Dragonsong (The Harper Hall Triology)
For centuries, the world of Pern has faced a destructive force known as Thread. But the magnificent dragons who've protected this world and the men and women who ride them are dwindling.As fewer dragons ride the winds and destruction falls from the sky, fifteen-year-old Menolly holds one dream only: to sing, play, and weave the music that comes to her so easily -- she wishes to become a Harper. But despite her great talents, her father believes that a young girl is unworthy of such a respected position and forbids her to pursue her dreams. Menolly runs away and happens upon nine fire lizards that could possibly save her world...and change her life forever. Review From the Publisher From the Inside Flap Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragondrums Can't Live Without Music a look at the music and fire lizards of PernProduct Details
Editorial Reviews
. . . of fire lizards, the periodic Fall of all-consuming Thread, and the girl Menolly, forbidden because of her sex to realize her talents as a Harper. This takes place on Pern, one of those Other planets where the names are vaguely Welsh, and there's a portentous foreword about the deadly Thread spores, the flying dragons bred to char Thread to ash in the sky, and the perilous neglect of the dragon Weyrs as people become complacent. But McCaffrey seems to have scrapped the story you'd expect to follow from this for a smaller one about Menolly, who runs away from her Hold when she's deprived of her music, gets caught in a couple of Thread falls, lives in a cave with a family of the elusive, much sought fire lizards, and is at last taken in to a Weyr community where the people admire her command of the creatures and - being less sexist than traditional Holdmaster father - encourage her musical ability. As the master Harper puts it, "(had I but known) you might have been spared a great deal of anguish" - always a thin thread on which to hang a whole adventure. For those who are content with the trappings of winged fantasy both Menolly and her society are smoothly realized, but McCaffrey's setting and framework suggest a weightier Peru that the center cannot hold. (Kirkus Reviews)
Anne McCaffrey's best-selling Harper Hall Trilogy is a wonder-filled classic of the imagination. Dragonsong, the first volume in the series, is the enchanting tale of how Menolly of Half Circle Hold became Pern's first female Harper, and rediscovered the legendary fire lizards who helped to save her world.
Anne McCaffrey's best-selling Harper Hall Trilogy is a wonder-filled classic of the imagination. Dragonsong, the first volume in the series, is the enchanting tale of how Menolly of Half Circle Hold became Pern's first female Harper, and rediscovered the legendary fire lizards who helped to save her world.Customer Reviews
A trilogy concerning a young woman's achievement over adversity. Ms. McCaffery is a wonderful story teller.
This first book about Menolly opens with her grieving at the death of the Hold Harper, an old man who encouraged her in studying and composing music. Her father and mother now crack down on her, not wanting her to "put herself forward". She injures her hand and is forbidden to play.
Because she can't live without music, she slips out of the community early one morning and hides in a cave where a golden fire lizard queen has laid her eggs. This is a glorious story where ingenuity, self-sufficiency and love of music overcome the odds. The fact that Menolly makes an independent life for herself makes her a very appealing heroine. One can not imagine a better fantasy, until one reads the sequel to this book: Dragonsinger. Both are highly recommended.
A brief forward to the review: "Dragonsong" is the first book in Anne McCaffrey's Harper Hall trilogy. The series is generally catalogued as children's (at least in the nypl catalog) but is really for any readers. Like many of McCaffrey's novels, it's set in the world of Pern. I haven't read anything but this trilogy yet, but am pretty sure these novels (from the 1970s) operate as prequels to the other more adult oriented novels. Oh, and I absolutely loved the entire trilogy.
On to the review:
Menolly was born in the small fishing village of Half Circle Sea Hold on Pern. Despite her father's leadership position in the community, Menolly finds herself with very little freedom--especially freedom to make music, her one bliss. When Petiron, the village's old Harper, passes away Menolly's parents realize with some horror that their daughter is the only one who can take up the Harper's duties until a replacement is sent from the Harper Hall.
Once this replacement arrives, Menolly is ordered to abandon her music (even in her head) on threat of physical harm in order to save her family and the hold from the scandal of having produced a girl Harper. Her hopes shattered, Menolly runs away from the hold and takes refuge in a beach cave where Menolly discovers a nest of the much sought after (and semi-mythical) fire lizards. After finding her new friends, things begin to look up for Menolly who realizes that anything is possible if you aren't afraid of going after what you want.
There's more to the plot, of course, but all of that is better learned by reading the book instead of this review.
"Dragonsong" is written in what I would call an understated style. McCaffrey isn't at pains to illustrate her talent as a writer--she knows she's good and has a story worth telling. Having never read about Pern, I wasn't sure what to expect. Despite a mildly confusing start, McCaffrey created a story here that functions as a standalone from the larger world of the Pern series. Furthermore, she also expertly builds up the landscapes and cities of Pern the better for readers to imagine them.
The other thing that I really like about this story is that it has a fairly narrow focus. The novel centers on Menolly and her journey to the Harper Hall. There are a lot of stories out there about girls who are told they don't deserve much from life, or girls who think they can't do what they really want to do. In a way, Menolly has that problem--especially because of her parents. But she's more than that too. As the novel progresses, Menolly begins to realize with the help of her friends (fire lizard and otherwise) that she deserves better and that there is more to life than pleasing others.
So, on the one hand we have a wonderfully written fantasy novel that is arguably the first word on Dragon stories in the genre. On the other hand we have the story of a girl finding her own way in the world as she discovers that she's a much stronger, smarter and more vibrant girl than her parents would have her believe.
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