Welcome to the land of wonders, where time travel is possible, space travel a reality, and "what ifs" come to life. Join me as I explore new worlds--and old ones--filled with scientific wonders, new civilizations, and strange new mysteries to consider.
This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.
That said, on to the review!
Seven Turns before, when Thread threatened overwhelm the lone Weyr of Pern and devastated the entire continent, Lessa of Ruatha, Weyrwoman of Benden Weyr took a desperate gamble and flew her queen, Ramoth, four hundred Turns into the past to call forth the riders of the five empty Weyrs of Pern. The people of Lessa's time welcomed the "Oldtimers" with open arms, grateful to the dragonriders who would save their lives. Now, however, some of the Oldtimers have grown weary and resentful, believing they should be receiving greater honors and deference from the people they rode forward in time to rescue. The differences between Oldtimer and the modern Weyrs escalates, until nothing remains but to see which force will prove the stronger, and not even the discovery of the legendary, elusive fire lizards or the discovery of hidden rooms in Benden Weyr or planned expeditions to the Red Star can keep things from coming to a head!
Dragonquest takes up the story begun in Dragonflight, albeit Seven turns later. Time enough, at least, for readers to accept the changes wrought in the Oldtimers like T'ton (now T'ron) and Mardra, who were chief among those that closed the first book. It also gives us time to appreciate the changes that have happened in some of our favorite characters (like F'lar, F'nor, and Lessa) and some of our not-so-favorite characters (like Kylara), even those we only met briefly and through slanted perspectives, like Lessa's.
Perhaps what's best about this novel is that it introduces and brings to center-stage characters that you know are going to play major roles in the shaping of Pern, such as Brekke, the queenrider who F'nor falls in love with, or Jaxom, the Lord of Ruatha Hold who inadvertantly Impresses a unique white dragon. What's more, we see the people of Pern recovering some of their lost history, although from what I understand it was really only a matter of trying new applications of what they knew that would have given them what they found anyway. Still, we get to see the Red Star up close and personal for the first time, making it something real and tangible and intimidatingly close where before it was simply baleful and forbidding.
Dragonquest continues the story of the people of Pern, including the problems transplanted time travelers are having with their integration, something that you wouldn't necessarily expect from a world with an agrarian society. Overall it's an outstanding of past, present, and future fiction, merged into a single civilization!
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