Well, not really new, even for me, since I've read it before. However, I just re-read Dragon Harper and I want to see if I can write a short review for once.
Dragon Harper is a novel set on the planet Pern, Anne McCaffrey's well known fantasy/sci-fi universe. The novel is told from the perspective of Kindan, an apprentice in the Harper hall, and it takes place about 495 years after landing (when humans first colonized the planet). It is one of the novels written by both Anne MCCaffrey and her son Todd McCaffrey, and, in my opinion, one of the better Pern novels.
Complete with Dragons and their riders, Harpers, Fire-Lizards, and interesting characters it is another great addition to the universe. I decided to re-read it because I just found a newer novel, Dragongirl, and I read on the cover that it had something to do with Kindan. I remembered Kindan as one of the more memorable characters in the series and I vaguely remembered this novel, so I wanted to reacquaint myself with him before reading the new book. I'm glad I did this, because this was a good book and because while I refreshed my memory about this novel there were so many little names and hints which I still don't remember too clearly!
For newcomers to the series I would recommend starting with Dragonsdawn (describes the initial colonization of the planet and establishes the background and the sci-fi behind the world), or with either Dragonsong (the first one I found and a good intro to the world) or Dragonflight (seems to be McCaffrey's favorite story line as the characters keep popping up in other places). However, this novel had less irritants than those earlier novels, it was much tighter and stands out, in my opinion as one of the better novels. I feel that Todd McCaffrey's influence on the series has been very positive. Also, Kindan is one of the most interesting characters, so it may not be a bad idea to start with this novel if you want to see the best of Pern.
Regrets:
This book does such an excellent job with the characterizations, especially those of Kindan and Vaxoram, that I felt kind of cheated by the way it ended. I wanted to see Vaxoram grow more as a character and prove himself in a more independent and decisive way. He could have made such an awesome POV character for future books if things had been handled differently.
World-Building Rating:
Anne McCaffrey does such a great job of world-building, or putting down rules and traditions that make the dragons and all the other crazy things that occur in this world believable. And usually I read the stories more for the world-building and the dragons than anything else, but her characterization is also always great, and in this case I found that it was characterization that carried the story more than anything else. This novel did a good job of giving us a view into the Harper Hall, but the tragic events that take place shift the focus away from the usual way of things and so again, characterization is more the focus than the whole picture.
Overall, I don't think you can really get a good view into Pern without reading at least two or three of the novels - pick ones from different perspectives. It's a world that is fleshed out slowly and carefully, with a really interesting look into differing - sometimes opposing - perspectives. For all these reasons, I would give Dragon Harper a world-building rating of Great.
Ok, I'll stop now, but this review gave me the idea of reviewing Pern in general. *ponders the idea*
Hopefully, I will soon be able to review Harry Potter and the deathly hallows part 2 and the newest Pern novel, Dragongirl. And please leave comments and let me what you think of this review.
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