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Dragon's Time
by
Anne McCaffrey, Todd McCaffrey
It is part of the Dragonriders of Pern series and is a fantasy, science fiction in a hardcover edition that was published by Del Rey Books on June 28, 2011 and has 352 pages.
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Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Dragonseye, The Skies of Pern, Dragonflight, The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall, The Masterharper of Pern, A Gift of Dragons, Dragonheart, Dragon's Fire, Dragonsblood, Dragon's Kin, Dragon Harper
It’s 508 AL (after landing) and takes place after Dragonsblood in the Dragonriders of Pern fantasy science fition series.
My Take
This isn’t even a real story! Instead, McCaffrey has created a mish-mash of flitting back-and-forth from time to time. Do not even try to make sense of what is going on as McCaffrey simply rehashes events from previous books in this particular timeline. It’s like he picked up individual happenings, tossed them in the air and that’s how they were arranged in the book. No, no, wait. I know what happened. McCaffrey found a box of discarded ideas from the previous books and he figured, “hey, why waste all these words. I’ll throw them together and give it a title!”
One of the whines the characters have is about “how tired everyone is”. Well, in previous books they realized it was because those people were timing it. I’m getting tired of the whining. They figured it out before. Could we please move on!?? Then there’s Shaneese and Fiona. Oh yeah, and Lorana. They all seem to be sharing T’mar and Kindan, I think. And if Fiona is sleeping with T’mar and Kindan why is it always Kindan who’s in her bed? It’s almost the end of the story before T’mar ever shows up there. It’s like McCaffrey wants to be a bit salacious but hasn’t quite got the guts. What was the purpose of Jeila’s pregnancy and loss? Filler? Why is anyone bothering to go to the Dawn Sisters? And “Mrreows”?? Please. I do not remember this word being used for the tigers in previous stories. And what’s the point of the very end with F’jian and Temir?
Then there’s the whole bit with making the “Eastern Weyr” self-sufficient with silver production, mining, fishing, etc. Without working with any of the Smithcrafthalls. Has Todd read any of his mother’s books? Maybe I need to re-read them…?
McCaffrey’s got people sharing dragons and timing it like nobody’s business. It’s so contrary to what his mother, Anne, has established previously.
There is nothing to tie them together making this a new story. The best that happens is in the last few pages when suddenly everything “becomes clear” as to Telgar Weyr being lost between, Fiona’s crying out to “Can’t lose the babies”, and where F’jian kept disappearing to. What a load of crap!
My take on Todd McCaffrey as an author is that his writing style is somewhere between “See Dick. See Dick run” and a sixth grade reader. There is no depth to his characters. No emotional involvement that makes a reader care what happens to them. No connection from event to event. I still don’t understand why Javissa had to come to the Weyr. What was the deal with Fiona and Jirana going off to play pottery??
From now on, if I see Todd’s name on a book, I’m boycotting it. I’m incredibly unimpressed with his mother at this point as well. In the “Letters to Readers”, Anne McCaffrey talks as though she and Todd are collaborating. I think the only collaboration is she puts her name on anything he writes to ensure that the book sells.
The Story
Why bother? Just read the previous books and you’ll have a good idea what’s happening.
We have to go through another take of Lorana meeting Tenniz before she buries him.
The Cover and Title
The cover is of a mountainous area with a golden dragon flying towards us.
The title is, I guess, appropriate as McCaffrey has the dragons flying back and forth through time.
