Every two hundred years or so, shimmering Threads fall from space, raining death and black ruin on Pern. The great dragons of Pern hurl themselves through the beleagured skies, flaming tongues of fire to destroy deadly Thread and save the Planet. But it was not Threadfall that made young Menolly unhappy. It was her father who betrayed her ambition to be a Harper, who thwarted her love of music. … music. Menolly had no choice but to run away. When, suddenly, she came upon a group of fire lizards, wild and smaller relatives of the fire-breathing dragons, she let her music swirl around them. She taught nine of them to sing. Suddenly Menolly was no longer alone — she was Mistress of Music and Ward of the dazzling fire dragons.
more
This is an unusual tale in that this is a SCI FI and not a fantasy. This is about a world were settlers from Earth breed fire breathing dragons from fire lizards to fight a life form that periodically rain down on the planet Pern every few centuries. This book tells the story of a girl who is talented in music but her family will not allow her to use her musical abilities. She runs away from her family and hold and discovers on of the mysteries of Pern. An excellent book and an outstanding novel of the planet of Pern
Among the many books that Anne McCaffrey wrote in her Pern series, I particularly enjoy reading (and re-reading) Dragonsong and Dragonsinger that recount Menolly’s path into becoming a Harper. This is a beautiful portrayal of a shy, talented teenager who learns how to become confident and sure of her own value. I wonder why I like these stories so much, and think it’s because Menolly’s path to happiness and confidence is universal. We care about her, we want her to succeed, we would like to tell her that she is great when she falters, and we would, of course, like to have fire lizards. During the course of the two stories, Menolly meets several characters encountered in other books of the series, and we discover some important events of the main storyline from another perspective, which is great.
Been reading and rereading this since I was a kid. I love the story of Menolly, a young girl with gifts that keep her from fitting in with her small fishing community. She tries desperately to please her family and is resigned to her fate until something happens that changes her life forever.
Mini psychic dragons = awesome. Plus, I love the main character and how she makes a new life for herself after an accident takes away the thing she loves most in the world (I’m not going to tell you what that is, because that would be a spoiler.)
Dragonson is one of my childhood faves. Check it out.
This is a revisit to a McCaffrey classic.
The first female harper finds the fire dragons and a clutch of eggs and is the heroine of the day in this fun fantasy.
Gotta love McCaffrey.
I love the Harper Hall series! Menolly is an awesome character, I love her fire lizards, and Piemur is great comedic relief! I love how Anne McCaffery doesn’t shy away from showing the harder sides of life, but does show that hard work is rewarded!
My young teen daughter and I read every single one of her books in the Dragonriders of Pern series! Loved them all! Highly recommend for young teens and up for those who love science fiction and fantasy!
Loved the entire set of Pern books
This is the book that introduced me to the Dragonriders of Pern series. I wanted to a fire lizard sooooo badly when I was a kid, still do. Menolly is a sympathetic and plucky heroine. A really wonderful series.
Interesting new world with great characters! This is one of many that Anne McCaffrey wrote about Pern and the Dragon Riders
Great book by a great author.
My absolute favorite.
The whole series is amazing!!!!
One of my favorite series
Oh gosh. I’ve forgotten a lot about this series, but I remember well how much I love it. It’s a simple enough story, despite all the dragons and fire lizards and Pern-ness. Not a difficult read by any means. But there’s so much in it that resonates with me for one reason or another. Menolly is an amazing character, and even though her personality and mine are pretty different, she has the feel of being one of my best friends, and I empathize with her so much her story brought tears to my eyes on several occasions. Anne McCaffrey is masterful in her Pern books (I’ve read more than a few and initially fell in love back in middle school when I picked up Dragonflight and found a kindred spirit in Lessa- and I haven’t looked back since) and though she is no longer with us, she’s left us a powerful legacy with her books, her heroines and heroes, and her dragons.
Getting thrown into the world outside of the tiny fishing village of Half Circle Seahold, while in the middle of a world wide emergency, teaches Menolly how important her position in a world that had forgotten about Equality would be as a girl Harper and had lost track of the Fire Lizards which had been the source of the Fire Breathing Dragon’s which have been protecting her world since the beginning of the world’s recorded history and brought with her Nine of them (and two eggs for the Master Harper) to the Harper Hall
Love this series!
Fantastic book,can’t wait to read the next in the series