#Harper Hall trilogy

[judgeitbyitscover]

Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey

Cover art by Elizabeth Malczynski

Bantam 1977

For centuries, the world of Pern has faced a destructive force known as Thread. But the number of magnificent dragons who have protected this world and the men and women who ride them are dwindling.

As fewer dragons ride the winds and destruction falls from the sky, Menolly has only one to sing, play, and weave the music that comes to her so easily—she wishes to become a Harper. But despite her great talents, her father believes that a young girl is unworthy of such a respected position and forbids her to pursue her dreams. So Menolly runs away, taking shelter in a cave by the sea. Miraculously, she happens upon nine fire lizards that could possibly save her world...and change her life forever.

[judgeitbyitscover]

Dragondrums by Anne McCaffrey

Cover art by Steve Weston

Corgi 1981

As Menolly uncovers magic and intrigue, mischievous Piemur discovers the rhythm of adventure in the final book in the Harper Hall trilogy, set within science fiction legend Anne McCaffrey’s beloved and bestselling Dragonriders of Pern series.

Mischievous Piemur is used to getting away with a lot. He has one of the most impressive voices at Harper Hall and, in the world of Pern, there are few things more important than the ability to sing and write songs. But when his voice begins to change, Piemur loses all confidence and questions everything he thought he knew about himself.

No longer capable of singing, Piemur is sent on various errands by Masterharper Robinton, including the task of learning the complicated beats of the messenger drums. Piemur has no clue of the grand adventures that await him, and he’ll need to find the courage within himself to survive.

[threadfall]

Dragonsong (竜の歌) (1986) and Dragonsinger (竜の歌い手) (1989), published by Hayakawa Publishing. Both were translated by Obi Fusa (小尾芙佐), with cover art by Kijima Shun (木嶋俊).

[threadfall]

The Atheneum editions of Dragonsong (1976), Dragonsinger (1977), and Dragondrums (1979), illustrated by Fred Marcellino.

These are lovely editions, with the weirdest wings, but what really baffles me are the little headless dragons on the backs of the first two books...Anyone know why they exist?

(Back cover images from The Swedenmom Store and Infaith Treasure Hunters on Ebay.)

[2lim3rz]

Every time

Every fucking time this makes me tear up

[dio-icarticaae]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey, Harper Hall Series - Anne McCaffrey Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Menolly & Fire Lizards (Dragonriders of Pern) Characters: Menolly (Dragonriders of Pern), Menolly's Firelizards (Dragonriders of Pern) Additional Tags: Missing Scene, Yuletide Treat, Harpercraft (Dragonriders of Pern), Introspection, Character Study, Hijinks & Shenanigans, (Of the fire lizard variety) Summary:

After becoming a Journeyman, Menolly ponders her life in the Harper Hall.

Yuletide Treat!

[godzilla-reads]

“Fifteen-year-old Menolly allies with magnificent dragons in the first book in the Harper Hall trilogy, set within science fiction legend Anne McCaffrey’s beloved and bestselling Dragonriders of Pern series.”

—Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey

[godzilla-reads]

Trying to decided on a THIRD dragon book to read and I’m leaning heavily towards DRAGONSINGER by Anne McCaffrey.

[godzilla-reads]

New and old editions of Anne McCaffrey’s Harper Hall of Pern series 🎼

Which one do you like best?

[brucedinsman]

Book review: DragonDrums by Ann McCaffrey

Dragondrums (Harper Hall, #3) Pern 20   Dragondrums by Anne McCaffreyMy rating: 5 of 5 starsAudibleThird listen on Audible. I love the Harper Trilogy because it filled in a lot of history and gave depth to the Pern World. Piemur is the main focus here, his voice breaks at 14 and he can’t sing so the Master Harper sets him to learning the drums, but Piemur also does tasks for the Master Harper.…

[brucedinsman]

Book review: DragonSinger by Ann McCaffrey

Dragonsinger (Harper Hall, #2)   Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffreyMy rating: 5 of 5 starsAudibleSo much of a revisit. Third listen of this second book in the Harper Hall series. The book only covers about 2 weeks but Menolly arrives at the Harper Hall as an apprentice and impresses many, ending in her promotion to Journeyman Harper. View all my reviews AMAZON Menolly has returned home and entered…

[brucedinsman]

Book review: DragonSong by Ann McCaffrey

Pern Dragonsong (Harper Hall, #1)   Dragonsong by Anne McCaffreyMy rating: 5 of 5 starsAudibleThird listen on Audible. I’ve always loved Anne McCaffrey and the stories about Pern. This is the first of three in the Harper Hall series. The story focuses on Menolly as she endures her parent’s rejection of her Harper dreams because only men are Harpers. Along the way, she impresses 9 fire lizards…

[auntieoneandauntietwo]

To second other people, harper hall are definitely the most “normal” of all of the books. Least culty and most solid middle grade fantasy. (Also the least questionable content) And they’re a super nice intro to the world if the main series feels too info dumpy and world building y

I honestly never loved moreta but like. Might just be me.

people who have read the dragonriders of pern books in any real capacity:

which ones would you say are the best? least terrible?

I only read 1 and I don't remember what it was called or anyone's names. all I know is some servant girl bonded with a queen dragon and people kept insisting queens couldn't fly and she took multiple baths a day just because she could and yeah Idk. it was pretty boring.

I need more books to add to my reading list when I get done what I have so far.

Bonus points if they're already available on the web archive, but not necessary.

[2lim3rz]

Just one time I'd really like reading my favorite book series without tearing up a d crying

[boltlightning]

year of the dragon round up

you may or may not have heard that i spent this blessed lunar year of the dragon reading many dragon books. here i am rating them based on how cool and relevant the dragons are and nothing else. they are listed in the order i read them here.

NOTE: year of the dragon ends on jan. 25, 2025. so if you have any other recommendations...let me know 👀

the earthsea cycle by ursula le guin — these dragons have left an indelible mark on my soul. i adore that they are super intelligent and have their own customs, but they still act like animals with animal instincts. orm embar you will always be famous to me. ∞/10

seraphina by rachel hartman — love em. lots of good discussion of what it means to be human and what it means to be draconic. the sequel gets WEIRD about their lore but i liked the rest of the worldbuilding enough to politely ignore that. 8/10

fourth wing by rebecca yarros — the dragons are regrettably cool but the logic around them is not particularly sound. they don't act like dragons; they don't have the wants or needs that supposedly wild animals would. their classification is awful and bad. but i like that they give their riders powers. 4/10 but really they get a 0/10 for compelling me to finish this book and a -2/10 for starting a wave of romantasy books with poorly considered dragons.

eragon by christopher paolini — i adore saphira. i don't remember what the rest of the books teach us about dragons and i won't be rereading them anytime soon, but i love saphira sm, and i love that despite dragons being a recognized part of life, they still have some magical mystique to them. 7/10

temeraire by naomi novik — you all don't need to hear me talk about this series more. gold standard for lite fantasy dragons. tied intimately to the themes of the story. lots of variation and biological consideration. as a dragonet temeraire hisses like a cat when he gets caught in a hammock and bats at swinging lanterns. what more can you ask for? 10/10

dragonfall by RL lam — i loved the lore and religion. dragon parts as relics is such a cool idea. that said we didn't have a lot of time with the dragons in True Dragon Form but i will look forward to that in the sequel. 9/10

the aurelian cycle by rosaria munda — these books are like if fourth wing was good. LOVE the idea of these dragons, i wish they were explored more in depth, both from a biological view and an emotional, thematic view. they could've been replaced by horses and it wouldn't have changed much. but i like them and they're cute. 6/10

the farseer trilogy by robin hobb — look. when i first read these books i didn't know they even had magic, let alone dragons, and they function so differently from dragons in all fantasy that i don't even know how to rate them. it's such a surprise i don't want to give more than that away. i haven't read the sequel series that actually deal with dragons more in-depth, so i'll give them a go read these books/10

(and yes i know the rest of the realm of the elderlings books have more dragons, i just haven't read them yet. the rating is a command for you all as much as for me)

a natural history of dragons by marie brennan — love the biologist-centrist view of this books. they are animals and they are treated like animals and that's very refreshing and fun in its own way. i wish i liked the book more so i felt compelled read the sequels to see the other variations. solid 7/10 for the dragons tho

tooth and claw by jo walton — this entire book is a heavy-handed metaphor, and while i had trouble visualizing the dragons, their biology is inherent to the heavy-handed metaphor and pretty fuckin cool. there's gross eyeball stuff. they wear hats. 8/10 for that alone

harper hall trilogy by anne maccaffrey — i haven't read the rest of pern but a friend told me how the dragons in the series came about and honestly...love it. wish i could make myself read more of these books. 7/10

to shape a dragon's breath by moniquill blackgoose — love to see feathers and spikes. there was a surprising amount of chemistry (legitimate science not metaphorical) involved with their magic and i like that they're not just for warfare. but it had the same issues as the aurelian cycle, where they are not characters and contribute very little to the emotional journeys of the humans. but their breath is very cool! 8/10

the bone ships by rj barker — not only are the ships made of dragon bone cool, but the dragons are also cool. and importantly they are as gross as they are mysterious. the sopping wet sailors get a 9/10 and the arakeesians also get a 9/10

DNF LIST

heartstone by elle katharine white — genuinely really enjoyed the dragons and their variations as presented here. this book is regrettably determined to get in the way of its own interesting ideas for the sake of being a pride and prejudice retelling. however i will give the dragons a 6/10 for being present and cool despite this

when the moon hatched by sarah a. parker — i did not even get to the part of the story where the dragons appeared. regrettable. NO SHOW/10

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

a song of ice and fire by george r. r. martin — i read these books 10 years ago before i was dragonpilled. i remember liking the themes and drama of dany's dragons, and what it takes to feed/train them. HOWEVER: i can't bring myself to watch house of the dragon. while i am supremely jealous that this series gets a high-budget dragon show and not temeraire (peter jackson PLEASE buy the rights again there's an audience for this shit!!!!) glad that there is a dragon show that has gotten so popular, it bothers me that they're wyverns, not dragons. this is the dumbest thing to be pedantic about in this series and i know that. nonetheless: 5/10 very thematic but not particularly cool. sorry.

the book of dragons, an anthology by johnathan strahan — lots of variety here (obviously) and the graphic design fucks. i'm still working my way through it, but it's impossible to rank these all anyway, so i'll give it a GRAPHIC DESIGN IS MY PASSION/10. in particular i love the brooke bolander piece and think about it all the time <3