Subject: Shappe's Spoiler Review: _DragonsDawn_ (second attempt)

From: [email-masked] (Michael Scott Shappe)
Date: 19 Oct 88 19:12:57 GMT

Shappe's Spoiler Review
_DragonsDawn_
a new novel, by Anne McCaffery

_____________________________________________________________ 
Warning:
The following article may contain important plot information about the
work reviewed, or other related works.  Any reader who thinks such
advance information may spoil his or her appetite for the work or
works in question should do whatever necessary to stop reading this
article as soon as possible.

The author assumes no responsibility for spoiled appetites.
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It has become common practice for authors of long series to start
those series in media res (literally, in the middle of things), then
go back to the beginning later.  Asimov has done it with _Prelude to
Foundation; Harrison has done it with _A Stainless Steel Rat is Born_.
Even some of the Star Trek novels recently have dealt with situations
set before what was broadcast on television.  Now, Anne McCaffery has
followed suit.

Oh, has she ever.  

I have long been a fan of the _DragonRiders of Pern_ heptology, and
from my very first reading of the main trilogy--_DragonFlight_,
_DragonQuest_, and _The White Dragon_, I have wondered exactly what
brought mankind to the planet Pern.  What could have motivated people
to migrate to an out of the way, mineral poor backwater?  And what
kind of people must they have been to have survived and prevailed over
the troubles that the wandering Red Star brought every 200 years?
Now, Anne McCaffery answers that question.  _DragonsDawn_ spans a 9
year stretch, beginning just as the three ships of the Pern Colonial
Expedition, commanded by war hero Admiral Paul Benden, is entering the
Rukbat system.  The Federated Sentient Planets is recovering from a
long space-war, and many of the battle weary have chosen to forego the
technology-ridden, bureaucratic FSP in favor of the simpler life.
Pern, out of the way, lacking in the quantities of minerals necessary
for heavy technology, but ideally suited for carbon based life, seemed
perfect for a agricultural colony.

McCaffery once again works her magic, from the very start, with her
characterizations.  McCaffery has always had a way of making likeable
(and occasionally loathable), three dimensional characters, and
_DragonsDawn_ is no exception.  Unlike her previous seven books, which
habitiually focus strongly on, at most, three or four characters, here
manages to juggle no fewer than eight primary characters, doing
justice to all.

Neither have her descriptive powers failed her.  Once again, as she
had done seven times before, McCaffery managed to teleport me
/between/ to her imaginary beautiful world.  This time, she had some
help, in the form of experts in astronomy and (I believe) geology, in
forming her descriptions.  Finally, Anne manages something which not
all authors do: her story is perfectly continuous with what has gone
"before".  All the descriptions given here fit with what few glimpses
the Pernese of 2000 years later have managed to view.

And finally, she has left the story open ended.  Now, those of you who
despise sequels should not start despairing yet.  After all, McCaffery
left the original stories that were later to become the novel
_DragonFlight_ open ended, as well, and that was before she had any
intention of continuing the series further.  Such openendedness is
necessary to give the story the a properly "historical" feel--to give
the sense that, whether more is written or not, the story still goes
on.  This is not, therefore, a fau lt in my opinion, and I find myself
seriously torn between wanting to see her quit while she's ahead, and
continue ad infinitum.

Many people I have talked to have expressed disappointment with
McCaffery's previous Pern offering, _Moreta:DragonLady of Pern_, and I
have, by and large , agreed that it is the weakest of the seven (for
the record, I am discounting _Nerilka's Story_, which I have not read,
and therefore would not criticize).  McCaffery has certainly redeemed
herself with this novel, which kept me reading well past my bedtime
(not something I usually do--call me strange), completely unable to
escape.  I give it my highest, slavering recommendation.
_____________________________________________________________ 
Michael Scott Shappe 
[email-masked] ...!rochester!cornell!vax5!ut6y

CopyRight (c) 1988 Michael Scott Shappe.  All rights reserved.