NOTE: I listened to an abridged version of the book that cut out seemingly several side characters, all subplots, and a lot of exposition and character development, so I just won’t be discussing those aspects of the book.

I’m a self-proclaimed dragon book enthusiast, which makes it slightly ridiculous that I hadn't read a single Pern book before now. And there are SO MANY! I will probably be reading more.

Anyway, the worldbuilding is absolutely fascinating. I understand now why people tend to insist that these books are sci-fi (though they definitely do have fantasy elements as well). I can see a LOT of this world in dragon books I read as a child, including the telepathic communication and the randomly gendered element of things.

Speaking of that, this book was extremely patriarchal. I hope later books in the series are less so. 

Lessa and F’lar were definitely interesting characters, minus the slightly predatory relationship dynamic. I’ll be interested to see where Lessa’s ambition and scheming nature leads things in future installments.