Book Review: All the Weyrs of Pern by Anne McCaffrey from The Dragonriders of Pern

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Spoiler Free Summary: I consider  All the Weyrs of Pern by Anne McCaffrey to be the final book (sort of) in the Dragonriders of Pern series (at least what is commonly regarded as the first in the main arc). The discovery of AIVAS has changed everything. The Dragonriders of Pern have a hope and a plan that might just eliminate the Thread for good. A battle some have fought their whole lives may come to an end, but it won’t come without sacrifice.

Character: This was the first book I ever cried while reading. And I wept. It’s beautiful. We’ve seen everything these characters have been through and how hard they work together, and this book triumphs when they’re all faced with different challenges to see those dreams come true. If this were a spoilerific review, I would tell you which characters stood out, but that would really ruin certain parts of the story. Needless to say, this was the first series that ever showed me how characters can grow from one book to another. It also showed how endings can be beautiful no matter how sad.

Exposition: AIVAS sort of demands exposition and serves that role nicely. I will admit, when I saw someone go and talk to AIVAS, I was sort of like, “Buckle in. Here come the plot points.” However, given what AIVAS is, one has to expect that, and at least the plot points are hidden in some charming dialogue. Perhaps I’m writing this and giving you the wrong (worst) impression. There are no “super chunks” of exposition to be found in this wonderful book, but there are definitely parts where readers are fed information.

Worldbuilding: This book rewards readers with a final look at the galaxy (of Pern) at large. Readers have been piecing clues together for several books, and this book finally lays everything out nicely. We gain a better understanding of Thread, why is comes and how it relates to the universe at large. The best part is this galaxy is the conflict. These days it’s easy to develop a suitable “big bad” for the heroes to fight against. This book (and series) proves that conflict doesn’t always have to be a fight. Sure, it’s nice, but it’s not all we have to explore.

This Camera Press image was found on McCaffrey’s New York Times obituary and used for this review.

Dialogue: This story is heavier on dialogue, but most of it is because everything is getting wrapped up. The characters are growing, and this is the last book. Also, readers have to expect AIVAS to provide all the big plot reveals. But the dialogue is more charming, and the characters still have their own unique voices.

Description: This is the best of McCaffrey’s best element. This book is the literary version of a 4-D IMAX theatre just for your brain. She effortlessly provides all the stunning detail you could wish for while never slowing down the plot as it steamrolls to a conclusion that is anticipated despite the absence of a Thanos or Voldemort on the opposite side of a showdown. Instead, this is a cast of character united against an environmental threat that is all the more frightening because it has no motivation whatsoever.

Overall: This book is a large part of the reason I still consider this the best series ever. I love Wheel of Time. Mistborn is genius. Lord of the Rings is amazing worldbuilding, but this story is everything I ever want in a story and more. This series is everything great science fiction and fantasy should be: Wonderful, compelling characters. Great conflict. Fantastic storytelling. If you’re going to try a series to see what this genre is all about, read this one.

Thanks for reading

Matt

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Book Review: Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey from The Dragonriders of Pern

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Spoiler Free Summary:  Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey is the first book in the Dragonriders of Pern series (at least what is commonly regarded as the first in the main arc). Humans have lived for decades without a single strand of thread falling from the sky. The dragons are fat and lazy. All the Weyrs save one are empty. Politics have stolen the birthright of one woman who means to take her hold back, but fate has other plans. The ancient threat returns. It’s time for dragons to fly again.

The cover image for this book was taken from its Amazon buy page for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Character:  Here is where I expect there to be a lot of dissension. One can argue the relationship between Lessa and F’lar to be unhealthy (to say the least). This book was written so long ago with a completely different perspective on things. However, these characters are awesome. Lessa is a strong-willed, decisive character. I affirm she was the first true female hero in fantasy. If she isn’t, please try and justify your nominee in the comments below. She absolutely has character flaws and inexperience, but she’s amazing, strong, motivated, and capable. F’lar is a classic rogue hero. Without understanding (or getting into the logistics) of the dragon bond and how everything works, one may strongly disagree about these characters and their relationship, but I don’t. Their relationship and individual arcs are amazing.

Exposition: It takes a degree of patience to enjoy a Pern book. There is a lot of exposition because this world is so different from our own. I wouldn’t read this to my kids because I don’t think they’d appreciate it at their age (and also there are the adult themes and concepts that aren’t appropriate for young readers). However, once they grow more mature and appreciate reading and world building more, I can’t wait to recommend it to them.

Worldbuilding: This amazing wold is the reward for readers patient enough to endure an excessive amount of exposition. This wold has a political structure and a magic system grounded in science. I’ve borrowed from Pern (in several ways). Brandon Sanderson has admitted Pern’s influence on him. McCaffrey laid the foundation for so many in the genre that I’d consider it a must read for anyone who says they are fans of either science fiction or fantasy.

This Camera Press image was found on McCaffrey’s New York Times obituary and used for this review.

Dialogue: When these characters talk, they’re not just spewing exposition to the readers. Yes, there is some of that, but the characters are interacting for their own sake rather than simply to provide information to the readers. Their voices are distinct and unique to them. This is an under-appreciated skill and a sadly underused technique, but McCaffrey is great at it.

Description: While meticulous and (in my mind) a bit much, there’s no denying that McCaffrey’s description is immersive and captivating. I’m not individually impressed by description, so I’m probably harder on her than I should be, but I’m positive fans of deep-immersive worlds will actually be excited by the description in this book.

Overall: Dragonriders is the best series ever. @me all you want, it’s how I feel. Dragonflight introduces a world of imagination and wonder and makes dragons compelling characters rather than just flying horses or monsters to be fought. This book alone (not to even go into the rest of the series) has everything a fan of fantasy and/or science fiction could ever ask for. It’s not one great idea, it’s ten ideas seamlessly woven together into a perfect story.

Thanks for reading

Matt

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Book Review: Dragon Rule by E.E. Knight

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Spoiler Free Summary:  Dragon Rule by E.E. Knight is the fifth story in the Age of Fire series. Dragons have taken dominion over the upper world. Three sibling dragons have three very different views on how humans should be dealt with. One brother would ignore them. The other brother would isolate from them. Only the sister sees a third option. Can she help humans and dragons coexist?

Character:  This book handles a lot of the same tones of the last book. In fairness, it continues to develop the new relationships that began when the three siblings reunited. This book is harder for me to remember than others. I think it’s because the book was building to a climax. I didn’t mind the anticipation so much because I was already in love with the characters.

Exposition: Since I don’t remember much about the book, it means that not a lot of really great things happened, but it also means the exposition was fine. I absolute remember boring books. Knowing the end and knowing the first three books more familiarly, I think this book was set up, so it falls short of the books around it. What made this book easy to read was the relationship between these characters.

Worldbuilding: Just when one thinks Knight couldn’t be more imaginative, he takes a rich world full of creatures and characters and flips it around, writing a story that is much more about the new dynamics and polities of a new empire. This keeps the worldbuilding (the most awesome aspect of this series) fresh.

Dialogue: I’d be lying if I said I remembered any one conversation. What I can say is I remember how the conversations made me root for reconciliation and peace between the siblings. There’s no doubt how much each character had grown, so I found myself wanting to see that in their growth, they found some way to come together.  

Image by Ebert Studio taken from the Penguin Random House website bio for the author. This image was taken for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Description: The vague memories I have of this book dwell on the political themes, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for vivid descriptions in action, which I tend to prefer in my stories. However, I know that I fondly remember the series as a whole for having simply amazing detail intricately woven into solid prose.

Overall: I remember this book least, which I suppose makes it my least favorite in a series, but in this case being my least favorite is like getting Chips Ahoy! when I wanted homemade cookies. It was still pretty great; it just doesn’t compare well with others in the series. Take that with a grain of salt, though. If you like political intrigue and drama, you’ll love this book. I don’t actually like either of these, but I still liked this book.

Thanks for reading

Matt

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Book Review: Dragon Strike by E.E. Knight

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Spoiler Free Summary:  Dragon Strike by E.E. Knight is the fourth story in the Age of Fire series. Three dragons separated shortly after hatching are reunited as the coming human war causes them to pick sides. Once more the copper finds himself at odds with his siblings, but is he really on the wrong side this time, or are they?

Character:  This book probably won’t make any sense before reading at least one of the previous three. You see, the brilliance of writing three individual timelines is now balanced in that this story is strongest when one has read the three previous books. Only by doing so can one truly appreciate the growth and development of these characters. I happened to have read all the other books first, so this book felt like a fulfilled promise to me. I highly advise new readers to do the same. This book picks up expecting readers to have connected with each dragon, and that’s a disadvantage. At this point, I was particularly interested to see how far the dragons would take their childhood rivalry. More interestingly is the other biases these dragons developed as they grew. Each had become a main character in their own book, but when their values are put at odds with those of their siblings and the world in which they live, things get interesting.

Cover image for this title was taken from the book’s Amazon buy page for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Exposition: A part of me feels like this book needed a bit more exposition. I only say that because I feel this book depends on readers having enjoyed at least one of the other books. A touch of exposition would have absolutely slowed the pace of the book down, but it would have given new readers more context. I can’t necessarily say it was a bad thing; I only affirm that I even I, someone who hates exposition, would have understood a bit more exposition in this book.

Worldbuilding: What knight loses in his exposition and character, he regains in his worldbuilding. Again, this book felt like a fulfilled promise. We’ve spent three books watching these dragons grow and find some sort of path, and Knight then puts them right back at odds with each other just as the world is in a terrible state of it’s own. It really was cool to see everything come together.

Dialogue: I’d say Knight finds a consistent rhythm in this book. It’s still not as good as the dialogue in book 2, but it is good. Each dragon has a distinct voice (even other characters). So while I know there’s better work from Knight out there in this regard, the quality of this story’s dialogue is still entertaining and informative.  

Image by Ebert Studio taken from the Penguin Random House website bio for the author. This image was taken for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Description: When we have a book with more action, this tends to pick up as well. This is true of this book. Strike is a set up story, but even in that regard the description comes to life in a way that captures the imagination.

Overall: I still say the third book is best, but that doesn’t make this book bad. I just think the reason I love this book so much is because of the job Knight did in book 3. This story gave me everything I wanted it too, so it holds a special place in my heart because Knight used this book to fulfill all the potential the first three books offered. Again, if you love coming of age stories and dragons, you’ll absolutely love this story about dragons coming of age.

Thanks for reading

Matt

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Book Review: Dragon Outcast by E.E. Knight

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Spoiler Free Summary:  Dragon Outcast by E.E. Knight is the third story in the Age of Fire series. It’s the story of a hatchling who betrayed his whole family and seeks to find some way to redeem himself.

Cover image taken from the book’s Goodreads page for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Character:  The Copper is one of the greatest story arcs I read. He does some terrible things, but then he starts working toward being something better. The more one hates a character, the more rewarding it is when you see that character truly change, and this story has that.

Exposition: This might just be my favorite book in the series. It’s paced so perfectly, and the emotion of the story just has you riding a perfect literary roller coaster. If you read the series just to read this book, you’ve made a wise decision.

Worldbuilding: Just as with the last two books, this book starts out much the same. Naturally, this book is told from The Copper’s point of view. In doing this, Knight takes one rather typical story of a young dragon hero and turns it into a whole world filled with deep characters, who are all main characters in their own right. Each character also takes you to different places to see different races and creatures. This story is no different. The coolest part here though, is we get to see an earnest dragon society.

Dialogue: The dialogue of this book isn’t as good as the last one. I don’t necessarily mind. Once we see a huge cast like this begin to expand, it has to get pretty hard to have people stand out. That’s not to say the dialogue is bad by any means, it’s just not as awesome as it was in the last book because not all the characters sounded unique in my imagination.  

Image by Ebert Studio taken from the Penguin Random House website bio for the author. This image was taken for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Description: This, however, is probably the best in the series as well. There are just more cool places and more cool characters to meet. Seeing more of the world in which this story takes place just activates the imagination more.

Overall: I say again, this is probably my favorite book in the series. It’s just amazing to see how The Copper starts in bitter anger and evolves to become who he becomes (trying to avoid spoilers). The beauty of it is one doesn’t have to read the other stories to enjoy this one. Readers can actually start with Books 1, 2, or 3 and still get a grate stand-alone story. However, I’m of the opinion that if you read this one first, you won’t be able to stop yourself from reading the rest.

Thanks for reading

Matt

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Book Review: Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight

Spoiler Free Summary:  Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight is the first story in the Age of Fire series. It’s the story of a hatchling who must battle simply to survive and become the head of his family, but when dragon hunters seemingly kill everyone else in his family, he finds himself on a journey that will reveal more about his kind than he could have imagined.

This cover image was taken from the book’s Amazon buy page for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Character:  I like Auron. He’s a very sympathetic character. This is a wonderful take on the hero’s journey from a dragon perspective, and Auron is a great character to do that with. He’s just a character trying to carve out a life, and every time he has the chance to feel like his life is beginning, that life gets turned upside down.

Exposition: Full confession, I read this book years ago. My reading speed isn’t nearly as fast as my blog schedule, so I’m going into my back catalog. That said, I wouldn’t have read the whole series if this story was dragged down. This story moved well, and Auron is such a great character, you find it impossible to stop reading.

Worldbuilding: This is where Knight shines. This book reads like a great stand alone hero’s journey, but it actually opens up an incredible world populated by a variety of creatures. It’s just amazing to see how it all comes together. On its own, this book has great detail and history. I’d recommend this for readers who like the idea of Tolkien’s work, but don’t want that much history.

Dialogue: This was better than average. Even now I can remember particular conversations (not the words but the tone and point of them). Those conversations helped connect me to the characters and understand them better. They were witty or dramatic as needed, but they were always memorable. I’d love to see an animated version of this book.  

Image by Ebert Studio taken from the Penguin Random House website bio for the author. This image was taken for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Description: Readers of the genre will probably want more than description than this story has, but I thought it was great. I got the exact amount of detail I wanted without getting bogged down. I could imagine the characters and scenes, and that’s all I want a book’s description to do.

Overall: This was a fantastic introduction to an absolutely wonderful series. It’s imaginative. It’s exciting. It has all the drama and power of a human story, but it’s populated completely by dragons. Fans of fantasy can’t miss this chance to read a great story.

Thanks for reading

Matt

Book Review: Pipe of Wings by Sarah K.L. Wilson

The book’s cover image was taken from its Amazon buy page for review purposes.

Spoiler Free Summary:  Pipe of Wings by Sarah K.L. Wilson  is the fifteenth book in the Dragon School series.  Amel gets tricked into obeying her new prince. This new leader has her reaching out to old friends for aide. The mysterious pipe she’d found holds a secret that my prove to be a move valuable weapon than she imagined.

Character:  Right up front I need to state that this is Book 15 in a series that’s designed (based on my reading) to be read in order. On one hand, it’s unfair to judge on book in the middle of a series. On the other hand, most authors of a saga should realize that people are going to jump into their series in the middle, and those readers will need some help catching up. I’m not going to be too hard on Wilson, but it’s a challenge to get into a story when you came in on the 15th part. Why did I do this? Well, this book was a Book Cover of the Month winner back when I ran those brackets.  

That said: Amel is a sympathetic character. I’m fascinated by her disability (something about her leg, though I’m unclear what it is). As sympathetic as she is, she didn’t strike me as very proactive or competent. Now, this is YA fantasy, so there was bound to be a lot of decisions an older person like myself doesn’t necessarily feel were the best. Amel was interesting enough that if I had the time, I’d probably go back to book one and check things out, but she wasn’t so cool that I feel compelled to go back. For me, that’s telling. Heck, I didn’t even really know Amel’s name until the last third of the book. (I listened to the audio version, and she didn’t leave a lot of tags for readers to track who was who or even who was saying what.)

Exposition: Honestly, this might be the first book where I feel I didn’t get enough exposition. I was clueless through pretty much the whole book. Sure, I came in late, but readers who come in late don’t have a chance at gaining enough context to enjoy what might be an amazing story for those who started in book one. I think it’s a shame because every book should be an opportunity to invite readers to your other books.

Image of Sarah Wilson was taken from her Amazon author page for review purposes.

Worldbuilding:  The pipe was an interesting element as is the relationship between the dragons and their riders. I don’t understand it too well, but it was interested. I’ll assume the world, politics, and societal issues I was lost on in this book are a result in my ignorance.

Dialogue: This felt pretty rough. This doesn’t have anything at all to do with context or what book I was in. The conversations felt a bit formulaic. There were points of conflict that I felt deserved to be dealt with that were instead glazed over or even just ignored, which made the scene hard to believe.

Description:  This was very good. While I didn’t know who was who, I still saw and sensed a lot. I like picturing dragons of different colors flying around. This was easily the strongest area of the book for Wilson. One reason I’m not such a fan is probably because its best attribute is my least-favorite story element. That said, the worldbuilding and description in Dune were also amazing, and I didn’t very much care for that book either. Dune is mandatory reading for SCIFI fans and Wilson is a best seller. I wouldn’t let my singular opinion stop you from checking this series out, but I would strongly urge you that, to give it a fair shot, you start on book one.

Overall: While this is obviously part of a series, this book doesn’t provide any context or background to help readers starting in the middle. If you’re going to give this series a try, start at the first book. That may seem obvious, but some books do a fantastic job of helping the reader (or listener) catch up. The story is fast paced. The characters are hard to connect with, but the premise is very interesting. This series as a whole has a very interesting premise with a lead character with the opportunity to be inspirational.

Thanks for reading

Matt

Book Review: Centyr Dominance by Michael G. Manning

Centyr Dominance is the second book of the Champions of the Dawning Dragons series, which is the third series in the Mageborn saga. My review for the first book in this series is here. My review for the earliest series (Embers of Illeniel) is here.  My review for the central series (Mageborn) is here.

Spoiler Free Summary:  Moira Illeniel has an unusual history. She’s the ancient (and yet teenage) daughter of an even more ancient wizard from another family. Her biological mother’s ability allows her to tap into a great power, but that power is dangerous, and it can lead to darkness. She’s set out to find her missing father, but as things get worse for her, that power calls her to darkness; it calls her to let go of her innocence.  Between her and answers about her father’s location are a god and new, terrifying enemy.

Character:  Moira is my favorite of this series so far. Her character is so well-balanced. Her conflict is fantastic, and her struggle to maintain her innocence reminds me of her many times removed grandfather. Where Thorbear was a fairly adventurous story. This book is more action packed, and it also has a higher emotion rang.  I found myself invested in her, and if she’s rumored to be anywhere in any future books in the series, I’ll pick them up just to see how shoe’s doing.

Exposition: This is right on par with Manning’s best work. Yes, the dialogue becomes a back-handed way for him fill in the reader. That’s still better than just four or five pages of exposition just to help the reader know what’s going on.

Worldbuilding:  These new villains are just fun to meet. The characters are becoming more interesting. I can’t say enough how much fun it is to learn more about this world.

Dialogue: I felt this was pretty solid in comparison to his other work, which is a bit better than average for most. It’s not as snappy as the central saga, but it’s still solid back and forth at times despite the aforementioned exposition, which was used to help fill the reader in on some things.

Description:  I find myself picturing his scenes in my mind. The emotional description is sometimes lacking, but there’s plenty there to be happy about.  My point is, I feel like a I’m there when I read his work.

Overall:  This book required zero “hanging in there” like the last one did. Every page has conflict and tension. Every moment seems happy, but tragic. Fans of the saga as a whole need to pick this book up, because it stands out with one of the best in the timeline.

Thanks for reading

Matt