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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!
The discovery of AIVAS, an automated relic from their distant ancestors time that was still operational, has given the people of Pern new hope of finally freeing themselves for all time from the threat of Thread, the inimical life form that descended upon the planet each time the Red Star passed close enough. Aivas has a mission to fulfill and does everything in its power to assist the people of Pern: introducing new technologies into the low technology world, developing new applications of existing materials, and training and preparing the dragons and their riders for off-planet travel are only the beginning. But as with any sudden change to the standard and the normal, there is resistance--even violent resistance. For there are those who greatly fear the changes being made in their lives, and while every man, woman, and child longs to live under Thread-free skies, some are unwilling to embrace ideas so strange and foreign to everything they've known their entire lives. And besides...who can say if this strange thing from the past can fulfill its mission and its promise: the end of Thread's threat to Pern for all time?
This novel takes up the story of Pern roughly where The Renegades of Pern left off, with the people of modern Pern meeting Aivas for the first time and Aivas making the necessary lingual adjustments to communicate with the descendants of the first settlers. An advantage to this book's layout is that experience with Dragonsdawn or The Renegades of Pern isn't really necessary: everything that you might need to understand it appears within this book.
This is also one of the most upsetting books in the entire Pern saga. I'm not criticizing Ms. McCaffrey's writing; I'm praising it, rather. I can't say too much without giving away the entire story, but there is a major event in the novel that cannot help but draw tears from my eyes each time I read it. I expect it's because the character involved in it is someone I've followed through all the (contemporary) Pern novels and am loathe to let go of. That's probably giving away too much already, so you'll just have to read All the Weyrs of Pern to encounter the scene I'm referring to.
From reading it you might think that All the Weyrs of Pern is the end of the Pern series, but it actually is just the beginning of a new chapter, I'm sure. After all, Thread can't be halted overnight, you know. There's still time for the dragons to get in another major story, right?
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