Review of Dragon Harper . . . Posted 16 May, 2008

Dragon Harper by Todd McCaffrey and Anne McCaffrey Del Rey, Hardcover, 298 pp. Reviewed by Tehani Wessely Book reviews index

Just as I stopped reading Raymond Feist some years ago because of a decline in the storytelling (although I've been somewhat reconverted to the world of Midkemia in recent months), the world of Pern is, at last, losing its appeal for me. The first "science fiction" I read as an adult (McCaffrey's dragons masquerade as genetic experiments on a far distant future world, permitting the title), Pern has long been a favourite of mine. I returned again and again to my old favourites, rereading over and over The White Dragon, All the Weyrs of Pern, Masterharper of Pern and the Harper Hall trilogy; dipping into the rest of the sequence many times in the past decade and a half since I discovered them. I pride myself on my McCaffrey collection, which includes the hard-to-find Atlas of Pern and People of Pern hardcovers. But the soul has gone out of Pern, leaving recycled stories and generic characters in place of what was a rich and detailed world.

Anne McCaffrey's books started to wane a long time ago, I can admit that. The prevalence of co-writers in her worlds was one indication. The decline in story, especially noticeable in the Acorna series, was another. Bringing her son Todd in to continue writing in Pern was a brave move, but sadly, I would rather have seen the series end as it should have, written by Anne's own hand.

Unfortunately, Dragon Harper simply does not live up to the standards set by the earlier books. It is the third book with Todd McCaffrey at the keyboard, and while the history of Pern is long and vivid, permitting many stories to be told, this book does not live up to the promise it should hold.

There are high points. The pace of the second half of the book is somewhat frenetic, which allows the sense of urgency to fill the reader, and there is some character growth that is both believable and welcome. However, these elements are the exceptions to the norm. Throughout the book, characterization is conflicted and motivation is unclear. The main character of Kindan is not drawn strongly enough to leave any lasting impact on the reader. He appears as just a transparent vehicle to move the plot along. And unfortunately, not even the plot helps this book much, because it is one that has been used in multiple excursions in Pern in the past.

Kindan is an apprentice Harper, with dreams of being a dragon rider and a harper too. He and his adolescent friends are faced with the usual (and some not so usual) challenges of growing up, but then thrust into the midst of a deadly plague. This plague (a common plot device in the Pern lexicon) devastates the population of Pern, and threatens to destroy not only those touched by the illness, but the survivors as well. Kindan has to rise to overcome enormous odds and assist with the survival of his world.

It's disappointing that Kindan is not a better character. As is often the case in the worlds of McCaffrey, there are probably too many characters in the novel's cast, which can make it difficult to keep track of characterization at the best of times. Kindan is simply not drawn strongly enough to pull off the tasks given to him believably, and therefore I lost my credulity with the story. The uneven depiction of Vaxoram and the other secondary characters adds to the lack of conviction inherent to the story.

There is nothing new in Dragon Harper. And unhappily, there isn't much that is reminiscent of the brilliance of the earlier books. Sad as it makes me to say it, I would prefer to revisit Pern as I remember her, and I doubt I will return for another Pass.

Reviewed by Tehani Wessely