Dragonflight

Dragonriders of Pern, Book 1

By: Anne McCaffrey

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

On the beautiful planet Pern, colonized for centuries, Land Holders and Craftsmen have traditionally tithed food and supplies to the dragonweyrs to which they are bound. In times past, the mighty telepathic dragons and their riders were the only protection from the dreaded, life-threatening Thread.

But it has been over 400 years since the last Threadfall, and some people have come to doubt that the menace will every strike again. But F'lar, rider of Pern's greatest bronze dragon, has no such illusions. The Red Star is near; Thread will fall soon.

Book another flight with the Dragonriders of Pern.

©1968 Anne McCaffrey (P)1993 Brilliance Audio

Pandemic mold

What a perfect time to review this tale! Specific courage to face a scourge that threatens life, the global economy and inspires hero’s and technology to struggle for solutions to ancient problems despite politics and avarice— The voice of the characters and dragons help us remember we are in this together. Well done.

Dragonflight

This was a reread and I thoroughly enjoyed this book again. I love these characters and the story.

Lessa is such a strong female protagonist. I love her boldness and stubbornness. She does make some rash decisions, but over all she is a fantastic character. I love the Weyr leader, F'lar and his brother F'lon. Robinton shows up in these books and he is such a great character. The story itself is fantastic.

It has been 400 turns since the last threadfall and the holders and residents of Pern have decided that thread will never fall again. They will not tithe the Weyrs as has been their duty and there is a huge amount of animosity towards the Weyrs. Also, there is only one Weyr left on Pern when there should be seven. There is not enough dragons to fight thread during the new interval of Threadfall that will continue for 50 years.

Lessa attempts a huge feat that will save Pern during the thread pass that is just beginning. I absolutely love her character and her relationship with her dragon. I also love the relationship between herself and the Weyr leader F'Lan. She is brave, strong and bold; everything that a Weyr woman should be.

This is such a great series and I am enjoying reading it again in chronological order. I am now at the books that I truly love though. The others were good, but not like this one and the ones to come. It has been a long time since I have read them, but they are just as good now as they were when I first read them.

What a Wonderful World

Any additional comments?

I love Pern! I've read all the books but wanted to revisit this enchanting place while I was convalescing from an illness. It was perfect. I think I would've preferred a female narrator because when I originally read the books I thought of them in a female voice. It was nice to hear all the names pronounced correctly as I often had no idea when I was reading them how they were meant to sound. This is a wonderful series. Read them all.

I still love this story!

I read most of McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern books more than 30 years ago and found them engrossing and a welcome escape from reality. On a whim I decided to listen to Dragonflight and I still find it engrossing and still a way to escape reality - this time that reality is rush hour! That escape is definitely a must. I'm really glad I followed that whim; now, when I need another break I'll be looking for another Dragonriders of Pern story.

Just as good as I remembered

I read this entire series back in the 80s and 90s, at each subsequent book. It was wonderful to relive it again, as my son will be reading Dragonsong for a class assignment. Wanted to enjoy the series with him.

Great book, not great narration!

I first read this book in sixth grade & loved it and read the whole series. I plan to dig out the rest of the series and read it again. I will NOT listen to the rest of the books. I've actually heard Dick Hill narrate other books well, but this, I think is a reissue of an old recording. He breathes, he sighs, he swallows, and his interpretation of a derisive laugh set my teeth on edge. He is overly loud and shrill and really just does not work for a book where one of the primary characters is female. Even the hero of the story sometimes sounded shrill!

an old friend

As a fan of this series for 36 years, listening to them is very refreshing.

Pern in Audio

What made the experience of listening to Dragonflight the most enjoyable?

I love the story, and of course the dragons, but...

What three words best describe Dick Hill’s performance?

The performance sounded a bit mechanical. Took me a while to get used to it.

Great Story, Great Listen

What made the experience of listening to Dragonflight the most enjoyable?

I discovered this story when I was a teenager and then fell in love with the series. I have reread the stories many times and it was a real treat to listen to the story again. It felt like visiting old friends. I have purchased most of the original stories in the series in the audible format and thoroughly enjoyed them all.

Which character – as performed by Dick Hill – was your favorite?

F'Nor - he has always been one of my favorite characters.

I LOVE PERN

Its a fantastic story and I loved hearing it as much as I had loved reading it. Ok so the views of men and womens roles are a bit old fashioned but the story and the world are so well made that reading it is a joy.