Dragonsong: Harper Hall Trilogy, Volume 1

Grandma tells a story

What did you like best about Dragonsong: Harper Hall Trilogy, Volume 1? What did you like least?

I love this story and have read it dozens of times, so when I saw the audio book I thought why not. Well the story is still great, if you can stay awake for it. This is certainly not the book to listen to in the morning during traffic, you'll fall asleep and crash. The narrator is so SLOW and languid in her tone of voice. It is like listening to an old grandma tell a story with the intention of putting you asleep. It such a disappointment since the story is so vibrate and full of life. A better narrator would make this a wonderful tale. But as it was only my love of the story from when I was a little girl, that got me through the book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Menolly is of course my favorite. She is strong and spirited and full of life. She struggles with things that anyone can related to. And reading it as a somewhat rebellious teen years ago, she was my ideal.

How could the performance have been better?

This really needs to be done with another narrator. The poems in the beginning of each chapter are read without life. The sentences are read so slowly as to be painful. If you have never read the book I can imagine loosing interest before the end of the first chapter simply because of the narrative style.

Do you think Dragonsong: Harper Hall Trilogy, Volume 1 needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I think this needs to be re-recorded and it would be magnificent. It is such a super story. It just needs a more lively narration.

Any additional comments?

Please please re-do this as a brilliance audio. I would even pay for it again so long as there is a new narrator.

18 of 18 people found this review helpful

One of my favorites

"Dragonsong" and it's sequel "Dragonsinger" are my favorite Pern books and I have faithfully devoured every Pern novel, novella and short story published. I was so excited when I found these in audiobook format and revisiting my 'old friends' was simply wonderful. The only reason I did not give this selection five of five stars was that the narration was merely 'ok'. Several of the pronunciations of names and places, as well as the odd sentence or two, were awkward and pulled the listener out of the flow of the story. Nothing too bad, but noticeable all the same.

28 of 29 people found this review helpful

Warning: author's works are completely addictive!

This was the first Pern book I had ever read. I was overjoyed to find the audio to this & other Anne McCaffery works. Now if only there were such a thing as real Fire Lizards to impress!

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Love the book, dislike the narrator

Why oh why did they find such an awful narrator for my favorite series by Anne McCaffery? The Harper Hall trilogy has been my favorite since I was a teen. I waited for so long to hear it in audio, and was really disappointed.

The reader is plodding, too old for the characters and is not good at changing her voice to suit characters. She makes a wonderful series boring.

My only hope is that somehow, someday, due to Anne McCaffery's popularity will cause all of her books to get new narrators. They deserve them.

25 of 27 people found this review helpful

wonderful book

I read this book years ago and enjoyed it so much
Now I listened to it -- it was just as great the second time. the wonderful world Pern is visited
-- great story

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

It is a good story and a quick listen.

This is a wonderful book! It unfolds in a fast paced, but natural style. While you have to believe in dragons to make this book work, Anne doesn't force you through a series of too convenient coincidences. She has plotted a story that just unfolds and sweeps you along with it. While Menolly has her share of misfortunes and struggles, nothing is too dark, and it comes to a happy ending. It is a good story and a quick listen.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Lots of fun

This is a prime example of a type of science fiction that I loved as a young adult. It's technically science fiction, but is for all practical purposes fantasy. While ostensibly about people on a faraway planet far in the future, it has much to say about Western culture and norms at the time it was written. The main character is a girl living in a sexist, pre-industrial society with a fairly rigid social system. She has great musical talent, but on Pern, women do not become harpers, the musicians who, while providing entertainment, are also responsible for transmitting the history and culture of their people. The heroine must overcome the prejudices of her family, as well as her own fear of failure, in order to do what she was born to do--make music.

Happily, the concept of girls not being free to follow their hearts' callings feels dated and rather silly. Fortunately, the Harper Hall trilogy is good enough to overcome this. I'm lucky to have been raised on stories such as this, so that by the time I became an adult, my sense of opportunity seemed limitless. Many girls are not as fortunate as I have been, and I hope that stories such as this help to ease their roads and broaden their dreams.

13 of 15 people found this review helpful

A good listen for those familiar to Pern

This is one of my favorite stories, which I have read many times. It's nice to listen to it again. I do have to say I'm not fond of the narrator. Her voice is clear, expressive and has a pleasant tone but... I do not find her an appropriate narrator for this story. Some of words are mis pronounced and occasionally she reads with a southern accent. And i also find she can be over dramatic. It doesn't fit Pern. I'm sure she would be excellent in other stories.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

An enjoyable listen. Just what I was looking for.

I have been an Anne McCaffrey fan for many years and have read and re-read her books, including the Harper Hall trilogy, many times. I purchased this as a way to read an old friend while driving on a long trip. I wasn't disappointed, the story is well read and brings the characters to life.

My one caveat is the pronounciation of some of the characters names. Although the names may be being pronounced exactly as the author intended, they differ so much from how I had always said them that I find myself going "who?" when each character is mentioned for the first time. This distraction is the only drawback.

If this is your first time reading this book, this will not be a problem for you.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great Introduction to Anne McCaffrey

My daughter loved the Dragonsinger series. She's not quite old enough to read the rest of the series, but this was a great introduction to a wonderful fantasy author.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful