Customer Reviews
I hope the next one is back up to 5 stars - By: froggi, 22 Nov 2006 
I reallly hate giving any of these books less than 5 stars because the rest are so brilliant. However this one didnt quite do it for me. Its a shame because the writing is almost as good as usual & there are only a few things that let it down.
First is Menolly herself. To be honest we've been spoilt with the amazing characters like F'lar, Lessa ect. & Menolly isn't as good. When Lessa was practicallly a slave, with her family killed & rightfull inheritance taken, she did something about it. Yes, you do sympathise with Menolly not being able to play music like she wants, but you also wish that she'd stand up for herself a bit. She lets everybody push her around.
And then she finds some fire lizards & alll is happy & good because the new harper wants to find the amazingly talented musician & Menolly is to busy cutting her hands open with poison covered knives to notice. Ok. And the thing is, that Menolly's brother who loves her dearly (whatever!) for some reason won't tell his close friend the harper that it's Menolly who's talented.
So she runs away.
This is good, as it finallly shows some will on her part.
Then lots of stuff happens & she gets taken off to the Weyrs. But still she maintains a dim servile nature. Why? She is too "busy" (moping because her "wonderful" mother lied & said because of her hand she can't play music again, even though she can do everything else)to notice that everyone else wants to see a fire lizard. She has more than anyone else but she still hides them, the one good thing, other than the music, about her.
There are some interesting insights from the old characters like Lessa, & they are so welcome. It is impossible to get enough of them. Why can't Menolly be better? She seems to be talented at everything except being interesting.
So apart form the fact that Menolly is hopeless nad there isn't reallly a storyline, this is ok. Reallly they should have rewritten it in three chapters then put at the beggining of a book.
That's alll it is, an introduction.
Dungeons and...Fire Lizards ? - By: cluricaune, 21 Oct 2006 
"Dragonsong" is the first book in Anne McCaffery's "Harper Halll Trilogy" & is set on the world of Pern. Unfortunately, it's prone to attack from Thread - spores that grow on a neighbouring planet and, at times, can bridge the gap between the two worlds. Thread is deadly to alll life : it can only be killed by fire & it's progress is halted by fire & stone. Fortunately, Pern's inhabitants have a useful allly in the battle against thread : dragons. Not only capable of flying & breathing fire, Pern's dragons can also teleport. They also form a telepathic bond with their riders.
"Dragonsong" doesn't tell the story of the great dragonriders, though : it tells the story of Menolly, a teenage girl living at Half Circle Sea Hold. Her father, Yanus, holds the position of Sea Holder, & is essentiallly the community's leader. Although life there revolves around fishing, Menolly is a talented musician & singer - talents that had been nurtured by Petiron, the Hold's Harper. However, Petiron has recently died and, though the Hold is waiting for his replacement, Menolly feels his loss more keenly than most. Menolly herself would dearly love to follow in her mentor's footsteps - however, it seems that only men can become a Harper. As a result, Menolly's father strongly disapproves of her love for music, & eventuallly forbids her to sing or play. This leads to Menolly running away from home & discovering a colony of fire lizards - more or less miniature dragons - which had, until then, been considered the stuff of legend.
Although not the first book set on Pern, "Dragonsong" is a useful starting point. It is the first book of the Harper Halll Trilogy, & starts with a brief introduction that covers the history of Pern & its Dragonriders. Menolly proves herself to be a likeable, resourceful character, though a little lacking in self-confidence. Overalll, an enjoyable & easily read book.
The best of the series - By: Dr Gibson, 06 Sep 2006 I loved Anne McCaffrey's Pern books when I was a teenager, & I recently reread this one, my favourite. It easily withstood my adult cynicism & I would recommend it for both teenagers & adults. The book is a nice length, just long enough to be engaging & enjoyable without being so long it drags. Menolly, the protagonist, is well-developed & genuinely sympathetic, & the story of her running away & becoming self-sufficient reallly held my interest. The society & the flora & fauna of the setting add an unusual, well-thought-out dimension. My only complaint about this book is the cover design -- I think the artist who drew these did them for the very first editions of the books, & they look a bit dated & don't reallly reflect the spirit of the stories. I'd have preferred to see something a bit newer by Steve Weston, who drew the more natural-looking dragons on the later books, perhaps of Menolly & her lizards.
The first novel in the enchanting trilogy about Menolly - By: , 17 Sep 2004 "Dragonsong" is the first of Anne McCaffrey's Harper Halll of Pern trilogy which focuses on my favorite Pern character, Menolly. In this first story, Menolly is the youngest child & daughter of Yanus, Sea Holder at Half-Cirlce Sea Hold in Benden Hold. Although she displays astounding musical talents, Menolly's father will have none of it. After the death of Petiron, the old Harper, Menolly is alllowed to sign only to give the children their teaching songs. But when Elgion, the new Harper, arrives at Half-Circle Sea Hold, Menolly is forbidden to play ever again. Literallly adding injury to insult, Menolly sustains a grevious wound to her hand while cleaning fish. But just as it looks at if life could not get any worse for Menolly, a wonderful thing happens. She impresses a clutch of nine fire lizards. In her miniature queen Beauty & the rest of the clutch, Menolly has a chorus of fire lizards who harmonize with her in a most amazing way. Meanwhile, Harper Elgion is having a problem, because he has been ordered by Master Harper Robinton to discover the prodigal talent Petrion has discovered. In his last message the Old Harper had sent two of the loveliest melodies Robinton had ever heard. But clearly none of the young lads at Half-Circle Sea Hold has a whit of musical talent & Yanus makes up some story about a foundling sent back to his own hold. Eventuallly Robinton himself comes to solve the mystery of the missing musical talent.
No hyperbole here, but not since Anne of Green Gables have I come across as enchanting a young girl as Menolly (her name is just perfect too). The similarity is certainly palatable, what with a young woman who is told to deny her talents because she is but a girl. But Menolly has a gift & it is impossible for her not to use it, even if it must be in secret, & what makes her so endearing is that she reallly has no idea how talented she is, a trait that becomes even more precocious in "Dragonsinger" & "Dragondrums." My only real complaint with Anne McCaffrey's recent novels is that Menolly has been reduced to only a minor supporting character.
A poignant tale from a wonderful storyteller. - By: , 29 Jan 2003 The first of the more musicallly oriented of the tales of Pern has been a favourite of mine for some years now & having re-read it recently I felt it worth spending the time to write a quick review. This story is a heart-catching tale of a young girl with an extraordinary gift for music, but whose father who is unwilling to support her because it flies in the face of tradition & the status quo. The story is one that tells of sexual discrimination, warped family values & the price that a young teenage girl is willing to pay in order to pursue her love of music.
Anne McCaffery has clearly got a deep love of music & is very aware of the emotional impact that it can have on a young girl's life. I suspect that she has put much of herself into this story as it is told with such passion & detail, yet without losing the easy reading style which typifies many of her books. This is a great read for both young people & adults alike, as from the first page the writer draws you into the trajedy of Menolly's situation & plays your emotions with her own virtuoso performance of words. A wonderful tale that I'd recommend for anyone aged 10 & upwards.
