I had some reservations about this book at the beginning because it was written by
Todd McCaffrey,
Anne McCaffrey's son, and his mom's shoes are big (huge!) shoes to fill. It was co-written by Anne so, I guess that means that she acted as his editor and made sure that what he wrote did not deviate from her vision of Pern. Ok, part of the problem (for me) was that he is Anne's son and I was thinking, "How can this youngster write? He's just a kid!" And then I realized that he couldn't possibly be as young as I thought he was since Anne is in her 90's, which means, Todd would, at the very least, be in his 50's. No youngster there.
On to the review ...
The literary world of Pern (as written by Anne McCaffrey) is most popularly known for three things: dragons, dragonriders, and harpers. In later books we are introduced to the dragons' smaller cousins, the fire-lizards, from whom they were derived centuries ago. In this book, Todd and Anne McCaffrey bring our attention to the much maligned and oft ignored cousin of the dragons, the watch-wher.
The story centers on Kindan, the youngest son of a watch-wher bonded miner. When a mining accident takes away his family, Kindan is apprenticed by the resident harper, Master Zist. Since watch-whers are necessary for the operation of a mine, and since Kindan was the son of a watch-wher bonded, the camp leader, Natalon, assumed that Kindan knew how to care for watch-whers. By this assumption Kindan was given a new job (and position) in the camp. He had to win a watch-wher egg from the only remaining queen watch-wher on the planet, and raise it. From that moment on, he stopped being a harper apprentice.
In this book we also meet Nuella, the blind daughter of Natalon whom her family has kept secret from the camp. Together with Zenor, they help Kindan in taking care of Zisk the new green watch-wher.
Comparing Todd to Anne:
As I think back on the previous Pern novels by Anne McCaffrey I discovered something --- Todd is a very emotional writer. His input in this novel is apparent. His collaboration with his mom is wonderful. This is not to say that Anne's work was dry. On the contrary, there have been many a tearjerker moment in quite a few of her books. The most heart-wrenching for me was All The Weyrs of Pern, when Masterharper Robinton and Aivas passed away.
This book not only transports you to Pern but also allows you to BE the characters --- to feel what they feel.
- When Kindan sang at the wedding of Sis, I felt his exultation.
- When Kindan looked up to watch Dask flying over the wedding party with a basket of glows in his paws to spotlight the bride, then the groom, as they walked down the aisle, I was just as filled with wonder as he was.
- When Kindan and Dask were desperately digging to get the trapped miners out, I was there with them, getting grimy and ichor splattered, desperately hoping that my father, brother, best friend, and neighbors are alright.
- and so on ...
I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Dragon's Fire. Todd's contribution to this Anne McCaffrey novel works.
The literary world of Pern (as written by Anne Rice) 
