Dragon's Fire (The Dragon Books) [Paperback]

Dragon's Fire is the second collaboration between Anne and Todd - and once again they have produced an engaging and entertaining story. like the previous few novels, Dragon's Fire is a Third Pass story - which is set before the events of Dragonsblood, and is nicely woven around the story of Dragons Kin - starting slightly before that novel, paralleling it in places and continuing on after it.

One of the joys of this book for me is that the primary character is disabled (he cannot talk), and yet he finds a way to work well within the Harper Craft Hall, a craft dedicated to communication of various sorts! Pellar is a well rounded character in this novel, and is given both a chance to grow and change through tragedy, adversity and through shear adventure. He is one of the more interesting characters created by "team McCaffrey" - and one I hope we hear more about in the future. His journey through Dragon's Fire is both touching, and compelling - and well thought out.

The same can be said of the main villain of the story - Tenim who is truly evil, which is a rarity on Pern. Someone who places no value on the life of others - unless they can be of benefit to him. He is willing to risk Pern's safety for his own selfish ends. One of the nice touches about this character is that he seems to have picked up falconry and has a trained bird-of-prey (something that must be a descendant of the birds brought by the original colonists). His shear cold bloodedness is quite chilling. The contrast between him and Pellar makes for interesting reading - especially in the scenes where they are together.

There are plenty of interesting secondary characters as well, from the selfless Halla, to the tragic and misguided Tarik and his son Cristov (both of whom were introduced in Dragon's Kin). Again, Kindan makes the odd appearance in this book, with more being added to his robust character and background.

The way this story is woven around the events of Dragon's Kin is both clever, and intriguing and smacks of plans well laid - which I have no complaint about. The hunt for a new source of firestone, and the reason it is so different from the firestone fans of the Ninth Pass book are familiar with are nicely thought out, and fit very well with what has already been established in the series.

Dragon's Fire is an entertaining story - and one that I read over a few days. The pace and feel of this novel are markedly different from Dragon's Kin, yet still show the McCaffrey style through out. Again, this is a clever story and one that is a very worthy addition to the continuing Pern saga - make sure you have a box of tissues handy when reading it though - you will need them!

Anyone whose ever thought about buying a fantasy novel must have encountered Anne's Pern series in their time. However as the series has moved into the 21st Century the reins are being handed over to her son, Todd. Here the two collaborate for the second time and the clear distinctions between the old and new blend to bring it to a new generation as well as making the series apply to the "older fan".

Always prolific the writing keeps you glued and is perhaps a little too clinical in the end. Readers will of course enjoy the book with fans devouring it in short time indeed. However I do wonder for how much longer the series can continue and how new ideas will continue to be generated. In a modern world with many new authors tackling Dragon fiction, she remains the author to match or to cross with Dragon Fire battle. Few will draw with her and fewer still will manage to withdraw with anything other than a singed record. Anne's work will remain up there for a good few years more and is still the author to judge this particular subsection genre by, however as a matter of personal preference its not her best, although it is still a gripping novel better than a number of others.

What a disappointment. What looked a really long exciting read is divided into two 'books' The first half, or 'book' retells Dragon's Blood, from another point of view, bringing in a few new characters. The second 'book' continues the story. It limps along so slowly I'm not surprised that the next book is with a different co-writer. A precis would only fill one side of a sheet of A4 there is so little meat there.
I would only buy this if you can get it very cheaply, just so you can keep your collection up to date.

Reader from Hertfordshire