Dragon's Kin: Dragonriders of Pern, Book 16

While keeping the reader on pins and needles throughout the entire book, Dragon's Kin shows the reader some insights into the lives of the folk who support the most important group on PERN, the dragonriders. One would not expect miners of coal to be as important as the dragonriders themselves .... till you read this book. It shows the reader why the dragons would be useless without the miners to back them up. It also gives great insight into how important the smaller, ugly creatures related to the dragos are, who the miners need to help them in the mines. The book also gives great illustrations of not only what the actual jobs of the Harpers are on PERN, but also how they can spring from any and all crafts on the planet, just as the dragonriders do.

Written by Anne McCaffrey and her son Todd McCaffrey, Dragon's Kin is set sixteen turns (years) before the third pass of the Red Star and with it the dreaded "Thread" that destroys anything living. It is the story of Kinden, Nuella, Zenor and two watch-whers (kin to dragons and fire lizards). They have to learn how to raise and train the watch-wher to help in the mines. All the while a group of greedy, resentful miners are cutting corners. When this comes to be known and an explosion accurs, the watch-wher has to save the day.I liked the book. It is well written. I felt that the characters were believeable and I wanted to find out what happens to them next.

A very exciting and thrilling story of three people who although having suffered great loss, gained and gave all those around them hope, love, and a new lease on life, while discovering new abilities in a person and a creature given short-shrift, much as we do to people and animals with a disability. A great read, wonderfully done!

#1 The book:This book is not about he Dragons , but about there kin the Watch-Weyrs. Written by Tod McCaffrey with the assistance of Anne McCaffrey it is a fine example of the series(sorry having trouble not giving away the book :) ). It takes place in a small mining village on the planet of PERN. Will you will just have to trust me , because I will not give away as a great a story as this.#2 The series:Will if you haven't read the series then there are a few things you should know about it. The amount of violence in the series is extremely low and only what is necessary to keep the plot moving forward in the direction that it is supposed to go. The cussing (yes there is cussing) is all a made up language and extremely soft-core as far as such things go. Like "Shards of the first egg" would be their version of something to say when the worst is happening. All the Dragons are on the side of good , even if there riders are a little confused on the matter. So no man eating dragons in this series.Well worth reading the entire set. This is so far one of the best in the set that has come out.

I am not going to be able to forget this one for a long time¡!¡! I have had started this book as a paper back a few years ago and I never got the chance to finish it. Also this is the first time I have ever read a book by Anne and Todd!!! I am very satisfied with this one instead and I can't wait to read some more from Todd!!!!

I've been so wanting to visit Perm again.You have filled in a lovely part of the history of Perm.I enjoyed it very much and as soon as I can I would buy your Perm books to join your mother's on my book shelf.Thanks again

Totally disappointed in this book. I haven't even been able to finish it, I lost interest by page 15. I was hoping for something akin to Anne's writing, but this isn't it. Sorry I wasted my money.

I really enjoyed the novel! The new trilogy (Dragon's Kin, Dragon's Fire, and Dragon Harper) are a great addition to the Pern world in my opinion. Dragon's Kin is probably my favorite of the three because you finally learn about watch-whers. Although it kind of makes you wonder what happened to the watch-whers in the 9th Pass because they do not seem to have the exact same abilities as these ones (although there is a suggestion in future novels that the watch-whers in this 3rd pass time end up turned into dragons, so the 9th pass watch-whers are probably a "de-evolved version" or something.) Either way, I found the novel very fun to read and I think most Pern fans would enjoy it.

Not up to Anne McCaffrery's usual standard, probably because it was co-written with her son who doesn't appear to have the same imagination and flair.

i loved the early Pern books but have been going off of them increasingly since the series came to its natural conclusion back in 1991 with 'All the Weyrs of Pern', this book however regains some of the atmosphere i liked so much in the early books and while still not a patch on those early novels is one of those released since 2000.

Very good read.

Excellent part of Dragon's stories

As good a story as all the rest. I was wondering how long it would be before the watchweyrs had a story of their own.

its a good book in the series

I have read the dragon books since a teenagers. I really enjoy the fresh ideas and direction this is taking. Pern is a wonderful world that I just love escaping into. The mother and son partnership in the writing team just enhances the depth and vision of Pern.

Another good addition to the Pern timeline; you'll read if read others and won't be disappointed. If you haven't read any Pern, find the recommended reading sequence and you'll get a lot more form the 15 or so book.

great story in the pern story line

Another good one from Pern, interesting to find out more about the watch-were that we first heard about with Lessa

I love all the stories about the planet Pern, its' people and the wonderful telepathic dragons, this book tells about another of their special creatures and is well worth reading.

as always the story really pulls you in and makes the book hard to put down. It was nice to go back in time and catch up with old friends

Great adventure and terrific detail filled the blanks about other times on Pern get all the books to appreciate the sories

Anne McCaffrey's Dragon series is a classic. She has a well deserved excellent reputation.

I received the book in excellent condition.