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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Read, But...., January 15, 2001
At the time _Masterharper of Pern_ came out, I was rueing the decline of the Dragonriders of Pern series. After _Dragonsdawn_, the books seemed to lose a lot of their original magic and appeal; even _Dragonseye_, while certainly better than _Dolphins of Pern_, didn't quite live up to standard. The good news is that _Masterharper of Pern_ *does*. This is a wonderful, vivid, emotional book, clear in detail, strong in character, and with settings one can easily get into. It's a delight to get to meet the father of F'lar and F'nor; likewise, the insight on Fax and his ambitions is welcome. Pern fans and non-Pern fans alike should be able to enjoy this one--it's not just another installment in the series, but a welcome and well-written tale in its own right. That brings me to the bad news. While _Masterharper_ has all of the virtues I've named above, it has two major faults: consistency, and suspension of disbelief. This book just doesn't match up with the earlier ones in some respects. The character of Petiron here doesn't seem like the Petiron Menolly knew in _Dragonsinger_ (granted, age changes a man, but still...). F'lon, while a fine man, does not seem to inspire the sense of respect and even awe that one can pick up about him in _Dragonflight_. Robinton can hear dragons; why, then, was he so surprised to hear them again in _Dragonquest_? Which leads right into the suspension of disbelief: Robinton, much as I admire his character, is *too good* here. Not only is he a musical genius, not only is he polite and courteous and perfect in every way, but he hears dragons too? Goodness, can't the poor man be allowed any flaws/lackings? That's not the worst part, though: I found that the ending scenes stretched my ability to believe beyond the breaking point, and this marred the book somewhat for me. In fact, the last fifth or so of the pages seemed a cut below the rest; AM did her best work when she was showing us the history we hadn't already seen, rather than history we knew from a new perspective. Still, when all is said and done, this is still a fine book that tells an excellent story. Just be prepared to blink at it a few times if you're a long-time Pern fan... and if you're new to the series and more fond of flawed heroes than darned near perfect ones, you might want to pass this one up until you've read a few of its predecessors.
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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Best Pern Novel in Years, January 6, 2000
With this novel Anne McCaffrey gets away from some of the weaknesses that have plagued recent novels in her saga of the planet Pern--the excessive number of viewpoint characters and storylines and the rushed quality of the plotting. Masterharper of Pern is the story of one of the author's favorite characters, Robinton, and covers his childhood, adolescence and early manhood. In it we learn much of the "backstory" behind the "Dragonriders of Pern" trilogy, the beginnings of which this book overlaps with. Lovers of the Pern novels will most likely enjoy this book--although not the best book in the series, I found it to be superior to any since "Dragonsdawn." If you are new to the series, it is not the best one to read first--start with "Dragonflight" and "Dragonquest." Read "Masterharper" if you like them.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
For die-hards, it's ok; for others, not worth it., May 6, 1998
By A Customer
First, let me say that I'm a die-hard Pern fan, and Robinton is one of my favorite characters from Pern. It was very nice to have a novel which detailed his background so well. However, this novel is severely handicapped by all the same faults found in the later Pern novels. First, there are many re-hashed plots. For example, Robinton's problems with his father mirror Menolly's problems with her father, and they end in the same way (even down to the exact same speech spoken by the Masterharper when each gets promoted to journeyman). Second, the characters are very one-sided, and are sometimes even direct copies of others. For example, Petiron is exactly like Yanus Seaholder; Halanna, when you first meet her, is exactly like Kylara, and when she changes, you never see her again; Manora is fifty years younger than in Dragonflight, but hardly has any physical description other than her "quiet dignity," a phrase used to describe her in every other book. Third, Robinton is a god. He is the best musician on the planet and the nicest person, and everyone looks out for his well-being. Even as a child, his greatest problem was his father, and everyone shielded him from him; Robinton managed to escape from the Harper Hall as a journeyman without ever truly having to face his greatest problem. Except for the fact that Robinton is my favorite character in the series, I would have no real emotional attachment to him in this book--he is too perfect. I've read every Pern novel and short story that has been published, and some are better than others. This one isn't the worst, but it isn't the best either. It does provide a great history for the other novels. However, in general, McCaffrey's writing suffers from repetition of description and plot, and an inability to create deep characters. The worlds she creates (such as in Pern and the Crystal Singer novels) are beautifully crafted, but the books, especially the later ones, become banal.
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