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Anne McCaffrey
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Dragonsong (Volume One of the Harper Hall Trilogy) Mass Market Paperback – May 1, 1977

by Anne McCaffrey (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 6,625 ratings
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Anne McCaffrey's best-selling Harper Hall Trilogy  is a wonder-filled classic of the  imagination. Dragonsong, the first volume in the  series, is the enchanting tale of how Menolly of  Half Circle Hold became Pern's first female Harper,  and rediscovered the legendary fire lizards who  helped to save her world.
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Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 3
    Harper Hall of Pern
  2. Print length
    176 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Spectra Bantam
  5. Publication date
    May 1, 1977
  6. Grade level
    7 - 9
  7. Dimensions
    4.25 x 0.5 x 6.75 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0553258524
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0553258523
  10. Lexile measure
    960L
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Anne McCaffrey's best-selling Harper Hall Trilogy is a wonder-filled classic of the imagination. Dragonsong, the first volume in the series, is the enchanting tale of how Menolly of Half Circle Hold became Pern's first female Harper, and rediscovered the legendary fire lizards who helped to save her world.

From the Inside Flap

ey's best-selling Harper Hall Trilogy is a wonder-filled classic of the imagination. Dragonsong, the first volume in the series, is the enchanting tale of how Menolly of Half Circle Hold became Pern's first female Harper, and rediscovered the legendary fire lizards who helped to save her world.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Spectra Bantam (May 1, 1977)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0553258524
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0553258523
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 960L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 0.5 x 6.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 6,625 ratings

About the author

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Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey

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Anne McCaffrey, the Hugo Award-winning author of the bestselling Dragonriders of Pern® novels, is one of science fiction's most popular authors. With Elizabeth Ann Scarborough she co-authored Changelings and Maelstrom, Books One and Two of The Twins of Petaybee. McCaffrey lives in a house of her own design, Dragonhold-Underhill, in County Wicklow, Ireland.

Photo by Anna Creech from Ellensburg, WA (Anne McCaffrey signing. Cropped prior to upload.) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
6,625 global ratings
Terrific Story -- great trilogy
5 Stars
Terrific Story -- great trilogy
This is a review of the paperback version.As absolutely delightful as the current cover of the first book of the trilogy is, the story is too!Menolly is a wonderful character, and the first two books focus on her story, part of which is represented in the joyful cover of the first book, w/Menolly delighting in her 9 beautiful fire lizards!Book 2 continues her story, and Book 3 departs a bit and focuses on PiemurEverytime I see the cover, I smile, remembering the joy in the story within.
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Top reviews from the United States

electricdreamz
5.0 out of 5 stars Who doesn’t love Pern?
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2024
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Anne McCaffrey is a wonderful story teller. If you love dragons, this-and all her books- are worth reading. I found this book to be best read after Dragonquest
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Mstv01
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Indepth Story of Menolly! Great Read - but you should read the 1st 3 in the Dragonriders series to fully appreciate!
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2015
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Alert! This is not a completely separate book or series from The Draqonriders of Pern series. You should actually read at least the first 3 in the original series and then it doesn't matter as much in reading any out of order.

There's background information for Menolly there that explains a lot about her character here. This book is a deeper look at who and why she is the person described in the 3rd book, The White Dragon, but to start with this may be confusing.

That said, I loved this deeper look into Menolly, as one of the more interesting and important characters in the series. Here's the blurb from the book:
Menolly, youngest daughter of Masterfisher Yanus, Sea Holder of Half-Circle Seahold, is a gifted musician who is punished for using her musical talents after Petiron, the Harper who encouraged her talent, dies. Finding life at the fishing community unbearable because her father forbids her to express her musical talents, she runs away from home. Menolly takes refuge from falling Thread in a cave—and discovers hatching fire-lizards, the precursors to the great dragons which are Pern's primary defense against Thread. Isolated from civilization in her cave and forced to care for nine baby fire lizards that she Impressed, Menolly quickly learns to be resourceful and independent. Freed from the restrictive role forced upon her by her family, she indulges her passion for music.

Menolly is out foraging one day when she is caught in Threadfall. She is rescued by a dragonrider, T'gran, and his brown dragon, Branth, who take her to Benden Weyr. As she is adjusting to the liberal lifestyle of the Weyrfolk, she is discovered by Masterharper Robinton, the Masterharper of Pern, who has been searching frantically for Petiron's mystery apprentice. He discovers that she is the writer of two songs that Petiron (his father) sent him and offers her a place at the Harper Hall as his apprentice.
4 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars I Love This Book
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2024
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I believe that this series is the best that Anne McCaffrey had written. I have gone back now 4 times to read the whole series. Number 2 coming up
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Returning to an old friend...
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2016
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I read this many years ago when I first discovered this wonderful series. Menolly's story is one of my favorites, and I was thrilled to return to it on the Kindle edition. While I still love the story, it does suffer in the face of some of the novels that came after but are set chronologically before the events of this work.

My favorite is Robinton's story of his rise to Masterharper. What we learn there contradicts so much of what we see here.

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!

As Robinton's father, Petiron would know that his son would welcome Menolly to Harper Hall with open arms. Sure, father and son had their issues, but by the end of the novel they come to a sort of truce. Why would he write to Robinton and indicate that there would be a problem about a candidate AND NOT INCLUDE THE MOST VITAL PIECE OF INFORMATION! Petiron was too smart for that sort of nonsense! He was a Master of the hall!

END SPOILERS!!!!!!

Still. This is a wonderful coming of age fantasy, and I greatly recommend it and the following novels. True, I feel the Pern series starts to go off track in some of the later novels, but that seems to be inevitable, especially when an author bounces around the timeline. At least Mrs. McCaffrey didn't seem to devolve into the cash grab Lackey's Valdemar series has become.
2 people found this helpful
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Rebekha
5.0 out of 5 stars Oh how I wish I had a dragonet
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2024
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One of my favorite series of all time, one that I will joyfully now share with my granddaughter, who also loves music beauty and magic!
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Jbag37
5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best Pern novels
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2024
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This is the first Pern novels that I read. I was so impressed that I was first at the door of the Library, and I she ked out every Pern novel they had. AIhave returned to the Pern novels and read the complete list every year or so. Now I am 87 years old and looking forward to the next time I can once more read all of the Pern novels and all of the other McCaffery novels. Join me and you will not be disappointed.
3 people found this helpful
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Thad
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books ever written.
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2023
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Poignant and an absolute pleasure to read, this book is for adults as well as children. moments of happy tears through the last third or so of the book, it is an incredibly well written work of art.
2 people found this helpful
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M. Alm
5.0 out of 5 stars A book to read, again and again....
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2016
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DragonSong is the first book of Anne McCaffrey's "Harper Hall Trilogy." It contributed to Ms. McCaffrey being awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award, established in 1988, which honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature. (The other books cited were The Ship Who Sang, Dragonflight, Dragonquest, The White Dragon, as well as the other two books in the Harper Hall Trilogy, Dragonsinger and Dragondrums.)

Menolly, youngest daughter of the Seaholder of Half Circle Seahold, is a brilliant musician. More importantly, her songs are the kind of songs which are easy to sing, and memorable. The exact kind of thing Pern needs in a time of changes. Unfortunately, her parents do not believe that girls can be Harpers and do their best to discourage her, especially since the old Harper of the Hold, Petiron, has died, and there is no one to keep her in line.

After an injury which is allowed to heal badly to prevent her from playing the guitar, Menolly decides to run away -- an action thought suicidal in a time when Thread is falling, for Thread devours anything organic. Yet Menolly finds a cave, and with rare determination, makes a life for herself, aided by nine firelizards, the miniature cousins of Pern's great dragons.

Then one day, the Threads begin to fall, and Menolly is too far from her cave to reach shelter...

Although some aspects of the book are moderately predictable, Dragonsong is a book about differences in a conservative culture. Differences which could spell life, or death, for the one who is different. And yet, it makes clear that being conservative, being careful, is not necessarily bad. Likewise, change has its place. And Menolly is a mistress of change, for herself, her firelizards, and perhaps for all Pern.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Joanne
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in Canada on January 16, 2022
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Very enjoyable
One person found this helpful
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Bev
5.0 out of 5 stars Read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 21, 2024
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Story
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Mandalame
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly vivid
Reviewed in Australia on October 10, 2023
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Another wonderfully described word of people, dragons and traditions. A rich array of stories and descriptions of the interesting world that is Pern. I was thoroughly engaged from beginning to end.
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Issy048
5.0 out of 5 stars Wirklich erstaunlich / Truly amazing
Reviewed in Germany on June 25, 2014
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Ich habe das Buch "Dragonsong" vor Jahren schon gekauft. Schon damals zog es mich in seinen Bann und ist eines meiner Lieblingsbücher von Anne McCaffrey.
Menolly, die Hauptfigur, wird nach dem Tod des Harfners Petiron das Musizieren, ihre größte Leidenschaft, verboten. Auch das Schreiben von Musik ist ihr untersagt. Eine schwere Verletzung der Hand wird falsch heilen lassen, sodass Menolly Probleme hat, die Hand richtig zu nutzen. All dies treibt Menolly dazu, ihre Heimat zu verlassen und ohne Schutz den gefährlichen Fäden ausgesetzt zu sein, die in regelmäßigen Abständen vom Himmel fallen.
Durch Anne McCaffrey's einfache, aber tiefgehende Beschreibung der Umstände kann man mit Menolly mitfühlen - fühlen, wie es sich anfühlt, derart ausgeschlossen zu sein von den anderen, so unverstanden. Selbst heute noch, nach vielfachem Lesen der Bücher, kommen mir an immer denselben Stellen Tränen in die Augen. Ich habe selten ein derart ergreifendes Buch gelesen - und ich habe viele Bücher gelesen (inzwischen dürften es mehrere tausend gewesen sein).

_________________________

I bought "Dragonsong" some years ago. Back then it really pulled me into it's Story and it is one of my favorite Books by Anne McCaffrey.
After the death of harper Petiron, Menolly is forbidden to make Music, her one and only Passion. Writing Music is also forbidden to her. After a deep cut in her Hand had healed wrong and Menolly had problems with using her Hand, she ran away from her home hold and live holdless, exposed to Thread, which is periodically raining down on Pern.
Through Anne McCaffreys, simple, but emphatic descritpion of Menollys life, one can feel with her - feel, what it feels like to not be part of most of hold life, not being fully understood and one's abilities not being appreicated by others. Even today, after having read the book very often, tears fill my eyes and exact the same Events. I rarely have read such a moving book - and I did read a lot of books so far (going into the thousands I'd guess).
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2023
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Great story
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