Customer Reviews

Dragon's Time: A Dragonriders of Pern Novel (Dragonriders of Pern Series)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(30)

 

 

I read this book in one sitting, true, but for all the wrong reasons. The plot is extremely thin and convoluted. The character development is non-existent. Hey, it's been 10 pages, let's throw in another queenrider or two, mention her twice, then never mention her again. Whee! Timing it has turned from a very serious action with tremendous implications (Dragonquest, All The Weyrs) to something that can be done casually, over and over again, before death, after death, with only "muzzy-headedness" being the result. And then there's the casual loaning of dragons! Who knew a dragon didn't care who rode it?

Very disappointing to see carefully built parts of the Pern world so casually dismantled in this book. I've put up with Todd's Pern creations, but I think this one did me in. I'll just continue reading Anne's Pern books over and over and ignore any with Todd listed as the author.

I am a long time Anne McCaffrey lover, 20+ years, and have read everything she has written as well as those written by her son. Normally I don't write reviews but in this case I was just so disappointed. I realize that time travel concepts can be confusing but they are just so over done now being the main plot in so many of the recent books. And this one became so confusing I kept having to go back and re-read sections to understand what was going on.

While the book did fill in some plot lines from the previous one, there was quite alot left hanging with the very quick and forced ending. There were some impressive and interesting new characters that were added that for some reason just didn't get any closure with such a lackluster ending. I hope there will be another book to address these characters, and with any luck without all the "timing it" plot lines. I would rather see the Pern series end altogether than to have another poorly written, confusing, and sometimes disturbing (i.e. does it seem like the girls in these mating flights are getting younger and younger?) plot lines.

Again, I don't write reviews because this is just my opinion, but I felt that this particular Pern novel was the worst I have read and keeping my fingers crossed that if another comes out it will be much better thought out and understandable. This was almost too much work to be enjoyable. I wanted to love it, but came away frustrated and disappointed.

I have been a Pern fan since the early 90s, eagerly reading and re-reading every book that has been published but I am extremely disappointed with the quality of the series since Todd McCaffrey has taken over. I have kept reading, hoping for some improvement, thinking that things couldn't possibly get any worse but yet again with each new book I am proven wrong. With Dragongirl I felt like I was reading the perverted sex fantasy of a middle aged man. Now, don't get me wrong. I am not a prude and I do enjoy romance and occasional smut in books from time to time, but not with 13-16 year old children as the very obvious focus. I determined that I would not buy another book by Todd but when Dragon's Time was published with his mother's name as co-author I decided it might not be quite so perverse and offensive.

I have to admit, there wasn't as much obvious bed hopping and pubescent sex going on as in Dragongirl but that is the only thing to recommend this book. The plot was sketchy, following it was impossible and it stretched the imagination to the breaking point in the first two chapters. After that, nothing was believable.

As long time Pern enthusiasts can attest, Anne McCaffrey has made several points very obvious in the original books and in her interviews... Watch Whers can't fly. Green dragons would never clutch even if they never chewed firestone. Gold dragons cannot digest firestore and cannot flame. Todd breaks every one of these ironclad rules and more in his books and takes Pern from a believable fantasy world to a farcical mess.

If you love Pern, do yourself a favor and don't read this book. It will leave you with a bad taste in your mouth.

I read my first Anne Mccaffrey book 35 years ago and have read everything she has written (Many times over!!). It was a sad day for us when she decided to allow her son Todd to play in the sandbox of Pern!! He has no sympathy for the dragon/rider bond and he takes liberties with" facts" about the planet and its inhabitants. I had high hopes for this one because it was a mother-son collaboration, however, the entire book was confused and garbled. The dragons were little more than vehicles to be shared among friends as were some of the women in the book. I really wish Anne Mccaffrey had given the planet to a competant writer--Lackey, Scarborough,Nye, to name a few. I am afraid this was my last Mccaffrey book--Todd Mccaffrey anyway. Todd-- A note to you if you happen to read these--if a dragon rider goes between
and is presumed dead ,the dragon is not going to hang around to be passed off to another rider--she will also go between at the first opportunity! !!

I've been reading about Pern since Anne's the first story was published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact. I have bought all of the Pern books since, including Todd's. His stories have been okay, but lacking the sense of wonder that Anne's evoke. When I saw this book was a collaboration, I expected great things. There's just NO way she could have even looked at this mess! I can count on her characters to be focused, determined, logical...and her stories move smoothly from point A to point B, finally reaching a conclusion. And they are based on science! I started reading this new book and had to keep going back and forth (as did almost all the other reviewers, apparently) to figure out who was where and when. Someparts would take me right out of the book and I would find myself wondering why it was written that way. The main characters were constantly "racing", "rushing", and "bustling" about. Someone should have told Todd (Anne?) that they were only allowed to use any form of the verb "race" once per 5 pages. After awhile, I lost concentration every time someone raced away. It was like watching a movie and having the person next to you point out the chirping cricket in the theater...from then on you're fixated on that cricket! The sexual aspects of the book also brought me out of the story and I would find myself wondering what kind of person wrote this stuff. It seemed almost salacious. Obviously, this story is to be continued, since it didn't have a real ending (or maybe the writer likes to leave lots and lots of loose ends). I'm not sure I want to spend my money on another Pern book if it's anything like this one. Honestly,the Pern books have almost always had something magical about them, but the magic's gone.

For the first time since 1972 I have NOT purchased a Pern book. I have tried to suffer through Todd's ghastly versions of a place I have loved to read about for so many years. Admit I did get it from the library (thank heaven for THAT decision). Slogged through it, returned it and put my remaining Todd and Todd/Anne colloberations in the charity box.

Sorry, I don't think Anne is even involved, reading, editing any of this stuff. I think it is all about Todd leaning of Mom's stellar reputation to keep the money coming in.

From now on, I will be periodically re=reading my old, FAR SUPERIOR Anne books.

I do agree with the many people here who felt Pern should have ended with Anne's last book. Maybe there would be unanswered questions, but that would have been better then what we are being fed now.

Please don't read this review if you dislike spoilers. For the most part, I managed to sit through this horrible book with no more than slight grimaces every time one of the many carefully established rules of Pern were broken. Jumping through time with no more than slight "muzzy-headedness"? Okay, doable. Dragons not caring who rode them? Odd, but not the worst thing I've read. Tunnelsnakes devouring dragon eggs with more than one Queen present? Stretching it slightly far, but alright.

Managing to save hundreds of dragonmen "lost" between for weeks? When Lessa almost died from her trip to the past?

I'm sorry, but that was when I put the book down and decided that never again will I purchase anything containing Todd's name.

I am disappointed that Anne allowed her name to be credited in the creation of this atrocity.

I have been reading the Pern series since I first bought "Dragonflight", with Lessa, in the white toga riding Ramoth, on the cover. I still have the original paperbacks of those first books. I also have EVERYTHING Anne and/or Todd have ever published. I am sorry to have to say that this is the single worst book of the Pern series. The time travel was the entire point but that was really badly done. Much of the time I spent reading it was going back and forth to try to make sense of the plot evolutions. There was also WAY too much emphasis on the sexual relationships of Fiona and her myriad lovers. I am truly disappointed and saddened. I'm hoping that there will be another dealing with F'lar and Lessa after the Last Pass but I'm not holding my breath.

The sexual combinations of Dragongirl were bad enough. Now, we can love throughout time, with time travel being used as casually as the worst of Star Trek, and with so many cliches from Babylon 5 that I lost count.

Plus, "in between" has turned into hyperspace, as Lorana discovers a pocket in hyperspace, oops! "in between."

This book seemingly has an entirely different physics of in between than the rest of this series. "Timing it" is one thing. This is ridiculous.

I have been reading PERN since the mid-eighties. Bought all of Anne's novels then bought them all again when I got my Kindle DX.

Todd's novels have been disappointing to say the least but I bought this one in the hopes that Anne would straighten it out. Boy was I wrong! To quote Bill Murray in Scrooged, "Wow, did that suck!". Read it all in one sitting constantly hoping that it would get a plot from somewhere. That we might stick to a thought for a just little while. Annoying. Incomprehensible (and I love time travel paradoxes as much as anyone). Frustrating. Like all of Todd's books it just ends. No resolution. No nothing, except wishing you could get those hours you spent reading the book back somehow. Save your money. It is possibly the worst book I have read.

Definitely a PERN novel in name only. Do yourself a favor, save the time and money and don't buy the book.