Dragons of Dragonflight (spoiler warning)

[verdant]

I'm in the middle of reading Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight, and I must say that out of all the beings and characters brought up in the story, the dragons are my favorite. I absolutely love the idea of large, scaly, mysterious fire-breathing beasts! However, one rarely hears what they're thinking! Perhaps if we heard a little more from the dragons, it might offer a whole other viewpoint from which the story unfolded. Personally, I'd love to know what Mnementh, Canth, or Ramoth thought about the situation before and after the Threads hit Pern, or about F'lar becoming Weyrleader. It may have introduced new emotions, different information, or even just provided a source of entertainment! If anyone else has read this, what are your thoughts about the speaking roles of the dragons?

[YesNo]

Welcome, verdant! I haven't read the book, but I agree if the story has a dragon in it, the dragon might as well talk.

[Calidore]

I think you hit on it yourself, verdant. The dragons are mysterious to the humans from whose POV the story is told, and thus are kept that way to the reader as well for the same effect. Going inside the dragons' heads would damage the mystique.

Carol O'Connell treats her damaged heroine Kathy Mallory the same way--she's shown from the point of view of those around her or the omniscient narrator, but almost never directly through her own eyes.

[verdant]

I hadn't thought of it from that view. I do see how that works now! Thank you for showing me that.

[verdant]

One thing I've noticed in Dragonflight is that McCaffrey is very good at building up suspense and keeping the reader on the edge of their seat! She seems to be able to build up the scene just right, then suddenly release critical information. An example of this would be when Lessa and Ramoth accidentally jumped between times to Ruatha. Little hints were dropped that something was off about the place... Suddenly, Lessa realizes that she'd gone back in time! The sudden realization of this totally new concept is not only dropped upon Lessa, but upon the reader as well. Lessa's panicked reaction also further intensifies the scene, and things are suddenly moving at a very fast pace. McCaffrey uses this sort of technique again when Lessa revealed to F'lar that she could communicate with any dragon. F'lar had already dealing with the troublesome fact that the Threads had already fallen, and was so caught up with that that when Lessa told him what she could do his reaction was almost explosive. That seemed to be what made that particular scene so intense, and drew one into the story even further.
McCaffrey seems to have a special talent for suspense, seeing as almost every time she uses it it draws the reader into the story and holds their attention.

[bounty]

verdant, ive read a handful of the dragon riders of pern books and have enjoyed them all.

suspense being a common element in so much literature, itd be interesting to take a close look at its constituent elements. what a great dissertation topic! smiles...

I remember liking the pern books more for her imagination and the world she created. the hierarchy of dragons and the relationships between them and the riders, coupled with the challenges of pern, is fascinating.

[bounty]

now that I think about it verdant, while I like your suggestions, I kinda like the quiet, stoic nature of the dragons. it gives them a nobility I enjoy and which, I think, is supported by their brief exchanges with their riders.

in that regard, hearing their inner dialogs, or their communicating with each other, my views of them would change.

[verdant]

Since I've begun reading the books in the Dragonriders of Pern series, I've loved how well thought out the history of Pern is! You don't seem to get histories well thought out like that in many other high fantasy books. It's a great idea how she explained how humans arrived to Pern. Personally, I find that it makes the story a bit more interesting to know such a thing. The fact that the dragons were bred into what they were, instead of already being what we consider "dragons" was quite unique in my opinion. The way that the planets were aligned was also quite a good way to explain why the Threads fall! It's all quite in depth, and it all makes the story more interesting to read.

[bounty]

heck verdant, I don't know how authors who have peculiar circumstances in their novels can get away without telling the backstories...or somehow otherwise adding to the richness of the culture we as readers get to see. watership down is really good in this regard too and I agree, it makes the reading better...

[verdant]

I agree! It does add to the culture of the setting.
Perhaps those authors who get away without telling any kind of backstory are the ones whose worlds are a bit less.. interesting, maybe? Without that backstory, certain ways of life in those settings could be found meaningless and without purpose, thus taking away from the story.

[verdant]

I have found many of the characters in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series quite interesting and well made! I feel as though I personally know them after only a bit of reading. The characters' pros and cons are well balanced out. Look at Lessa, for instance. She is a good leader with a strong will, but also tends to snap at others and get irritated easily. I believe that it is this sort of balance that makes the character feel more real to the reader. After all, no human is entirely without flaws. A character without flaws, therefore, isn't very realistic at all.
The characters in this series are rather diverse in personality as well, adding to the reader's interest in the story. You've some more serious ones like F'lar, some mysterious ones like Lessa, some more light-hearted ones like F'nor, and many others.
Overall, I love the characters in the Dragonriders of Pern series, and find each to be well balanced and unique.