Revisiting Pern, the great McCaffrey reread: The Harper Hall trilogy

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Tehani and Marisol bonded over Pern (and Doctor Who) at a science fiction convention, decided that it was time for a reread of the series, and really, they should blog about that. They are reading in Anne McCaffrey’s preferred way, which is basically publication order.  

gl49of4nx3uzug5weu1fPern Series – The Harper Hall Trilogy (Dragonsong, Dragonsinger and Dragondrums)

M: First, I think I should point out this is the only time Tehani and I decided to read out of publication order, because this trilogy has so much to do with the White Dragon and the landscape there-in. It just seemed right. And having read it in this order, I stand by this.

T: To be fair, Wikipedia says Anne recommended reading the Harper Hall books before The White Dragon, so I’m comfortable with our decision!

Harper HallM: Out of all the books, this set is my absolute favourite (can’t wait to see if that still stands come the end of this).

T: They really are very very good. And the first true time (at least in Dragonsong and Dragonsinger) that we have a female protagonist, which is nice.  And I recently remembered that I did a university assignment to design a unit of work around the first book! It definitely made an impact…

menolly2M: Menolly is a fifteen year old girl who is a musical prodigy. She writes catchy songs and is a deeply compassionate, kind person. Continue reading “Revisiting Pern, the great McCaffrey reread: The Harper Hall trilogy” →

Revisiting Pern, the great McCaffrey reread: DRAGONQUEST

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Tehani and Marisol bonded over Pern (and Doctor Who) at a science fiction convention, decided that it was time for a reread of the series, and really, they should blog about that. They are reading in Anne McCaffrey’s preferred way, which is basically publication order.  

gl49of4nx3uzug5weu1fPern Series – Book 2 Dragonquest

T: Another story starting out from the male point-of-view. Dearie me, here we go again… Oh, but it’s Robinton, and you know what? I’m okay with that. I love the Masterharper 🙂

I really like the way McCaffrey gives us a quick recap in the shape of Robinton’s musings here – in fact, I might suggest that people planning to read the series for the first time might like to skip the very problematic Dragonflight and perhaps start here instead? Although this book is not itself problem-free…

51l2fhN2Q7LIn this one, the rampant misogyny is toned down a fair bit, giving over to the occasional off-putting line or two. Robinton’s thoughts in the first pages, for example, include this gem: “Larad, Lord of Telgar, was giving his half-sister, Famira, to Asgenar, Lord of Lemos Hold.” Giving? Is she a plant, to be given? And when the numbweed is being made, a significant event in the Weyr, it is of course “the women” boiling it and doing the awful work to make the salve. Little lines like “This was a matter for men to settle” grate on the modern reader, but again, in the context of the year of publication (1971), and in relation to some of the horrors of Dragonflight, I could deal with it.

Less easy to handle are some other aspects. Lessa’s subservience to F’lar irritated me. She stands up to him, she holds her own in a righteous argument, then suddenly caves, pressing up against him with: “I’ve no right to say such things to you,” Lessa was whispering in soft remorse. WHY? You certainly DO have the right, Lessa! You were making him see the truth of a situation! Continue reading “Revisiting Pern, the great McCaffrey reread: DRAGONQUEST” →

Revisiting Pern, the great McCaffrey reread: DRAGONFLIGHT

~ Tehani ~ 4 Comments

Tehani and Marisol bonded over Pern (and Doctor Who) at a science fiction convention, decided that it was time for a reread of the series, and really, they should blog about that. They are reading in Anne McCaffrey’s preferred way, which is basically publication order.

gl49of4nx3uzug5weu1fPern Series – Book 1 Dragonflight

M: As a quick aside, can I say how surprised I was that this book had a prologue, and how incredibly info-dumpy it was? I’ve read Dragonflight probably a dozen times since I was 10, and I never once remembered the prologue, which seems to be a point in the “Prologues are useless or should be a chapter” box I always see espoused.

T: Yes! And the prologue sets it up as explicitly science fictional – do you suppose that’s the point, given how many readers think of it as fantasy because dragons? What’s even more interesting though is how that prologue CHANGED! I started reading an early edition of Dragonflight and then switched to a new (omnibus) version and the whole thing was different, reflecting the evolving world-building that had grown (and superceded) the early details as the series went on.

Genre Bender

51M6GYpJt8LM: Pern always gets marked as a fantasy, but I’ve always read it as a sci-fi with fantasy elements due to technology loss, and the way this story goes, I felt this was reinforced the whole time. It’s clear through sense of loss, not only with the dragons and the decay in weyrs/life/etc, but in the struggle to fight Thread on the ground with what they had on hand.

And considering this book was written in 1968, I’m amazed how well it stands the genre test of time. Still a great story.

DragonflightT: It certainly holds up in terms of genre, handwavy time-travel aside (I read it as fantasy for several volumes, even though I originally first read The White Dragon…), but the same can’t be said for gender – some of the gender stereotypes are, hmmm, problematic, to say the least! Continue reading “Revisiting Pern, the great McCaffrey reread: DRAGONFLIGHT” →

Coming soon: Revisiting Pern, the great McCaffrey reread

~ Tehani ~ 7 Comments

A few weeks ago, at Conflux, I happened into a conversation with the delightful Marisol and we discovered a mutual passion for Pern (among other things, like Doctor Who — Marisol is good people… 🙂 ). When she mentioned she really thought it was time she reread the series, I realised that although McCaffrey and Pern were definitely formative in my early years of reading speculative fiction (I talk about that in the SF Signal post on “The books that made us love science fiction and fantasy”), I hadn’t revisited the world for a really long time. So I suggested that not only should we both reread the books, but we totally needed to blog about that!

In the weeks ahead, Marisol and I will be chatting about our discoveries in the world of Pern as we work our way through the series once more. We’ve chosen to read only the novels (although we may have to take a look at one or two of the short stories, just because…), only the books written by Anne herself, and we’re going basically in publication order (as opposed to internal chronological order), as Anne preferred them to be read.

First up will be Dragonflight — join us so that you, like me, can be stunned by the fact this book was published almost fifty years ago…

 

New bits and bobs

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Striking Fire cover-1Author of the new short story collection Striking Fire, Dirk Flinthart, has been diving into his archives and posting some free fiction on his website. Highly recommended if you would like a taste of his work!

Dirk has also been posting some musings on the dimensions of storytelling:

Part 1: Telling Stories

Part 2: The Nifty Idea

Part 3: Make It Bleed

He says some pretty interesting things about writing and stories, and I recommend the posts highly!

ITH CoverAlso around the traps, Matthew Morrison has reviewed Insert Title Here, saying: “There are some amazing, even must read, short stories within.”

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to review our books — it’s hugely appreciated!

Looking for the perfect gift? Cranky Ladies in hardcover!

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Just in time for the forthcoming gift-giving season (if that’s your thing), we have now released the hardcover of Cranky Ladies of History for general purchase! Gorgeous art by Kathleen Jennings, complemented by the stunning design from Amanda Rainey, encloses the very excellent selection of astonishing stories. The book has received rave reviews and is being read by people all over the world. 9780992553456

Whether it is for yourself or for someone special (or, you know, that fond acquaintance you buy gifts for… or your child’s teacher… or the delivery guy you like…), the hardcover book makes a fantastic present.

Available to order from the FableCroft website, your favourite bookstore, or grab it at Amazon, Booktopia, Book Depository and more. (Paperback also available)

We recommend shopping around, because prices vary at different sites and unfortunately we can’t control that. US folks might be best at Amazon, but for Aussies, our shop may be cheapest for you!

The ebook is also available from your preferred etailer.

News and reviews

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Editor Tehani is in very excellent company in the SF Mind Meld asking the question “The books that made us love science fiction and fantasy” (and is super excited to be part of her first Mind Meld!).

ITH CoverStephanie Gunn reviewed Insert Title Here for the Australian Women Writers Challenge 2015 (not all the contributors are women, or Australian, but we appreciate her including it!). Stephanie says she “loved the darkness of this anthology … and all of the stories were worthwhile reading” and “…this is an extremely strong collection.  The stories are varied, and I suspect that most readers will find at least one or two which speaks to them.  Highly recommended.” Cheers Stephanie!

 

Ju at The Conversationalist comprehensively reviewed Cranky Ladies of History and notes: This book is both a pleasure to read, and gives you some small insight into the historical significance of several women, mostly those who are forgotten by modern history. It’s not that the book is educational exactly, but it does make you want to learn more, to study these women and their lives.

Speaking of Cranky Ladies, we currently have a Goodreads giveaway open internationally for two copies! Even if you already have one, they make excellent gifts, and Christmas is coming…

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Cranky Ladies of History by Tehani Wessely

Cranky Ladies of History

by Tehani Wessely

Giveaway ends November 15, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/widget/154926

A different Stephanie reviewed Phantazein a while ago, over at the No Award blog, noting that it “expands beyond Western fairytales” and is a “fun read”. Thanks Steph!

Delighted to see stories from Phantazein in Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year Recommended Reading list, including Faith Mudge’s “Twelve” and Suzanne J Willis’s “Rag and Bone Heart”. Several other Aussies and plenty of great company on that list too!

Focus2014CoverSMAngela Slatter is interviewing the contributors to Focus 2014 over at her blog. Check them out here.

Alex Pierce includes some FableCroft news in her latest Aurora Australis column at Tor.com.

Focus 2014: highlights of Australian short fiction

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It’s that time of year again, and the new Focus anthology is now out in the world! Just AU$3.99 in ebook (mostly US$2.99 hopefully!) on all platforms, including Kindle, Kobo, and everything else at Smashwords (which will filter through to iBooks, hopefully soon).

Focus2014CoverSMABOUT THE BOOK:

Looking for a taste of the very best science fiction, fantasy and horror short stories around? The third of an annual series, Focus 2014 collects an elite selection of work which has received acclaim via national and international Awards commendations.

Focus 2014: highlights of Australian short fiction features work by…
Alan Baxter – Shadows of the Lonely Dead
Deborah Biancotti – The Executioner Goes Home
Thoraiya Dyer – Wine, Women and Stars”
Dirk Flinthart – Vanilla
Faith Mudge – Signature
Charlotte Nash – The Ghost of Hephaestus
Tansy Rayner Roberts – Cookie Cutter Superhero
Angela Slatter – St Dymphna’s School for Poison Girls
Cat Sparks – The Seventh Relic
Kaaron Warren – Death’s Door Café
Sean Williams – The Legend Trap
Kathleen Jennings – Illustrations and cover art

Focus2012-Cover2To celebrate, we’ve made the very first volume of the series, Focus 2012: highlights of Australian short fiction, absolutely FREE for a very limited time! Featuring award-winning and commended work from 2012, the book is an excellent taster of the very best Australian speculative fiction. Get it free on Kindle / Kobo / Smashwords or search at your preferred etailer…

Focus2013-CoverFocus 2013, the second volume, is also now reduced to US$2.99 on all platforms. (Kindle / Kobo / Smashwords)