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Summary: Dragonsong/Dragonsinger is the best sit down reading ever!
Review: The way anne has created her characters and thrown them into thier plots is unbelieveable. I am a fan of the dragonriders trilogy but these two books are my personal favorites from a lifetime of reading. No other books have ever captured my attention so throughly time and time again. I must say High Praise for the Dragonlady...:)
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Summary: An excellent story for young readers interested in Sci Fi
Review: In a world of humans and dragons on the planet Pern an ancient terror threatens again. The spore-like Thread rains upon the planet from a nearby star, devouring all life in it's path.DragonSong is the story of a teenage girl named Menolly whose amazing musical talent is unaccepted by her community and least of all by her rigid parents who are the leaders of the small seaport of Half-Circle Sea Hold. Their continual surpression of her music, which is so important to her, leads her to run a away from home to face survival alone during the onslaught of the deadly threadfall. Seeking safety in a cave by the sea, she rediscovers the mythical fire lizards, the ancestors of the great dragons that daily scorch thread from the skies, and who lead her to her destiny at Pern's Harper Hall. This story and the rest of the Harper Hall trilogy is among Anne McCaffrey's best as well as being a wonderful introduction to her entire Pern series. Menolly's struggles to find a place in her world are that of any adolescent but the imaginative setting of the planet Pern with it's intricate social structure and it's fantasical dragons are equally intriging. All in all it is a wonderful tale to enchant young science fiction and fantasy readers
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Summary: My first science fiction novel.
Review: I was twelve years old and very sick with pneumonia when my mother gave me this series to read. I'd been raised on the classics: Tennyson, Scott, Kipling, Doyle and Burnett were my favorites. I think my parents thought that anything else would rot my young mind. And, in fact, when my mother handed me this book with the fascinating little dragons on the cover, she warned me that I was to read it in small doses, regulated my her. I fell instantly in love. In one fell swoop I discovered Science Fiction, escapist literature, and Anne McCaffrey. It did indeed rot my brain: Menolly and her harp and her dragons moved in and took over. I hid the book under my bed so I could read it twice in a row without being discovered. And the memory of the wonder I felt, as I entered this other world, is still as fresh as if it had happened yesterday. I know now that the book is no great work of literary genius, it is merely decent sci-fi. But it will remain forever on my "favorites" shelf, in a place of honor, as my first science fiction novel
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Summary: I was a fabulous experience
Review: Wow! This book definatly rates a ten. I found myself spellbound throughout the whole story. I can recognize an excelent book when I see one and this book definatly rates the best. Menolly, a extremly talented musician, findes life in her hold unbearable. At the beging of the book, her misery is highlighted through the death of her only friend and mentor. Though she tries hard to cope, no one encourages her or her abilities and she findes that everyone is ashamed. After an accident that left her hand unusable, Menolly realizes she has to leave. Though this book is fantasy, I found it completly believable and I was hardly able to pull myself away for one moment. This is a book that I would recommend to all my friends and anyone else who enjoys a good book
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Summary: A girl with a heart of gold and a will of steel.
Review: 1-This is a tale about a girl strong enough to make it one her own after having a hard childhood in a large family. Menolly impresses nine fire-lizards, a much sought after creature. As she lives holdless with her nine friends, she is one day caught out during Fall. As deadly Thread rained towards her as she ran a dragon-rider sees and rescues her. She is taken to Benden Weyr to heal and it is discovered that she knows where a clutch of eggs are and that she is the lost apprentice of Petrion, a Harper at her hold. Masterharper Robinton finds out how well she can play and her fire-lizard sing and takes her back to the Harper Hall.
2-In Dragon Singer Menolly begins to be trained as a Harper. She learns the fear and awe that others have of her and her wealth of fire-lizards. She helps Master Robinton and Sebel, a journyman Harper, to take care of the fire-lizard eggs she has provided them with. She learns to become carefree and of how many people love her and her talents here. She befriends a mischivous young boy named Piemeur and soon learns just how much everything and everyone now means to her.
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Summary: A great book.
Review: I first read Dragonsong when I was 8. That was back when I was into Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley High, so it was something very different. I must admit that the only reason I read it was because my dad's friend gave it to me and it had a girl with red hair on the cover. I have red hair, Nancy Drew has slightly red hair, so I was a little obsessed with red hair. And I must admit that I hadn't bothered to read the introduction, so I thought the whole thing was taking place on Earth, and I was rather confused. But still, I found the characters to be endearing, I LOVED Menolly and her fire-lizards, so I read Dragonsinger (also given to me by this friend). I loved Dragonsinger, and I cried myself to sleep the night I finished it because now Menolly was gone--sure, I could re-read the books, and I did, but I couldn't find anything else by McCaffrey in the bookstore or library (it never occurred to me to check out the adult section--that was where the ROMANCES were kept...ugh!). Two years later, I tracked down Dragondrums, and after that Dragonflight...and the entire series. Dragonsong is a great coming-of-age story, any kid, teenager or adult, for that matter, could empathize with Menolly's feelings of being an outcast from her society, and share in her triumphs. What more can I say? Read this book. It's one of McCaffrey's best
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Summary: McCaffrey, Anne. Dragon Song. New York: Bantam Books,1976. 1
Review: "The little queen, all golden
Flew hissing at the sea,
To keep it back,
To turn it back,
She flew forth bravely." (p.141)
Dragon Song by Anne McCaffrey is one on the best books that I have
ever read! It is about a young girl named Menolly who is born with rare
love and ability for music. Menolly can sing and play better than any boy
in Half Circle Sea Hold where she lives. But the harper (music instructor)
has never been apposition for a girl to fill, but when the old harper dies
there is an urgent need for a new harper to instruct the children, and
Menolly being the most talented musician is asked to do the job until the
new harper arrives. When the new harper does eventually arrive Menolly's
father and mother are ashamed of Menolly replacing a male's position and
would not tell the new harper who was the person that had taught the young
children so well. When Menolly's parents do not allow her to sing or play
music Menolly is heart broken and runs away from home to where she could
sing and play music as she wishes. Menolly finds shelter in a cave where a
group of fire lizards happen to life. The little dragons allowed her to
live since she helped take care of the baby fire lizards. But one day
Menolly is caught in a deadly storm and rescued by a dragon rider. She is
taken to a near Hold for shelter where she finds new friends and a new
amazing destiny you can not belief. This is an amazing book that any
science fiction reader would LOVE! I would have to give this book five
stares because of the author's ability to make the most non believable
things believable. All I know is that I am going to read the two other
books of this amazing trilogy.
Rating: 
Summary: It is kind of like Harry Potter.....
Review: but different. It is a different setting. The main character is a girl. Yet the story has a lot of the same elements. She runs away from home when she is forbidden to practice music. She is found and brought to a weyr where the masterharper discovers her. It is a fun story to read. While this is kept with the adults science fiction & fantasy books, it is clean enough and very enjoyable. I would recomend this to a younger child even a 10 year old would enjoy this book.
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Summary: Pern and it's magic dragons
Review: For the child that loves dragons and stories about dragons, only one book series comes to mind that has successfully created an entire complex world of dragons and the people who love them. Anne McCaffrey's dragonriders of Pern series has existed since the 1970s and it is still as popular as ever. Author McCaffrey has written intricate imaginings about Pern and its inhabitants. At once sci-fi and fantasy, she is an adept writer that fully deserves the popularity she has received. For the child that wants an easy introduction into this world, there are two options. They could begin at the very beginning of the series and slowly work their way through all the Pern books. Or, second option, they could start with a book that is both kid-friendly and a wonderful Intro to McCaffrey 101. "Dragonsong" was a book that I personally picked up in sixth grade and loved. It is the perfect way to learn more about the dragons of Pern, their riders, and the people of the planet.
McCaffrey is smart. She knows that this book series is so complex that it there is no way in which to begin any plot without a recap of past events. She includes in this tale a map of Pern, a useful character list, and a Forward that deftly explains the history of the planet and its dragons. Then we meet Menolly. Born in a small fishing village, the girl is the most talented musician in the village, but she yearns to become a professional Harper and create music as well as sing/play it. Unfortunately, no woman has ever been a Harper before and her conservatively minded family is determined to squash this dream of Menolly's before she shames them in some way. When life for Menolly becomes too harsh, she escapes into the wide world and takes shelter in a cave. There, she discovers a cache of fire lizards, small cousins of the dragons that protect Pern. By witnessing the birth of nine of these pet sized dragons and tending to them, Menolly acquires nine faithful affectionate companions that will help her as she determines how best to live and survive.
I don't think I've adequately conveyed the plot as well as I would have liked. Needless to say, long before Tamora Pierce made her name as the primo Heroines-In-Fantasy genre writer, McCaffrey was writing fantastic stories such as this. Boys reading this book will undoubtedly enjoy it, but I feel that like myself when young, girls will really gravitate towards the reading. Menolly is incredibly talented, but smothered and unappreciated by her family members. The fact that she possesses a brilliance with music and nine tiny dragons makes her special and different and you really want people to turn around and cheer her. When such a thing finally happens in the book, the reader is awash in joy for the character. McCaffrey is so adept that reading this book is just a delight. The only real problem with it comes with an odd backstory about the dragonrider Brekke. Up until that point, the book has mostly been easy to follow and read. Suddenly Menolly is talking with Brekke's step-daughter and the reader, if they haven't read the previous books in the series, is momentarily confused and bewildered by this plot that's flown in from left field. Otherwise, the text is perfectly good.
If you've a kid who likes fantasy (or heck, an adult for that matter) then you cannot do better than Menolly's series of Pern books, referred to as the Harper's Hall Trilogy by some. I recommend you start them with either this book or the equally amusing (and well-written) "The White Dragon", another good Intro. to Pern book for the kiddies. Personally, my heart belongs to "Dragonsong" and I cannot recommend it enough to those who've a love of people, dragons, and a rollicking good yarn.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Reading
Review: Definitely one of the best in the Dragonriders of Pern series. I think I felt just as frustrated as Menolly when her father wouldn't let her enjoy music! Reminded me of many a narrow minded bigot I have known! I was somewhat dissappointed, however with the lack of development in Menolly's character. Her personality seemed unfocused. Perhaps the author meant to show Menolly's growth, etc... but it wound up feeling a bit confused. All in all, one of the best, though.
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