Dragonsong

Format:

Book

Title:

Dragonsong

Author:

McCaffrey, Anne author

ISBN:

9781481448604

Edition:

Aladdin hardcover edition.

Publication:

New York : Aladdin, 2016.

Physical Description:

186 pages : map ; 22 cm.

Series title(s):

Harper Hall trilogy ;

Number in series:

V. 1.

General Note:

First published in 1976.

Contains excerpt of the next Harper Hall of Pern trilogy series.

Summary:

On the planet Pern, after her father forbids her to indulge in music in any way, fifteen-year-old Menolly, runs away and takes shelter with the planet's fire lizards who, along with her music, open a new life for her.

Reading Level:

Ages 10-14.

Subject(s):

Pern (Imaginary place) -- Juvenile fiction.

Dragons -- Juvenile fiction.

Genre:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Salem Main Library	SCI-FI McCaffrey, A.	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Fifteen-year-old Menolly allies with magnificent dragons in the first book in the Harper Hall trilogy, set within science fiction legend Anne McCaffrey's beloved and bestselling Dragonriders of Pern series.

For centuries, the world of Pern has faced a destructive force known as Thread. But the number of magnificent dragons who have protected this world and the men and women who ride them are dwindling.

As fewer dragons ride the winds and destruction falls from the sky, Menolly has only one dream: to sing, play, and weave the music that comes to her so easily--she wishes to become a Harper. But despite her great talents, her father believes that a young girl is unworthy of such a respected position and forbids her to pursue her dreams. So Menolly runs away, taking shelter in a cave by the sea. Miraculously, she happens upon nine fire lizards that could possibly save her world...and change her life forever.

Author Notes

Anne McCaffrey was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on April 1, 1926. She received a degree in Slavonic languages from Radcliffe College. She worked in advertising for Helena Rubenstein from 1947 to 1952.

Her first publication was a short story in Science Fiction Magazine, and her first novel, Restoree, was published in 1967. She is a well-known author of over 100 books, mostly science fiction, including the Dragonriders of Pern series, the Crystal Singer series, Acorna's Children series, The Twins of Petaybee series, and Barque Cats series. She won numerous awards including the Hugo Award for Best Novella for the short story Weyr Search in 1968 and the Nebula Award for Best Novella for Dragonrider in 1969. In 2006, she was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. She has also written books under the pseudonym Jody Lynn. She died of a stroke on November 21, 2011 at the age of 85.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

. . . of fire lizards, the periodic Fall of all-consuming Thread, and the girl Menolly, forbidden because of her sex to realize her talents as a Harper. This takes place on Pern, one of those Other planets where the names are vaguely Welsh, and there's a portentous foreword about the deadly Thread spores, the flying dragons bred to char Thread to ash in the sky, and the perilous neglect of the dragon Weyrs as people become complacent. But McCaffrey seems to have scrapped the story you'd expect to follow from this for a smaller one about Menolly, who runs away from her Hold when she's deprived of her music, gets caught in a couple of Thread falls, lives in a cave with a family of the elusive, much sought fire lizards, and is at last taken in to a Weyr community where the people admire her command of the creatures and--being less sexist than traditional Holdmaster father--encourage her musical ability. As the master Harper puts it, ""(had I but known) you might have been spared a great deal of anguish""--always a thin thread on which to hang a whole adventure. For those who are content with the trappings of winged fantasy both Menolly and her society are smoothly realized, but McCaffrey's setting and framework suggest a weightier Peru that the center cannot hold. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

An intriguing fantasy in which Menolly comes to Harper Hall to learn to be a harper the first girl to be so honored and learns to overcome her own self-doubt. Set in the mythical world of Pern, where dragons abound.