Dragonsblood is Todd McCaffrey's first solo flight into the skies of Pern, and he has done an exemplary job. Having flown the skies of Pern with Anne McCaffrey many times, albeit awhile back, this was an excellent re-introduction to the world of dragons, and dragonriders. I highly recommend this book to any fantasy reader, and definitely too all Pernese fans, its well deserving of a spot on my keeper shelf.

I was enthralled with the entire book, but reading about the original settlers and how and why the dragons and watch-weyrs were engineered from the native firelizards was simply icing on the cake.

Set in the Second Interval, not only does it deal with the very real threat of an unknown illness causing the dragons to become disoriented and either wink out on their own or sometimes with their riders still aboard, but is also deals with the history of the arrival of the settlers on Pern.

When Lorana, a young but multi talented young lady is found after surviving a serious storm at sea, she is horrified to discover some of the dragons at Benden Weyr are coughing. Everyone knows dragons never get sick, but it's spreading and dragons are dying and worst of all, thread is due to fall soon once the orbit of the red star comes within range of the planet Pern again.

Fearing she may have unknowingly carried the illness to the weyr and attempting to flee, Lorana impresses a hatching queen. This feat is met with much joy but some opposition as well, esp with the death of the eldest Benden Queen only a short time earlier. The most unusual fact is that it is rare, if ever, for a person to impress more than once in their lifetimes, and Lorana had already impressed 2 fire lizards that were lost in the same storm she survived.

It's with Lorana's immense skill as a healer and beastmaster (veterinarian basically) she is pitted against not only the threat of the mysterious illness, but also the damage to dragons and riders who are hurt fighting thread.

With the help of her friends at Benden Weyr, and Kinden her newly found mate, she races against time to discover the secrets the ancient settlers have sent from their time to aid her in her search. Even though it will be too late for her beloved Queen, she must fight through her anguish because she simply can not allow the other dragons to die.

I'm afraid this review does little to even scratch the surface of this complex and highly enthralling tale, but if you are new to the world of Pern, you will be headed for more stories of the valiant dragons and their riders, and if you are already a fan of Pern, then this will add another dimension to an already marvelous world.

Past and present meet in this novel of Pern's distant past. Long before Lessa made her historic leap between to the past, Lorana, another Weyrwoman, sought aid from Pern's founding mothers who were long dead in her era. To stop a plague, much like the one detailed in Moreta, Lorana looks to the past where Windblossom, one of the women who helped colonize the planet, faced much the same thing.

In both eras, the planet faces extinction, not so much from Thread as from disease. It is often stated in the series that it is difficult for one person to live in two times, it's hard on the reader as well. With each chapter, one must reorient themselves to what the setting is.

However, the junior McCaffrey does show promise. Though Lorana lacks the vibrance of Lessa or Moreta, and any book without the MasterHarper seems deficient, there is much reason to hope that a series that had begun to sag has found new life.