Review Detail

Ballantine Books made an excellent decision. They decided to repackage Anne McCaffrey's Pern books and target them towards younger readers. The series started back in the 1960s and have held readers spellbound since then.

However, today's younger readers hadn't really discovered the books. The new format will draw in these readers and that can't be a bad thing. The Pern books have always been excellent entertainment and provide a good bridge between fantasy and science fiction.

Tony DiTerlizzi's illustrations throughout the book, as well as the cover, are wonderful and really capture the spirit of Pern and of the main character, Lessa. Previous fans will be surprised at just how young Lessa looks, as I was, but I figured it out. When I had first read the books, I had been younger than she was supposed to be and consequently, she always "felt" older to me.

Now, to get to the story, which is one of my favorites in the series. Lessa's family was destroyed and her estate taken away from her. She has been living as a kitchen drudge in the house that her family used to rule.

But the time has finally come for Lessa to step away from her disguise and reclaim her birthright. Unexpectedly, she bonds with a queen dragon. Then, the evil Thread (it falls from the sky, and kills everything it touches), begins to fall across Pern again, for the first time in many years. The only thing that can save the people and the planet are the dragons and their bonded riders. Lessa takes the challenge and becomes a true heroine of Pern.

This book is an excellent introduction to the series as a whole and is just an all-around good book. Some of the themes include bravery, responsibility and trust.

I recommend this book to readers of all ages, but especially to a new generation of potential Pern fans.