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    Dragonsong
    Dragonsong
    Dragonsong
    Audiobook7 hours

    Dragonsong

    Written by Anne McCaffrey

    Narrated by Sally Darling

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Journey to the wonder-filled world of Pern in the first volume of Anne McCaffrey's best-selling Harper Hall Trilogy. Dragonsong is the spellbinding tale of Menolly of Half Circle Hold, a brave young girl who flees her seaside village and discovers the legendary fire lizards of Pern. All her life, Menolly has longed to learn the ancient secrets of the Harpers, the master musicians of Harper Hall. When her stern father denies her the chance to make her dream come true, Menolly runs away from home. Hiding in a cave by the sea, she finds nine magical fire lizards who join her on a breathtaking journey to Harper Hall. Anne McCaffrey's enchanting tales of Pern, with all their colorful dragons and fantastic characters, have won her millions of fans around the world. The winner of the Hugo and Nebula Award, she is one of the best-loved writers in all of fantasy literature.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJul 12, 2007
    ISBN9781440780776
    Author

    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 Dragonsong

    4/5

    1,651 ratings53 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Once you get over the fact that the narrator is a very proper Southern lady (I'm English so my default accent for Pern is English I'm afraid) the story was as riveting and emotional as always. I love these books and it's wonderful to find them in a new format.
    • 5/5
      Holy cow i love this book!!!! Few endings bring a tear to my eye and dangit this one did the trick! A little sad it was over but very excited that it continues!!!
    • 4/5
      This was the first Anne McCaffery book I read and I loved her dragon rider books so much. Reading this aloud with my daughter the story doesn't quite come across as strong as I remember, but my daughter did enjoy it and it brings back fond memories.
    • 5/5
      The poignancy of Mellony's loss of music is well captured. The emotions flow really well in this one.
    • 4/5
      Ann McCaffrey's death last week got me thinking about Pern again, so I'm re-reading Dragonsong, the first book in the Harper's series which was my favorite part of the Pern saga when I first read it back in the 70's when I was in HS.
      It's a very fast read, not very fleshed out but a decent intro to the more detailed second and third novels.
    • 5/5
      Nbd, just a thoroughly delightful fantasy in a unique setting AND a story of a girl overcoming abusive parents (realistically, with help) to start making a life for herself.
    • 4/5
      Dragonsong, this book means a ton to me. The Harper Hall Trilogy is what got me into McCaffrey’s work. I will not lie though going back years after I originally read this there are what some would call “issues” with the book. It’s very clear that it was written with an older mind set. There are tons of “she can’t do this, she is a girl” and “ I can’t do this, because I am a girl” and “girls are not allowed to do that” going on in this book. But while these phrases are used constantly our main girl Menolly constantly questions it and gets very annoyed by it. Menolly is a sweet girl, I love her dearly and through out the book I understand why I connected with her at such a young age. She has a talent that everyone wants to hide, they lie to keep it from her and when she finally has enough of it, she leaves, probably not the smartest thing for a young girl to look up to but I did. McCraffrey doesn’t over-explain her world in this book but it does get a little repetitive, such as the fall of thread, it was reexplained many times to the point of annoyance. But to make up for it I do love the little details she uses to explain the fire lizards and dragons. I do keep in mind it’s a short book so she doesn’t go super into detail about how they look but she puts a lot of detail into how they function and how the society functions as a whole, which is nice. Overall it’s a great book for the time it was released and for the targeted audience, I feel had I not read this at the age of 12 I probably wouldn’t have such love for it like I do. Still it’s great writing I won’t deny that, and it’s still a special love for me.
    • 4/5
      Did a quick re-read of Dragonsong. I was in love with this series and the Dragonrider books in my early 20's and re-read them a few times, but not in the past couple of decades. I've always recommended this book to teens and YA and now remember why. It does an excellent job of showing the feelings of alienation and confusion as young people try to figure out how they will fit into the world--especially when they don't fit into their natural communities. McCaffrey does such a great job of SF/F world-building, that you sometimes miss the underlying universal humanity of her writing. Still highly recommended!
    • 3/5
      Loved this as a kid. Am appalled at the new covers they put on them.
    • 4/5
      How can I not give Dragonsong five stars? It was my favorite book from the time I discovered it--less than two years after it came out, in my junior high's library--until I was probably way too old to still consider Dragonsong as my favorite book. The beautiful cover pulled me in (the edition I first read has a great jacket by Fred Marcellino, one of my favorite illustrators) but it was the story I fell in love with. Over and over and over again.

      Because, of course, it's complete wish fulfillment for any young teenager who feels like a misunderstood outcast. Especially if the teenager is a girl, and most especially a musical one.

      Basically, here's the deal: Menolly lives on a world called Pern that was already well established in previous books. Every month or so the planet is threatened by an airborne spore called Thread that destroys anything it touches, but Thread can be destroyed by fire-spewing dragons and their riders. When Thread falls, everyone stays inside and lets the dragonriders do their thing.

      All Menolly wants to do is make music, but her strict father doesn't think girls should be harpers. Her family is awful--her father beats her for singing her own songs, her mother intentionally lets a wound heal badly so she won't be able to play instruments, her sister is just mean. And so when she gets caught outside during Threadfall, she holes up in a cave and decides not to go home. She kills her own food. She Impresses nine fire lizards (which are like little pet-sized dragons). She makes her own instruments. She writes her own songs. And then she gets rescued and taken away to the Harper Craft Hall, where everyone understands how very special and wonderful she is and TRULY APPRECIATES her. In the second book, Dragonsinger (which I also read this week, but probably won't review), she also wins the hearts of nearly everyone she runs into, knocks the socks off the music faculty with her musical talent and skill (not to mention modesty), and even punches a bully and dances with boys! There are also some jealous girls who pick on her, but they get their comeuppance.

      You see what I mean about the wish fulfillment.

      I still re-read both of these books every few years, and this year Dragonsong caught my eye as it sat there on my shelf in that beautiful Fred Marcellino jacket. It's still a good book. I still love Pern, with its SF roots and its fantasy feel; it's such an intricately drawn world that I can get lost in it for days. But Menolly bugs me now. She's too perfect, too modest, too wise, too talented, too considerate, too good at EVERYTHING. As an adult, I find that annoying, and I can't give Dragonsong five stars--but deep in my adolescent heart, it gets ALL the stars, just for being the book that got me through seventh grade.

    • 4/5
      Menolly is a gifted harper (musician, essentially), but being a girl and belonging to what seems to be the equivalent to a backwater town on her world, she's bullied by her parents into giving up her dream. She resists, though, by running away, and in the process befriends some small dragon-like creatures in a way that she doesn't at the time realize is just short of miraculous.One of those gawky-girl-who-doesn't-realize-she's-actually-really-amazing type stories. It's good, but not the best of its kind. I enjoyed it, but not enough to scramble for the next in the series.
    • 4/5
      Re-read of an old favorite.
    • 3/5
      Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey is the first book of the Harper Hall trilogy (along with Dragonsinger and Dragon Drums). I first read these and the original Dragonriders of Pern trilogy (Dragonflight, Dragonquest and The White Dragon) back when I was barely a teenager. I loved all of them for many years, along with many other McCaffrey stories. It took me awhile to figure out that one of the things that I really enjoyed is that there is no religion in this fantasy setting, and no war or large-scale violence.The Harper Hall trilogy are my favorites, and the only ones I am interested in keeping now. That's because they don't involve any sex, unlike the other early trilogy. It took me a long time to figure out that McCaffrey's portrayal of sex was deeply problematic: almost always involving at least one scene where the man makes sexual overtures, the woman says no, and the man goes ahead anyway. Sex without consent is by definition rape. Add in the particular twist of the telepathic bonds with dragons or fire lizards, such that when the dragons mate, the people linked to them have sex too, swept away by the sexual urges. Which is to say, the woman bonded to the gold queen dragon doesn't get to pick her sex partner and may not even know what the hell is happening if she didn't happen to grow up in a dragon weyr. But hey, that's just biology and associated social order.The protagonist of Dragonsong is Menolly, the youngest daughter of the chief (Holder) of a small, isolated fishing village (seahold). She's 14 at the beginning of the first book, musically gifted, and bereft at the death of her mentor Petiron, the hold's harper. Her father reluctantly assigns her to teach the children until the new harper arrives so they don't fall behind on their lessons. However, she is to teach only the formal and traditional teaching songs. She is forbidden to make her own music because only boys can apprentice to learn a trade, including harpering. Menolly becomes increasingly unhappy under the patriarchal and narrow restrictions of her family and village and runs away because possible death foraging alone and holdless is better than her increasingly intolerable home life. Adventures ensue as Menolly learns to survive and become self-sufficient. She isn't lonely though, when she discovers that the legendary fire lizards are real and become a part of her new life. Part of the story is told from the perspective of Elgion, the new harper, as he tries to find out what happened to Petiron's mysterious apprentice at the behest of the Masterharper. Their stories converge at the end for a happy resolution and shiny new future for Menolly.This is a charming books featuring a strong female character coming of age and finding her strength and her friends. She deals with physical and emotional abuse, seeking food and shelter, social ostracism, prejudice, and overly narrow gender roles. But the story is hopeful and ultimately rewarding. I wanted to be Menolly when I read these books at her age.
    • 5/5
      I haven't devoured a book in a single session in a long time! I got swept away!
    • 5/5
      This is another book I read long ago. When it first came out, there weren't a lot of fantasy books for young adults that had strong female characters that were competent and kind. This was one. It is definitely a product of its time with Menolly being told that girls can't be Harpers. What struck me was how resourceful she was. She learned how to live on her own and grew in her confidence throughout the book. I look forward to re-reading the sequel.I think it is good for any young person or adult to read. If you enjoy fantasy and want a soft introduction into the world of Pern, this is a good choice. Some of the people mentioned are in the "adult" opening trilogy (the trilogy in publication order, that is).
    • 5/5
      The first book in the Harper Hall Trilogy (third in the Dragonriders of Pern series, though it stands alone) centers around the girl Menolly, a talented musician whose only close friend, her mentor Petiron, has just passed away. With a sea holder family that doesn't understand her and a misogynistic, abusive father who does not believe a woman can be a harper, Menolly is driven to further isolation. After rescuing a clutch of fire lizards, long thought to be mythical creatures, events come to a head. Menolly cuts her hand gutting poisonous fish and the Hold allows it to heal poorly so that she will be unable to play an instrument. She flees to live holdless in a cave, accidentally impresses nine fire lizards, and begins a new life alone in the wild.While this is occurring, the Harpers are scouring the continent for "Petiron's lost apprentice" whose music had been sent to Maosterharper Robinton prior to the harper's death. Menially begins to find herself and her music in the wild. At Half Circle Sea Hold the new harper begins to uncover the truth about what happened at the Hold and just who the unknown musician is.
    • 5/5
      I read this book the first time in middle school and instantly fell in love with it. The world and its characters drew me in and I couldn't put it down till I finished it. In the years since I have read this book and many others set in this world and I still love it just as much as I did then. The main character was a strong character that made me feel as she did. when she was sad I was sad, when she triumped I felt joy and happiness for her. The dragonettes that become her companions were such characters that I still to this day want one. This book introduced me to a well written world that always draws me in.
    • 5/5
      [Re-read, 2011]

      Just as good as I remember it from when I was a kid!
    • 5/5
      A simple coming of age story set in the world of Pern, but well told and with that special 'warm fuzzies' quality. Menolly is a talented musician born in the wrong place - a Hold dedicated entirely to the life of the fisherman and where girls and women in particular have no chance at achieving anything different with their lives. She can indulge her passion only so long as it serves a required purpose, and eventually the strain becomes too much.Anne McCaffrey wrote two original trilogies for the world of Pern during its heydey. I read the other in my school days but never picked up this one, which runs in parallel and has some crossover. It has all the flavour of the others, a goldmine of nostalgia: far better than when an author returns to a series years later is to find another original work that was written in that period. Menolly is a bit of a Little Nell, a little too purely good - there's not the least spark of anger in her, only fear when she considers her foes. If you don't find that too saccharine, the ending will pluck your heartstrings.
    • 3/5
      Well written but I got bored of the series & world by this point. Possibly just me, but I didn't find any of it that fascinating to really enjoy it much beyond the original trilogy.
    • 5/5
      This is a lovely book, one of the very first I ever bought. I have the trilogy in a single volume but kept these individual books in case I wanted to attempt reading just one book. Menolly has been the defacto apprentice to the sea hold harper but is shunted to the side with he dies and a new harper comes. She cuts her hand badly and can no longer play, and her family doesn't allow her to sing or compose her own songs, so she runs away to a cave and lives with the 9 fire lizards she Impressed by accident. This book fueled a lot of my childhood fantasies about living on my own in a cave. :-) It's a quick read, I was done in an evening, it moves quickly along, feeling like a novella in the tightness of the story telling.
    • 5/5
      This is one of my favorite books. I’ve read it so many times that all I have to do is think on it, and the whole book’s story pushes through my mind. It saddens me that there will never be a new release from this author. I hope that new generations will always have the opportunity to read her books. I recommend this book to all age groups, but think children would particularly love it. Book two follows on its heels.
    • 5/5

      I've not read this book in ten years, but reading it through for the second time ever it's just as wonderful and engaging as I remember it. I ate this book up like you devour your favorite treat in a bakery. It was so wonderful to read! The main character Menolly is strong, intelligent, creative, determined, humble, and has a beautiful personality. And the side characters are all appropriately monstrous, in ways that'll horrify and anger you, or infinitely entertaining, in the way that fills you with warmth and enjoyment. You've got a perfect blend of antagonism and hope and unusual, engaging situations in this book to draw in anyone who picks it up and wants a read! Fantasy lovers especially will adore this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever wanted to or thought about giving it a go.

      It's a book of strong characters, unjust situations, magical encounters, an engaging storyline, and is just the very tip of a world that-- once you're introduced to-- you'll want much, much more of. It's a swift and flawless read, and has everything anyone is looking for. It scalds you with terrible situations, and then it fills you with hope and joy! It's the perfect type of read for kids, young adults, and anyone else who wants a good, creative story to unwind with.

      If you've never gotten into Anne McCaffrey's Pern books before, this is a fantastic one to start off in, and, once again, I immensely recommend it. This review is short, but that's simply because a good book doesn't need much to speak for itself. If you're a dragon/fantasy fan especially, I'd even say buy this book without bothering with a library. It's so good. I can't imagine you won't enjoy it.

      Check it out, and happy reading!
    • 1/5
      Just re-listened to this. Don't remember it being so drivly when I read it as a pre-teen; maybe I have gotten smarter over the past decade?
      Anyway, load of feminist mary-sue garbage if you ask me. It got really annoying really fast how much everyone (except for her sexist hold leader) liked the main character, who was apparently perfect in every way.
      Might try reading some of her other pern series over again, just to check if they were all really this bad, and I somehow missed it. I was never a huge fan... But I didn't think she was this bad of a writer either.
    • 5/5
      This is the book that drew me into Pern, and I still find it a delightful read.
    • 3/5
      This review will have to do for all of McCaffrey's books, except Dragonsdawn, which gets its own review. These were my first Fantasy books, and I loved them to pieces. They don't hold up as favorites in my adult life, though, there isn't enough there to keep me reading. But I would recommend them without hesitation to a YA audience.
    • 4/5
      Dragonsong is the first Pern book I read, and it's among the better ones, for sure. It's a Young Adult book - the protagonist is fifteen, and her worries are that of a fifteen-year-old, not the earthshaking epic issues of the adult Pern books. That doesn't detract at all from the lovely world and the genuine horribleness of Menolly's family and situation.

      It does suffer a little from Cackling Bad Guy syndrome - it's not entirely clear why her family is so consistently horrible to her - but they fade from the story after the first third and it's no longer an issue. And the obvious and tedious sexism is a handy blanket excuse for all sorts of things.
    • 5/5
      This book was one of the first fantasy dragon books that I read. I am still hooked!
    • 5/5
      This has remained a firm favourite over the years, and I was almost afraid to re-read it because it holds so much memory of being a good read.Menolly lost her ally in her hold when the old harper, Petiron died. He encouraged her music in the face of gender expectations and her father's indifference to music. She keeps fighting for access to music even after her hand is badly cut and eventually can see nothing else but to run away from the hold where what awaits her will change her life forever.It's a cool story, I know how much rehab she faced, my sister went through it and while you knew in your heart of hearts that you would never be a dragonrider, this book offered the idea that teaching and music were noble pursuits and that maybe, just maybe you could find a fire lizard.The biography, amusingly for me, notes that she can knit an Arran (sic) sweater in ten days.
    • 5/5
      A good way for adults or young-teen readers to begin their journey into the genre of fantasy or science fiction, Dragonsong is more the story of a girl trying to grow up in a world where she fails to meet the expectations of her people and the self-imposed exile that follows. The struggles of growing up and the difficulties in breaking the gender barrier fill the pages, with only a sprinkling of fantasy element to decorate them. We only catch a glimpse or two of dragons at the beginning of the book, and only meet them very near the end. Firelizards, which are basically miniature dragons, befriend Menolly and help her along her journey by keeping her company and providing a lightness to her situation. If you've never read a book about Pern before, it is a short and easy book to pick up and fall into. If you have started Anne McCaffrey's series but have felt you were missing out on the life of people in the hold and hall, this is a great, quick read that you must pick up. There may never be many beautifully descriptive draws to the story, as the emotional connections between the characters and their dragons or lizards are what the series counts on to pull the reader in, but to be honest, that's really all it needs. Anyone who has ever wanted to spend some time with a dragon will certainly enjoy this series.