About

Harper Hall of Pern series is written by Anne McCaffrey.

Dragonsong book cover

Blurb

Every two hundred years or so, shimmering Threads fall from space, raining death and black ruin on Pern. The great dragons of Pern hurl themselves through the beleagured skies, flaming tongues of fire to destroy deadly Thread and save the Planet.

But it was not Threadfall that made young Menolly unhappy. It was her father who betrayed her ambition to be a Harper, who thwarted her love of music. Menolly had no choice but to run away.

When, suddenly, she came upon a group of fire lizards, wild and smaller relatives of the fire-breathing dragons, she let her music swirl around them and taught nine of them to sing.

Suddenly Menolly was no longer alone -- she was Mistress of Music and Ward of the dazzling fire dragons.

Review

It's been more than 6 years since I read the Dragonriders of Pern trilogy. I don't remember much of those three books, but at that time I wasn't interested in the Harper Hall series. Now, my reading tastes are almost opposite — I prefer lighthearted/low-stakes/slice-of-life fantasy over those that feature heavy themes and lean towards the darker side.

I was still hesitant to start this trilogy, especially when I checked the reviews for the first trilogy (wanted to see if that'd help me remember some details). Thankfully, the reviews for the Harper series were much more favorable and I thought I should at least give it a shot. So happy I did!

The first two books focus on Menolly, who just wants to learn and play music. She can't but help write new songs and would sing to any audience, even a bunch of fire-lizards (they are the best). She faces opposition from her family and then students from Harper Hall. But, she also gets plenty of support from her fellow artists and other kind-hearted people. Along the way, she makes friends and grows from a shy girl to a confident woman. It's a journey we've seen in plenty of fantasy books, and this was one of the best I've read.

The third book was a departure from the first two books, so much so that I feel it should've been a separate mini-series. Yes, the main protagonist (Piemur) is still a Harper Hall member and a close friend of Menolly. But there's hardly any music, I especially missed reading about Menolly and her fire-lizards performing. Also, similar to the first two books, the main character faces unwarranted hostility. Thankfully, the second-half was much better, even if it was an adventurous ride instead of fulfilling music.

Overall, I found the series a comfort read, despite the side-characters who made life difficult for others. I wish the books were longer too.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

What others are saying

From Laura's review on goodreads:

Intricatelly woven into a culture and lifestyle so different than ours, and yet so alike, Menolly's tale will point out both the best and worst in human nature. It will make you both rage and sigh, and will soften your heart with the gentle touch of the little dragon cousins: not one but lots of pesky, perky firelizards!

From Becky's review on goodreads:

The characters are enjoyable, Harper Hall is a favorite location of mine, everyone wants a firelizard after reading this story, and its a quick but excellent read. I think it says something that I have read this book over a dozen times, but still find myself longing to relive the events therein.