I'm too old for these slap-you-kiss-you-romances. I just... well, the fact that I wanted to bonk their heads (preferable against each others, because there could be nothing equally stubborn hard) whenever they turned that one-upmanship fest they had going with the world towards winning over the other, instead of pooling knowledge and resources, influenced my rating a lot. It's is a personal thing (I just want people to love each other and be tender), and a big caveat if you are looking at those stars, so heads up there. I'm very aware that their stubborn pride is exactly in character, and a failing that brings them many problems as well as the quality that makes them succeed. It just made me want to yeet the book and howl.

 

Also, the fact that I can quote Lessa's worry about coming back as "He'll shake me again". NOT FUNNY. No one would take that lightly if you put "punch" there.

 

Now, that out of my chest... Dragons: yeap, good, exactly why I'm here. Timetravel: huh... that was not expected, and suddenly this is a lot more interestingly unique (even if much was a foregone conclusion).

 

I'm likely to read the next install of this series because I can see the problems coming with that other queen, but I want to forget a bit these two logger-heads before that.

I initially got this book to participate in The Dead Writers Society genre challenge for July. I unfortunately got a PDF version of this book through my library (did not realize it until it came out of hold for me) and then just bought it. Unfortunately, that all happened after the month passed for the read. I have to keep in mind when I am doing group reads that I should see if there is a version of the book available for free or for a price that is lower than $9.99.

I have never heard of this series before, it seems like a lot of readers have though. A lot of people have told me that this series gets better and that some of the books should be skipped. I think the hardest part for me was not the names of every person, or that a planet exists where dragons roam. It was the fact that the two main characters were not that likable, things got left out of the book all over the place, but referenced later (which is weird to me) and we have one of the most mind boggling things that go on towards the end of the book for the story to end the way that it does.

The book starts off with F'lar and other Dragonmen going off on a "Search". Now I can't really tell what that Search was about, it doesn't get referred to later in the book after he meets Lessa and she is back living with him and training on how to be a Werywoman.

Lessa is pig-headed and doesn't listen, though she thinks that she knows all, and even admits numerous times that she doesn't know all, but think that F'lar should just tell her things so then she won't go around getting in trouble all of the time. Sigh. I don't know. I wanted a book with a strong hero and heroine and I kind of disliked both of them.

It doesn't help that later on in the book it's told in a kind of throw away kind of way that F'lar often forces Lessa and if only she understood he would be gentle? Yeah. I get that this book was written in 1968, but come on. There was way too much of that going on.

I don't like the fact that due to Lessa becoming joined to the Queen dragon, that meant that whatever male dragon rider who mated with her Queen therefore became her mate. I think I rolled my eyes a million times. I would have liked it better if she had any say in things. It felt like she didn't. F'lar liked her being jealous, and apparently it's okay in this society for him to sleep with whomever he wants, but not her? I don't know. I refuse to go back and look up those parts in the book.

There were so many characters that I just won't name here. I actually felt the worst for a now dead woman married to the character Fax. It's shown that Lessa could have eased this woman and maybe she wouldn't have died, but she doesn't pay any repercussions for what she did not do and for her also forcing F'lar's hand in order to kill someone.

The writing was okay. I thought the dialogue a lot of the times was terrible though. I think it's because the author would introduce a new subject and the way it would be explained was that was something he/she discussed months ago and I would scratch my head and say huh. For example, I had no idea that F'lar and Lessa were even having sex or sharing the same bed quarters. We go from their dragons mating, him kissing her, to F'lar worrying about "Threads" and then a throw away line about how she's never a bed and I went huh.

The flow was not great at all. The big threat is the "Threads" and not really anyone else because this group has dragons. Why anyone would screw with them baffled me. So the whole book is waiting for the "Threads" to happen, and when they did, the author didn't really describe them or what they did or would do that was terrible. Or at least I didn't get it. Maybe I am not that smart. It just didn't make any sense to me.

The world building I had some problems with too. Who the heck would forget that a natural or whatever this thing was disaster comes every couple of years (turns) in this world. It was dumb for anyone to think it wasn't going to happen and even when it did people were still sitting around blaming each other. The time travel aspect made absolutely no sense at all. I had a lot of problems with it and just kept screeching paradoxes to myself while reading.

The ending I think was supposed to end on an uplifting note, but instead it made me think of The Sopranos when the show just abruptly faded to black.

For the first time in a few years I actually received some books for Christmas. My eldest daughter was on the case and managed to pick up a handful of books that we'll both enjoy (she definitely had ulterior motives). Four of the five books I received came from her, and the last came from my mother.

 

Going to have to pick up the remaining two Throne of Glass books too, just so I can complete the series.  Plenty of reading time over the next few weeks while we enjoy our summer break.  But before I get to them, need to finish off the last 2 books for my PopSugar 2015 reading challenge the Silmarillion by Tolkien (A book you've started but never finished) and Storm Dancer by Jay Kristoff (A book by an author with your initials).  Time to get reading!

The Uncrowned King is a repurchase as I wanted the kindle version. Sagara/West writes enormous books which is awesome.

 

Amulet 5 and 6 are freebies from Amazon today.

 

Dragonsdawn- by Anne Mccaffrey. I've read the first three in the series (the whole numbering of this series hurts my head) so I wanted to read more in the series

 

The Black Gryphon- Been wanting to read Lackey for awhile but never figured out where to start until now.

This series is what got me seriously reading Fantasy so long ago. I actually read the second trilogy first (The HarperHall of Pern), then this one, the original three. Having them in one volume is just convenient.

 

Though I'm told the Pern books are being called science fiction now because they take place on another planet, they will always be Fantasy to me. Because, Dragons!

 

McCaffrey is one of the masters of world building. On Pern, dragons are born in egg clutches and when they hatch, children are waiting to form a psychic connection with them. The dragon chooses its companion for life, and cannot live if the rider dies. What they did before the humans came is never explained.

 

Periodically, another planet moves close to Pern and searing 'threads' that burn through anything fall into the skied of Pern. The dragons breathe fre to destroy the threads, accompanied by riders who carry flamethrowers. Accidents and injuries do happen, so the dragonriders are revered as a protection force (most of the time anyway).

 

McCaffrey writes characters that stay with you and plot lines that deal with human interaction as well as human/dragon communications. If you like Fantasy and haven't read this series, get it! At least the first two trilogies. After that the quality varies.