Customer Reviews

Dragonholder

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anne McCaffrey's son Todd has given us a pleasant, entertaining book about his mother, the people and animals in her life, and her writing. There are many photos scattered throughout. Don't expect a detailed, chronological biography or extensive coverage of her books. Here's what you can read about here: her dogs (Wizard, Merlin, Angelo), cats (Thomas-cat, Maxwell Smart, Isaac Asimov), and horse (Mr. Ed). There's a delightful account of an unlikely friendship between Mr. Ed and a cat named Zeke. Other highlights include Anne's early acting and singing career; her culinary talents; how life experiences influenced her books; her family heritage of "second sight"; the world of SF writers, editors and conventions; her move from the U.S. to Ireland in 1970; and the success of her dragon series. Toward the end of the book, Anne acquires her County Wicklow home, which she would name Dragonhold because her dragons had bought it for her.

Todd McCaffrey - you remember him from "Decision at Doona" don't you? - writes an incredibly lovely book about how his mother came to be one of the most-loved authors (you DID know she writes genres other than science fiction, didn't you?). The pictures of Ed and Zeke, of Isaac Asimov (both man and cat), of Andre Norton and Harlan Ellison, would make this book a must-have, in themselves. But, Todd does a masterful job of telling Anne's story, and his own, and I truly enjoyed it. Don't expect a 1,000 page treatise. This is just the right length to be enjoyed over and over - and I will!

The only criticism possible for this biography of Anne McCaffrey by her son, Todd, is that it is too short. The book is a must-read for any Anne McCaffrey fan, but will leave any such fan saying "More! More!" It tells in brief her family background and the story of her life in a series of family anecdotes and his own favorite memories of growing up with his mother. What is in the book is lovely and charming and interesting and often quite touching, but it is disjointed and reads more like a sketch than a real biography. What you are left with is a sense of what an interesting person she is and how much you'd like to hear more, to have a really well-rounded portrait. That lack is why I gave it only four stars instead of five. Still, you are left with a new awareness of how incredibly brave Anne McCaffrey was and is. She wrote her wonderful dragon stories under the worst possible conditions -- an unhappy, difficult marriage, raising three children, one quite ill for some years, frequent moves, the death of her father, serious money worries. Through it all, she kept writing and was clearly an excellent mother. That alone makes her an inspiration. Read the book knowing its limitations and enjoying learning some charming fragments of a life.

I agree with the first reviewer that the book jumps around a lot. The changing viewpoint and the apparent lack of chronological order were disappointing. The subject matter was unparalleled. I am a FAN from way back; I embarrassed myself thoroughly when giving her a personalized car license plate at a book signing the only time I ever got to meet her. She was gracious then to a shy fan and it was great fun to discover tidbits about her family. (Her father was instrumental in rescuing the Lipizzan Stallions? ) She will always be my favorite author. And all I can say to both her and to Todd, is write more about her. We fans can never get enough. For those of us who buy "all things Anne"this is a must read!

Todd McCaffrey has provided us with a well-written and interesting glimpse in to the life of his mother. There are some questions not answered, and much left unsaid -- but it is clear that this is done out of respect and consideration for his mother. The book is short, but once you pick it up you can't put it down. This book is as much a biography of Anne McCaffrey as recollections of Todd's own childhood. Through Todd McCaffrey and this book, you can appreciate and understand the problems that Anne McCaffrey overcame to achieve what she has achieved. And this is certainly an excellent book for aspiring writers who believe that if they can just get one book published, they've got it made, and not to give up if the first book or story story is declined. Todd McCaffrey did a great job!

Admittedly, this book is for fans of author Anne McCaffrey. Fans had been clamoring for her to tell her life's story, but she's been too busy writing her novels. Her second son, Todd, wrote this book to give the fans a little bit of what they want. That's the problem. It is a little bit. This is a very slim volume (coming in at not much more than 100 pages) and is not very well organized. We are not really treated to the entirety of McCaffrey's life and this is not a chronological book. Todd McCaffrey jumps around quite a bit and never stays on any one subject for too long. We get glimpses of the science fiction legend. We see a little bit of her early life and the problems she had growing up. We see her as a struggle writer, and a struggling singer/actor. We see how these experiences shaped her later novels (the singer problems translated directly into Crystal Singer), but we never really get a sense of who Anne McCaffrey is. Granted, I'm not expecting the depth of research that we would get from Robert Caro or David McCullough, but this is a very skimpy biography and is somewhat of a let down. Decent enough for fans of McCaffrey, but I can't imagine this would be of interest to anybody else.

Tod tells a story of his Mother's struggles, not only to write, but just survive in a period when it was difficult to keep a roof over her head, child support moneys running out, and ESP episodes which proved out to be true.No wonder that PSI forms a major part of her writing (Pegasus series, & Dragonriders of Pern) A good read!, but I have to agree that the sequencing is a little irregular.

Amazing book. Todd blows us away with an indepth veiw of what went into Anne McCaffreys novels, short stories and other works. Anyone who reads anything by Anne McCaffrey will enjoy this book wholeheartedly.

It's not hard to understand why Todd McCaffrey might be fond and proud of his mother. Anne McCaffrey remains one of the finest science fiction authors in the genre today, over thirty years after she began writing. It's also not hard to see that he is indeed very fond and very proud of her when you turn the pages of this biography. Told from his own point of view as someone who was there for quite a lot of it, this story of Anne's life vivdly illustrates her family tree, her childhood, her activity in the worlds of theater and music, her less-than-satisfying marriage to Todd's father, and how she got started writing her marvelous books. Complete with family photos and written with ill-concealed amusement and love, this is the kind of book any mother would want her child to write about her.

As a huge Anne McCaffrey fan, I purchase all things Anne, and I was looking forward to reading about her life. Although there are great (short) stories about different times in Anne's life, her son Todd has not assembled them in chronological order, and the book only hits the "highlights". The jumping about chronologically was distracting. I hope Anne writes her full autobiography. She's a much better storyteller. I'd recommend this only for true Anne fans.