head when F’lar’s brother and wing second, the brown rider F’nor, is attacked while trying to prevent an Oldtimer from stealing a decorative belt knife—commissioned for a Lord Holder’s wedding—from the Smith hall.

To add to the problems, Thread has begun to fall out of schedule and in unexpected locations. The patterns that have ordered life on Pern for 7 turns have suddenly become unreliable, occasionally making it necessary for riders to go between times in order to catch the beginning of a Threadfall. The disruption in routine is made worse by the oldtimers refusal to adequately follow through on post-fall cleanup.

In addition to problems with the oldtimers, F'lar also has to figure out a way to deal with the obnoxious, unreliable, overly ambitious, and excessively amorous Kylara; the Weyrwoman at Southern Weyr. Her foolishness not only reflects badly on all Dragonriders, but it also puts both dragons and riders at real risk....

My thoughts
Except for the common locations and similar premise, this was a totally different book than Dragonflight in many ways. Since that one was originally a short story expanded into a single novel-length tale, the pacing and flow of the story-telling can be somewhat uneven; a problem not found in this second book in the series. There was, however, a single mindedness to the first book that was somewhat lacking in Dragonquest. In this volume, McCaffrey introduces far more characters and sub-plots that add depth and complexity to the story... though some may be tempted to call it confusion.

I personally found this just as interesting and entertaining as the first volume. It shows more of the workings of Pern's society and we learn more about firelizards, the tiny relatives of dragons. Events in this book sometimes take unexpected turns, and story threads are spun out that will weave their way through future tales following F'lar, Lessa, and the other dragonriders. Dragonquest is less subject to the predictability of its predecessor, and therefore is an entertaining read. But for some reason it seems to lack the charm of Dragonflight and I found myself slightly less invested in the characters in general. However, when taken as a part of the whole, this is an essential piece in the Pern Puzzle. I definitely recommend this book for any fan of fantasy or other world mythos.

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For a more complete look at life on Pern, check out this brief overview.

Books in the Pern collection:

Dragonriders Trilogy
Dragonflight
Dragonquest
The White Dragon

Harper Hall Trilogy
DragonSong
DragonSinger
DragonDrums


Other Pern Novels
Moreta, Dragonlady of Pern
Nerilka’s Story
Dragonsdawn
Renegades of Pern
All the Weyrs of Pern
Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
The Dolphins of Pern
Dragonseye (U.S.), Red Star Rising (U.K)
The Masterharper of Pern
The Skies of Pern
Dragon’s Kin (with Todd McCaffrey)
Dragon’s Blood (by Todd McCaffrey—coming Jan. 2005)

Compilations
The Dragonriders of Pern (Dragonflight, Dragonquest and The White Dragon)
On Dragonwings (Dragonsdawn, Dragonseye and Moreta)
A Gift of Dragons (short stories)

Related Works
The Dragonlover’s Guide to Pern (ed. Jody Lynn Nye / Bill Fawcett)
The Atlas of Pern (by Karen Fonstad)
The People of Pern (a ‘portrait gallery’ by artist Robin Wood)


Recommended: Yes