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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 settlers of Pern have endured longer than they thought possible, with the dragonriders of Pern protecting the people from the ravages of Thread for an entire Pass. Now an Interval is drawing to a close, and the dragonriders have begun rallying the Pernese people in preparation for another Pass. But there is one Lord Holder whose public rejection of the inevitable poses a grave threat for the people under his "protection." And with the equipment salvaged from the colony ships and Landing and the Crossing to the Northern Continent finally becoming unusable--after Turns of use beyond their original warranties--there is no way to ensure that future generations will always be able to identify when the Red Star will pass close enough to bring Thread with it. If ever Pern needed heroes to respect and lead it into a new age, now is the time. Fortunately, the people have K'vin, Telgar's young but determined Weyrleader, to lead his dragonriders into the Pass, and the teacher Clisser to revamp the Pernese educational system to ensure that important knowledge is never lost, including the art of foretelling an impending Pass. And they also have Iantine the artist whose spry fingers and studied eye may be the only thing that will prevent a greedy Lord Holder from causing disasters aplenty for the people of Pern!
Dragonseye isn't about a dragon's eye, no matter what the title might suggest. It is, instead, an interesting chronicle about how the Weyrs came to predict when Passes were imminent: namely, the creation of the Finger and Eye Rocks at all the Weyrs. It also describes the beginning of the Crafthalls and especially the Harper Hall (though not yet named as such). The real driving force of the novel, however, seems to be the dissentient Lord Holder of Bitra, whose greed and abuse of power is a terrible thing to behold. One of the best parts about this is that it requires the different governing bodies (Weyrs, Holds, and the new Halls) to join together to end the threat he poses. It reminds me much of the events in The Renegades of Pern, if you recall the scenes I'm referring to.
The really interesting thing is that, of all the characters in the book, my favorite isn't even a dragonrider! How's that for irony? I liked Iantine the artist best of all. In the beginning he wasn't exactly all that likeable--he seemed rather arrogant and overconfident--but he grew on me. Maybe it's the resemblance he bore to Menolly (from the Harper Hall trilogy) and how she was rescued by dragons and finally found a place for herself--however temporary--at the Weyr. There are differences, naturally, since their arts were different and the Weyrs they ended up at weren't the same, but there is a parallel. On the other hand, I also liked the way Iantine's deft sketches aided in putting an end to a terrible threat to humanity that had nothing to do with Thread. In a way I could wish that Ms. McCaffrey describes more of Pern's past, including what happens to Iantine.
Dragonseye is another piece of Pern's past, and a most momentous one. It weaves in a number of storylines that have appeared elsewhere in the Pern books--hopefully optimistic Holds at odds with the Weyr among them--into a terrific tale that has everything from Hatchings to romances to daring rescues. Just read it, and you'll agree: Anne McCaffrey, please write more books about Pern's past!
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