The Masterharper of Pern
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4.2 • 11 Ratings
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “At last, Robinton has his own book . . . McCaffrey adds another absorbing chapter to dragon lore. . . . Readers will revel in this compelling character study of a fascinating personality.”—Romantic Times
In a time when the deadly scourge Thread has not fallen on Pern for centuries—and many dare to hope that Thread will never fall again—a boy is born to Harper Hall. A musical prodigy who has the ability to speak with the dragons, he is called Robinton, and he is destined to be one of the most famous and beloved leaders Pern has ever known.
It is a perilous time for the harpers who sing of Thread—they are being turned away from holds, derided, attacked, even beaten. In this climate of unrest, Robinton will come into his own. But despite the tragedies that beset his own life, he continues to believe in music and in the dragons, and he is determined to save his beloved Pern from itself—so that the dragonriders can be ready to fly against the dreaded Thread when at last it returns . . .
“The story takes wing . . . when McCaffrey’s beloved dragons roar and their riders soar upon the beasts’ mighty backs. . . . Fans of Pern will likely be enthralled.”—Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The mostly melancholy early life of Robinton anchors this quiet installment of Pernese history, set just before the opening of Dragonflight, the first novel in the Dragonriders of Pern series. Mortally threatened every few centuries by Thread, which destroys each living thing it touches, Pern is defended by its fetching telepathic dragons and their dashing Weyrmen riders. Between Threadfalls, wandering teacher-bards trained at Harper Hall maintain the traditions that bind holders, craftsmen and dragonriders together. As the novels opens, hundreds of years after the last Threadfall, Robinton is born to Mastercomposer Petiron and his wife, Mastersinger Merelan. Petiron unreasonably resents and rejects his musically gifted son. Despite his father's ill will, however, Robinton rises to Mastership, his successes accompanied by a growing crescendo of animosity directed at dragonriders throughout Pern by the villainous Fax, who eventually arranges the murder of Robinton's Weyrleader friend F'lon. Fans of Pern will likely be enthralled by McCaffrey's detailing of life at Harper Hall, but, as always throughout this popular series, the story takes wing primarily when McCaffrey's beloved dragons roar and their riders soar upon the beasts' mighty backs. Even given his talents and his ability to speak with dragons, McCaffrey's Robinton is, ultimately, only a baritone, while the dragonriders F'lon and his avenging son, F'lar, hero of most of the Pern novels, are the flamboyant tenors who have given voice to McCaffrey's most magical moments.
