The Skies of Pern

Dragonriders of Pern

By: Anne McCaffrey

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's Summary

Now that Pern can look forward to a future without the threat of Threadfall, the people are free to leave their protective stone holds and spread across more of the planet, as well as improve their lives with the newly discovered ancient technology. Not everyone is happy, though. Some resist the change, and consider anything new to be an "abomination". And the dragonriders are uncertain: without Thread, what will their purpose be in Pernese society?

Then a new danger - again from the skies - looms. Once again, the people must pull together...And turn to the only ones who can solve the crisis: the dragonriders of Pern!

©2007 Anne McCaffrey (P)2007 Brilliance Audio

Critic Reviews

"Superb storytelling and engaging characters. . .McCaffrey's most popular series takes on a new dimension with the latest installment, as familiar characters feel the weight of their years, giving way to a new generation of humans and their dragon companions." ( Library Journal)
"Multifaceted as the eyes of their dragons, these novels offer romance, adventure, medieval pageantry, intrigue . . . [and] a satisfyingly complex society." ( SciFi Weekly)

minor irritants, otherwise loved it

I enjoyed listening to this book again (have read it before), but the narration became irritating to me when the narrator tried to pitch his voice higher to read the women's voices- he just couldn't carry it off. It sounds better reading it all straight. Also, I noticed a few mispronunciations- earlier in the book, Menolly was pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable, whereas later in the book, it was emphasized on the first. I have read it with the pronunciation on the first syllable (in MY head). I noticed it with one or two other names, also. It makes me wonder, do the readers find out from the authors how to pronouce certain names, or just wing it?

Could have been so much better

What made the experience of listening to The Skies of Pern the most enjoyable?

I enjoy Anne McCaffery's Pern and visiting it is always an interesting experience.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Dick Hill?

Anyone. I think my cat might have done better, and English is not her first language.

Any additional comments?

I have never before heard Dick Hill read a book. I detested the way he read this one. I have read the book and a great deal of what he did was totally random. Where did those accents come from? I have no objection to accents. They just made no sense here, the way he did them. I may have to stop listening to it. I have heard many books read differently from the way they sounded in my head. It was interesting. This is aggravating.

narrator

did a poor job when voicing women's voices, AND all the women sounded the same.

Not My Favorite

I SO wanted to give this book five stars. Five stars because I miss Anne McCaffrey and she showed a different way to depict women in science fiction. Five Stars because I got to go back to Pern and enjoy the dragons and dolphins. But I just couldn't.

Had I read this a long while ago when my eyes were still good, I might have given a higher rating. I wouldn't have had to listen to the narrator, Dick Hill's version of the story. Ugh! He makes all the women sound like weak whiners. Even Lessa, who is supposed to be a strong leader, Mr. Hill diminishes with his vocal characterization. But there was no text-to-speech so I was stuck with his voice. And there is no loanability for these books. What the Heck! Poor people want to read, too!

But maybe Dick was only working with what was there? Did our dear Ms. McCaffrey write the book with the male heaviness I felt? I just wasn't happy with how it progressed. It took me much longer to read, just because it didn't pull at me like, say, her Harper Hall books did. Okay. I did read most of this series about twenty-four years ago. Whew! That is a long time ago!

It was only near the end of reading this book that I realized that this was the last solo book of the series. I will now have to look up the continuation written with her son, Todd or those he wrote alone. I have a few sitting here, but I will have to find the Kindle versions and Audibles to get by.

SO as much as I miss our dear Anne McCaffrey and her love and talent, I have to stay truthful. This just wasn't my favorite Pern.

missing audio

Where does The Skies of Pern rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It ranks among the top 40 of the books I have listened to.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Skies of Pern?

When Golanth gets back into the sky with the help of the other dragons.

Which character – as performed by Dick Hill – was your favorite?

It is a tie between Tai and her dragon. Unfortunately there were too many times where the voice of F'lessan changed too much.

Any additional comments?

there is some audio missing towards the end. it skips from the middle of a sentence to the middle of another that I know very well having read the book multiple times.

Dragonmen continue as Perns guardians.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Skies of Pern to be better than the print version?

No. But much easier for me than to reread it again.

Who was your favorite character and why?

F'lessan: Who was born with it all and wanted just to be the best rider he could be and succeeded. Then he lost it all after the lion attack and had to rethink his life. True to his heritage he found a way through to a new life while also finding the love of his life.

Which character – as performed by Dick Hill – was your favorite?

F'lessan

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When F'lessan realized his life as a dragonrider was over.

Any additional comments?

Anne McCafferey neatly folded up and ended the dragonrider saga of the last pass of the Red Star with this book. It was a brilliant and emotionally satisfying ending but also left the question of whether dragonriders may go to Earth some day...Just to DO it.

Love Pern, always.

Any additional comments?

Good narration for a great story. Anne McCaffrey's work will last forever. Very much enjoyed this.

not a fan of narrator

ALL of the women's voices sound like Mrs. Doubtfire, it's really hard to listen to. I hate that there is no choice to change voices like Natural Reader.

Unusually disappointing

The Dragonriders of Pern has been my favorite book series ever since I was a child. While I’ve read almost all of them, this was one I had neither read nor listened to.

Dick Hill was absolutely splendid narrating Dragonsdawn, Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and The White Dragon...but it seems as though he forgot voices, characters names, and the overall mood that he’d created in the first 4 books when it came to All The Weyrs of Pern and The Skies of Pern. Long established characters now had new accents, new sounding names, and while it was still “ok” it was not nearly as enjoyable a narration as the previous 4. Disappointing.

The book itself was nothing like her other books. Many loose ends that never were completed, characters that weren’t as magnetic as her previous books, and the ending simply seemed rushed and bizarre. I listened to the last hour and a half several times to make sure I wasn’t just missing parts...nope...they aren’t even there!

I did enjoy delving into F’lessan’s character in this piece...but overall the story was definitely lacking the McCaffrey sparkle and attraction her other books have. She will be sorely missed...she already is.

I hope listening to the Harper series proves enjoyable and more consistent.

Lovely stories I go back to time and again.

I read the series when I was a child recovering from surgery, always go back.