Starred review from November 15, 2008
When Fiona, the daughter of the Lord Holder of Fort Hold, unexpectedly impresses a newborn gold dragon, she becomes involved in her new duties as Junior Weyrwoman to Fort Weyr, a place beleaguered by a mysterious, usually fatal sickness among dragons. As Fiona learns the manners and politics of a nascent Queen dragonrider, she faces other hardships, including a Threadfall that dragonriders must fight despite their ever-diminishing numbers and her own accelerated coming-of-age as she risks her future to ensure the safety of Pern. Following in his mother's formidable footsteps, Todd McCaffrey skillfully continues exploring new eras of Pern's past, reviving characters from his previous solo novel ("Dragonsblood") as well as from those cowritten with his mother, SFWA Grand Master Anne McCaffrey ("Dragon's Kin; Dragon's Fire; Dragon Harper"). The author's strong storytelling and fully developed human and dragon characters make this a good addition to any library and an essential read for Pern's many fans. Highly recommended.
Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 15, 2008
Although not a candidate on the Hatching Grounds, young Fiona, daughter of Fort Holds Lord Holder, impresses the only queen-dragon hatchling. She enters the frenzy of feeding, oiling, scratching, and tending the baby dragon as well as learning her responsibilities as a Weyrwoman. Then tragedy strikes as dragons begin to sicken and die. With the fall of Thread looming, will there be enough dragons to fight it? Even though the watch-whers guide and help the dragons fight Thread in the darkness, many dragons and riders are injured. And the threat of Thread is still imminent. The only solution is to send the injured back in time 10 Turns to heal in Ingen, the only empty Weyr. Those living in that past must not become aware of the visitors to avoid influencing events that for the latter have already occurred. When healed, the injured will return to their own time a few days after they left it. Anne McCaffreys son meticulously chronicles the creation of a new society at Ingen and maintains the series strong portrayal of human-dragon relationships. His second Pern novel further confirms that he is the one to carry the torch of the extremely popular ongoing saga.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)