Dragon Harper
Written by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey
Narrated by Susan Ericksen
4/5
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About this audiobook
Life in the Harper Hall is busy for best friends Kindan, Nonala, and Kelsa. As the only female apprentices, Nonala and Kelsa are the butt of jokes and easy targets for the bully Vaxoram and his cronies. But when Kindan springs to Kelsa’s defense, he winds up in a fight for his life against the older, bigger Vaxoram—a fight that will lead to a surprising friendship.
Meanwhile, in nearby Fort Hold, a clutch of fire-lizard eggs is about to hatch, and Lord Bemin’s beautiful young daughter, Koriana, is determined to Impress one of the delightful creatures. At the hatching, Kindan Impresses a fire-lizard of his own…and wins the heart of Koriana. But Lord Bemin mistrusts harpers and will not hear of a match between his daughter and the low-born Kindan.
Then fate intervenes in the form of a virulent plague as fast-spreading as it is deadly. Arising suddenly, as if out of nowhere, the contagion decimates hold after hold, paying no heed to distinctions of birth. In this feverish crucible, friendship and love will be tested to the breaking point and beyond. For with Threadfall scant years away, the Dragonriders dare not expose themselves to infection, and it will fall to Kindan and his fellow apprentices to bravely search for a cure and save humanity.
The price of failure is unthinkable. But the price of success may be even harder to bear.
Anne McCaffrey
Anne McCaffrey, a multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner, was one of the world's most beloved and bestselling science fiction and fantasy writers. She is known for her hugely successful Dragonriders of Pern books, as well as the fantasy series that she cowrote with Elizabeth A. Scarborough that began with Acorna: The Unicorn Girl.
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Reviews for Dragon Harper
319 ratings16 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The story is set on Pern but honestly the writing and characters are poor. Nobody seems very smart except the main character who is smart and wise beyond his years. Adults are shallow and don't behave appropriately IMO. Characters that could be interesting are never fully developed. Others come and go only to further the main character's storyline and their coming and goings are all just too convenient. I love Pern stories but this one isn't up to par.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5DRAGON HARPER stars apprentice harper Kindan. It begins with him standing up for the girl apprentices from bullying by an older apprentice Vaxoram. They fight a duel with the loser becoming a servant to the winner. Kindan wins and is determined to redeem Vaxoram. But events intervene....A new virulent plague is infesting all of Pern and threatens to kill everyone. The Dragonriders need to stay away from the infected Holds because Pern won't survive the next Threadfall without the Dragonriders. And it isn't long before the trusted elders at Harper Hall succumb to it, leaving the fate of Pern in the hands of Kindan and his fellow apprentices. There is a romance too. Both the Lord Holder's daughter Koriana and Kindan impress two from a clutch of fire lizards and fall in love. But the Lord Holder isn't going to let his daughter marry a lowly harper. This was an entertaining story that makes me eager to read the next book in the Pern series.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Will ruin Pern for you. Depressing and at the same time, not believable. Cardboard characters who act and evolve in totally arbitrary ways. Plodding language, devoid of magic. Despite tedious rehashing of concepts from other books in the series, no sense that we're on Pern and not in an American college dorm. Bad pacing (I was still waiting for it to get going halfway through). Love scenes simply embarrassing. Sickroom scenes gruelling without being moving. This is a pitiful effort. Dragon's Kin and Dragon's Fire had me hopeful about Todd McCaffrey's ability to enter the Pern world, but I have now abandoned all hope.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5As usual. McCaffrey has taken us to a new world and, surprisingly, it coincided with our own when I read it. Their problems were our problems this past year (2020-2021)
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Very well written. Easy to listen to. Hard to put down despite having read it years ago.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This starts just after _Dragon's Fire_ and follows Kindan, first introduced in prior books. I liked this much better than _Dragon's Blood_. It is well-focused on Kindan's trials and tribulations as an apprentice harper, and as a young man growing up. About half-way through the book, a problem hinted at in the first part of the book becomes a Pern-wide emergency in the second half. The smaller focus in this book on Kindan and his immediate circle gives this story more zip and immediacy than the previous volume.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This book did not impress me. What was the point? I didn't care about the characters at all, and some of it felt overly detailed - it was a chore to read at times. And what the heck was with the end?
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I love all of the Dragonrider books and always enjoy when a new one comes out. The last few books in the series have been a collaboration between Anne and Todd. The main difference I've noticed is that the writing seems a little less cohesive, which I attribute to the fact that there are two authors. This book is no different. Having said that, I gobbled it down in one day.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not as bad as I expected; I still keep hoping for the magic of the early Pern books...
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Another plague. Didn't Anne do this already? With all the co-authors she has had, who have gone on to become good writers in their own right, seems Anne could find a better successor. "Son of" just doesn't work
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love the co-writing between Todd and Anne. It's great that he is exploring the different turns and passes of the Red Star. Gives lots of scope for many many more stories and he brings his own story telling twist. I hope they are able to collaborate on many many more books together.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Entertaining plot but somewhat 'clunkier' than usual and not quite as engrossing. Decent enough
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Another basic tale of Pern. Nothing exciting or surprising, but an entertaining afternoon read. A must for Pern fans, probably a bust for other folks.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This book did not impress me. What was the point? I didn't care about the characters at all, and some of it felt overly detailed - it was a chore to read at times.And what the heck was with the end?
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Although Todd doesn't write the hatching scenes quite so well as his mother, that's just a quibble. This book takes turns in both plotting and characterization that I don't recall seeing before. We've met Kindan in an earlier book, while he was still in the mines. He's matured slightly now and is in the Harper Hall. An all-around good guy, he's especially mature about working with others, When a plague strikes Pern he jumps in and does his share, and more, despite the death of many main characters whom he loved.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5There are a few references to characters and events from both Dragon's Kin and Dragon's Fire, and since I don't recall much of the latter, I'm beginning to suspect I may have missed reading that one, too. Regardless, once those connections are made and all the key characters are introduced, this book easily stands on its own with its own tale to tell. If you aren't already familiar with Pern, you might get a bit lost in the cultures, titles, and terms. This isn't a good book to start with, but it certainly is a fine addition to the series.One thing that is noticeably different about this book compared to others in this series is that the authors have narrowed the range of individuals involved in the story, and have done a better job of making the names more distinct. The last few Pern books have had so many key characters doing all sorts of things that I felt like I needed cheater notes just to keep track of who's who. I did not feel that way with this book, and I hope that future books will also have this balance and clarity.