A Diversity of Dragons (Pern) [Hardcover]

The plot of A Diversity of Dragons is not as enthralling as Anne McCaffrey's other works, but the characters are likable and the storyline sufficiently suspenseful. It seems to me like the storyline is more of an excuse to hold together a multitude of informative and (mostly)enjoyable clippings from various sources. Perhaps it should have been a draconic encyclopedia, rather than a storybook. However, its real strength is in its glorious artwork. Sweeping landscapes and glittering details mesh delightfully on each oversized page, and dragons of all shapes, sizes and dispositions are sprinkled in liberally. All in all, a lovely source of information on various dragons, and an entertaining pastime on a rainy day.

At first glance Diversity looks like a children's book. It has the same glossy-cover appearance that dominates the juvenile section of bookstores. Inside, though, the text aims at an older audience. Anne McCaffrey's engaging story, which links together the information gleaned about various types of dragons, seems more suited for fans of her Pern series than for someone who really wants to learn things about dragons. The book suffers from enigmatic chapter titles that organize the material around when it is presented in the fictional story rather than around what types of dragons are being discussed. There are a few attempts at charts in the back, but there is no index, which would have aided a reader who wanted to locate information about specific dragon-types. While the coverage of dragons found in modern fantasy novels is excellent, information about ancient and medieval dragons is a bit lightweight. The emphasis is more on excerpting examples from famous stories rather than discussing the details about the dragons themselves. Sidebars, giving statistics and descriptions for each type, would have helped the reader separate the actual information about dragons from Ms. McCaffrey's storytelling. Discussions of the iconographic interpretation of the dragons for their original audience or the function of the various dragons within their historical or cultural context would have aided the reader's understanding of the material as well. Translations used to compile the work are a proverbial "mixed bag." The majority is neither the most authoritative nor the most current on the topic. The research is heavily weighted toward Celtic and modern dragon-types with some forays into Germanic and Christian traditions. Greeks, Persians, and a smattering of other types of dragons are touched upon. But the wealth of dragon material from Asia is scarcely mentioned, and other non-Indo-European cultures suffer a largely similar fate. John Howe's artwork, however, is the major reason dragonlovers will want to own this book. The images are stunning and well justify the oversized--and awkward to hold while reading--format of the book. Diversity is gorgeous and an entertaining way to spend an evening reading. But anyone who expects to use the text as a resource to learn about various types of dragons is in for something of a frustrating read.

I got this book because I was doing a report about Dragons indifferent mythologies, and because I'm a fan of McCaffrey's. My firstreaction was: "What a HUGE book!" They could have made asmaller edition of it so it would actually fit my bookshelf. The pictures were beautiful, although it was sometimes slightly hard to tell which picture went with which story. The plot was okay, since it obviously wasn't meant to be a very fascinating one, although the ending completely let me down. An index of the dragons and page number references would also have proved extremely helpful, since the mythical and new-age dragons were completely scattered together. The worst part of the book I think were the quotes. Some of them got me interested in the books and made me add them to my wishlist, but most were just utterly boring. Also, at the end where the dragons were listed in tables, I found them to be scattered around completely wrong. Somebody seemed to have messed up with their computer. The reason I'm still giving this book 4 stars is for the paintwork, though. If you like fantasy art, this book will be excellent for you.