As a longtime reader of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders series, I will admit to being disappointed by this book. I thought this novel lacked the depth of the books that came before it. Anne was able to create characters that I loved and felt were three dimensional. It had potential but never really lifted off the ground for me.

I will say as a side note - I think that readers who have never read Pern series and younger readers might enjoy it.

Two plot points cross here: a stolen dragon queen's egg is returned by a mysterious person, and Piemur, former harper, explores what his life looks like after he is no longer able to sing as well as he did as a child. Readers of Anne McCaffrey's The White Dragon will not be surprised by the first plot point, and readers of Dragondrums (but no books that reach further into Pern's timeline) will enjoy learning more about Piemur. The book might also serve as an introduction to Pern for a very casual reader who is more focused on plot and absorbing a few moral lessons than on worldbuilding.
That said, I have read other Pern fanfiction that feels more like Anne McCaffrey's original work than this did. Many of the small cultural touches - drinking klah, nuances of life on the planet - are missing, and one hopes, for Gigi McCaffrey's sake, that she was asked to edit those out to make the book more acceptable to a teen audience. Characters from earlier books, especially Menolly and Piemur (or, as they call each other, "Lolly" and "Pie") do not ring true.
Candidly, if you were a fan of Anne McCaffrey's Pern books, especially the older ones, give this rehash of The White Dragon a miss.

For those of us who have been waiting to get more Piemur, specifically the details of what he was doing on the Southern continent under the Master Harper's orders, he is here. This book follows the events in Dragon Drums and interweaves with those of The White Dragon to flesh out what the harpers were doing to help with the tense situation of the Oldtimers deciding to withdraw from the Weyrs and the theft of the queen egg from Benden. It also lets us get a glimpse of Piemur's home in Crom and his kin there. We see Toric of Southern Hold, observe some of the interactions between the Oldtimers, and spend time with dragonriders N'ton and J'hon. Of course, any story with Piemur couldn't be told without his friends Menolly and Sebell, as well as his fire-lizard Farli and his runnerbeast Stupid.

This story fills a gap within the awesome Chronicles of Pern, bridging the continents, the Harper Hall and Weyrs, and even the Holds. It does an excellent job of underscoring what Master Robinton is always telling his proteges - that they are all dependent on each other and what affects one, affects them all. It is rewarding to see Piemur work to rise above his disappointment over losing his beautiful young singing voice and use the other skills he has to help those he cares about.

While fans will recognize the characters and what is at stake in the conflicts, newcomers may be a bit frustrated by their lack of prior knowledge. The action begins in medias res and takes off from there, so they will have to do some reading between the lines to make sense of things. The characters are compelling enough that it probably won't put off many new readers, but they may want to go back to the original series and then revisit this again later to enjoy it even more.

I have to admit that I have not read any of Anne McCaffrey's books concerning the dragonriders of Pern. It is one of my goals in retirement to read the series. While her daughter lays out some of the history at the beginning of the book I found myself feeling like I needed to go back to the beginning of the series to fully follow and appreciate the story that she told. Also, this book focused on an non-dragonrider which was a little disappointing.

My recommendation is that if you have not read the Dragonriders of Pern series to do that first before reading this book. It will give you a fuller appreciation for the world of Pern and the history preceding this novel.

I received a free Kindle copy of Dragon's Code by Gigi McCaffrey courtesy of Net Galley  and Random House, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I wanted to get a sense of the series. This is the first book by Gigi McCaffrey that I have read.

This is another example of the child trying to ride on the coattails of a successful parent. The story is awful. It doesn't tie into the rest of the Pern world well. It seems and reads like a money making venture to take advantage of Anne McCaffrey's popularity and talent.

Sad to see her legacy being tarnished by her children.

Gigi McCaffrey carries the torch of dragon life on Pern with all of the McCaffrey genes in full measure. I never felt like I was reading a new author and that is a serious accomplishment given the many books in the Dragon riders series. I was thoroughly entertained and enjoyed the book completely.

Not a bad telling, not badly written, but it lacks something of the essence of the original. This is mostly evident because the story takes place during the original cannon with characters already established by the original author, and not just background characters, but those who were covered in depth. Unfortunately, this is disorienting when familiar characters don't feel 'right' or the same..

While I have of course heard of the "Dragons of Pern" series, I had never read them or knew all that much about the premise or world building. Gigi McCaffrey does well to pay homage to her mother's legacy as well as write a new tale set in this fantastical world. Having read a great deal of adult and YA fantasy, I was unfortunately less than enthralled by Dragon's Code. The writing style did not appeal to me as a reader. I was not truly able to engage with the protagonist nor fully with the story in part since I was new to the world-building and have missed so much history. Overall, fans of the series and new readers who love dragons are sure to find this book appealing.

2.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews

Summary:
Piemur, mischievous young harper boy, is growing up. His voice has broken, and he doesn’t sing anymore, spending all his time mapping and spying for the Masterharper, and wondering what to do with his life.

Review:
I’m glad I went back to Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight before reading this, because Gigi McCaffrey’s book takes place not long afterward, and references many of Dragonflight’s key moments. It’s essentially a gap-filling book in the series – filling in backstory and side characters from other books. And for those who loved Piemur in other books, here he is at the center of this one.

I know that Todd McCaffrey took the helm at Pern from his mother Anne first collaboratively, then alone. I haven’t read those books – I just haven’t had much luck with authorial dynasties. But I saw this on Netflix and thought I’d try it out.

I think it’s probably fair to say that the younger McCaffrey uses the book in part as a cathartic way to examine her mother’s death. Not to worry; it’s not the focus of the book, but there’s what seems to me a fairly obvious stand-in; it’s one of the better parts of the book. The rest however, is fairly hum-drum, and suggests that the younger McCaffrey just isn’t the writer her mother was. The prose itself is decent, but the plotting is thin – far too much turns on unlikely coincidences and other tricks that a more experienced author might pull off (or avoid), where a neophyte does not.

If you insist on owning the complete Pern, by all means pick this up; it fills in some detail. But the kind of magic that McCaffrey mere brought to bear is sadly missing.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lovers of the young adult trilogy, Harper Hall will enjoy this new perspective from Piemur. This book should be read after reading the original trilogy by Anne McCaffrey to fully appreciate this tale. When I read the original trilogy, I loved the first two books, Dragonsong and Dragonsinger. When it suddenly shifted to Piemur in Dragondrums, I was severely disappointed. Primarily because I didn't care for Piemur and didn't want to read about a "boy". There were so many stories already with boy leads. As a strong willed twelve year old girl three decades ago, this was a letdown. Returning as an adult to see another perspective from Piemur I am nostalgic for my younger more innocent years.

Piemur is in a tough situation where he is no longer a child yet not quite an adult. Anne McCaffrey's daughter, Gigi gives a slight different flavour than her mother. Gigi's writing is less emotional. As in, Piemur comes across as just a mini adult. Whilst Anne wrote him with child like antics and behaviours to be expected from a pre-teen young adult. It is hard to exactly point my finger on the subtle difference, but as an avid fan of the Original Ms. McCaffrey, there is a little bit of spark that is missing for me.

Still, this story brings back good memories of the original series. It takes us back to a time where there is turmoil and hard feelings. Feelings of resentment that are shown from the losing side. I enjoyed seeing from the other side because it is not so black and white when it comes to the Old timers. They were lauded as saviours and then within a book or two, they became horrid villains. That extreme always troubled me when I read this as a child. I couldn't understand how someone could go so bad and become so evil so quickly. Seeing the old timer's side from Gigi McCaffrey's perspective helped balance the story and made me a bit sad for these people. These people who sacrificed so much to do what they do best. And they are displaced in a modern time where the norm is drastically different then what they are accustomed to living.

Is this a commentary for those who grew up in a different time and now have to adjust to a world they can no longer understand? Where their value is no longer appreciated and instead, they previous benefits are ripped away and labeled as arrogant privilege? And yet not all the Oldtimers have difficult integrating into this new world. Those who can accept change and adopt new practices are thriving. But at what cost? Because now they are considered traitors. It is a quandary which Ms. McCaffrey does a nice job of setting up and letting the reader decide which side they fall on. I think as a teenager, I would have been outraged and sided with the current dragon rider regime. In my older jaded age, I can understand and empathize with the old timers. This is a tough call as there are no winners in this scenario, only losers. It will be interesting to see if Ms. McCaffrey will continue to revisit the old world and reminisce with beloved characters or if she will start fresh and begin where her mother left off. I had hoped for the later and I'm still optimistic we might learn what happens to this world after thread was finally defeated.

Dragon's Code is a new book by Gigi McCaffrey set in the Perniverse around the same time as the events in The White Dragon .

I grew up with Pern and revisited the canonical books many (many many) times over the years. They're well written, genuinely beloved books. The creator's love and stewardship of Pern and denizens over the decades are clear to anyone who reads any of her work. They've inspired literal generations of fans and would-be authors to try their own wings. Not least, they give their readers a glimpse of a society which can and does work for the most part to the good of the many.

This entry felt like another visit with a lifelong friend and I really feel that the author has done a great job of honoring the original works whilst adding something personal. When reading this book I felt like the author did a good job of channeling her mother's voice without being slavish or mimicking.

This book, as the original series, are family friendly fantasies which bridge fantasy with science fiction. This one is appropriate for all readers and is entertaining and enjoyable.

Four stars.

There is an adage used by writing coaches that says, "Show me, don't tell me." This applies completely to Dragon's Code. I felt like I was told a lot of things in this book, but none of it transported me into the story. The long pages of text, unbroken by dialogue or action, left me wanting to skip pages. When beloved characters appeared, I waited for the magic to happen, but it never did.

I'm not ready to give up on this author, mainly because I love the PERN world so much and hope that the skills of the writer will improve in her capacity to bring these characters and the PERN world to life.

I've been a fan of the Dragonriders of Pern for almost thirty years and was thrilled to see that Anne's daughter Gigi had taken the reins. Coincidentally, I had just reread Dragonsdawn when I was approved for a galley of Dragon's Code. Perhaps it was that Pern was so fresh in my mind that I just couldn't find my balance in this story. I've always liked Piemur but this just didn't feel like him or his voice. There were also language anachronisms that I found distracting (chap, cripes, slam on the brakes) and a few dragon names which are actual words in their own right and therefore somehow not fitting these majestic creatures (Mirth, Seventh). Lastly, being intimately familiar with this story and timeline, I knew what was going to happen so there was nothing compelling me forward. I really wanted to enjoy spending more time in Pern with a fresh story and am sad to say this fell short for me.

First of all, I've read many of the Pern books several times. And this one did connect with me; I was able to return to Pern and enjoy new details of one of my favorite places. I thought the author successfully struck a similar tone to her mother's writing, which allowed me to really relax into the world. The story focuses on Piemur and takes place during the events of the White Dragon. I don't really think of it as a stand-alone book. It is a real Pern book, though, and very entertaining if you remember White Dragon.

I couldn't put in down... until about 5/6 of the way through, when it suddenly started having characters lecture about not pursing revenge and forgiving. For pages and pages. I started skimming at the end. Also, the author made a serious error - she consolidates Fort Hold and the Harper Hall, which were separate entities in the original books. In Dragon's Code, she makes Silvinia headwoman of Fort Hold, and the students take meals in the same hall as Lord Groghe. Since Harper Hall was a loud academy with tons of running, yelling kids, I thought this was a strange error.

I'll continue to watch and follow this author and her Pern. I hope she grows in confidence and continues to write!

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy.

Dragon's Code: Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern
by Gigi McCaffrey
By fortunes providence I spent my birthday reading through this book. What a gift. When we Lost our Dear Anne McCaffrey in November of 2011, I mourned the loss of these stories. Although I read and enjoyed Todd McCaffrey's time in the sandbox, I also mourned the loss of his books when he stopped publishing. Anne McCaffrey has always been my favorite since I was in seventh grade and was given Dragonsinger to try. I have and own all her books in all her series, and her books have gotten me through some pretty hard times. I told Anne McCaffrey her importance in my life and her children have heard in my reviews over the years how this continues with these stories.
Gigi, has followed in her mother's footsteps bring a book not only from Pern but from that first series I read The Harper Hall series to life again. You find life lessons in this book like you do in all her mothers books. You find acceptance, love, compassion and remarkable understanding of the human spirit. Like her mother the reader will walk away with bits of advice, and profound compassion. I can see some differences between her style of writing and her mothers, but like Todd I don't mind the differences. The characters are still genuine to the original characters and the action sequence of events do not change the stories, just open up doors never seen before. This story like Masterharper of Pern Looks into more of the characters background that we knew before. It fleshes out part of the story we did not know and brings things to the forefront that we as fans and avid readers wish we had always know. Three cheers, Please keep writing, and tell Todd to get back in the sand box. Oh and if Rose is still willing, please help her get a chance to play. YOur mother was phenomenal, and her books made up the character of my life, not only by inspiriting me, but by teaching me. I have missed her voice most of all. Thank you .

This new tale is set in Anne McCaffrey’s world of the Dragonriders of Pern, but is written by her daughter, Gigi McCaffrey. While there are of course dragonriders in the story, this one centers on Piemur, a young journeyman Harper, who grew out of his ability to sing and so must make a new career for himself. Piemur has been on undercover assignment spending time around the Oldtimers. They are the dragonriders and their dragons who came forward in time to help teach the current people how to fight and survive the deadly and devastating Thread. During a period of no Threadfall, those skills had passed out of memory for the present generation.

The Oldtimers have been struggling to accommodate new ways, but too much has changed for some so they left to form a separate group in exile. A few of the riders do something so heinous, it could rock the foundations of the whole world for people and dragons alike. This tale is told mostly from Piemur’s viewpoint of how that plotline plays out as well as his own struggle to find his place in the world where he can feel joy again. He reminds me a bit of a Frodo type of character in that this feels like a bildungsroman for Piemur. His journey is emotional as well as physical.

I feel a bit conflicted by this take in that I enjoyed the original series very much which focused on the Dragonriders. While there are glimpses of them including Jaxon and Ruth, Piemur feels more as if he should still be a secondary character and not the main protagonist. The pacing is a bit slow making the story drag in places with quotidian details. The craft of the writing is fine, so fans of the series will have to decide whether this new edition will be something they would enjoy. Piemur and some of the characters in this book appear in The Harper Hall Trilogy:Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums.

I believe this is Gigi’s first book in her mother’s world. Which having read many of interviews with her brother Todd, can be a daunting task since her mother’s world is so beloved by so many people around the world. I felt, in the long run, she did a great job. The book started off pretty weak it was almost like she was scared to dive into Pern and make it her own. As the book progressed you could tell she was becoming more confident making Pern her own.
For the most part, I loved this book. The main character, Piemur, was one of my favorite characters I the last few books Anne McCaffrey wrote. In her books, he was more of a side note that only came out sparingly but I was always left with wanting more from him. When my wife showed me this book on NetGalley I became instantly excited. I’m talking five-year-old walking into a candy store excited! I was finally going to get more Piemur.

I mentioned before that I felt that Gigi started off the book weak. The reason for that was that in the beginning, she spent a lot of time explaining the world and the characters. Which normally would not be a bad thing but with the following this series has and the time period her book takes place in, this level of detail was not needed. This book is a rewrite of one of Anne’s books but from the POV of Piemur so all the characters are known commodities. Another reason I felt it was weak was the fact that for the first few chapters it felt like I was reading a book written for a young teenager. You could tell that you were in the Pern world but could also tell that it was not Anne or even Todd McCaffrey writing this book.

The last thing that brought my enjoyment of the book down was the fact that Gigi would switch time periods from one paragraph to the next with no warning. This lead to a lot of confusion as I had to keep going back to see if I missed something. As a Grunt, I like things organized and well planned out. If this is you as well then you are going to need to be prepared to be flustered by this book at times.

Excellent extension of the Pern saga. McCaffrey's daughter obviously has her talent - Gigi is perhaps a better writer than her brother Todd.

I absolutely love the genre of this book, and yet have somehow completely failed to hear about the massive series that revolves around Pern. (Dear Wallet, you and I have quite a few books to purchase when I am done writing this...sorry, not sorry). With all of that said, I am absolutely enamored with the way this author puts words on paper. This novel was absolutely incredible and had this dragon-loving-bookworm on Cloud 9 from page 1. From the characters to the setting to the plot, I was hooked. Definitely going to be keeping watch for more from this author and this series!

Dragon’s Code takes readers back to Pern, years after the events in Dragonflight. Piemur, a harper in training, is assigned to monitor the hold and dragon weyr on the Southern continent and report back to the masterharper. Some of the dragonriders brought forward in time settled in Southern weyr, but are finding it difficult to adjust to their new circumstances. When their dragons start to sicken, the dragons and riders of Southern begin to blame the other weyrs for their misfortune. Dangerous animosities rise that pit dragon against dragon and rider against rider, as one unspeakable act has the weyrs on the brink of war. What can one journeyman harper do to avert such disaster? This is a story that takes place in those awkward years somewhere between childhood and adulthood and follows Piemur as he tries to find his way thought them while preventing disaster on his home planet.

Dragon’s Code begins with an introductory chapter, that will serve both old readers and new. It concisely relates the history of Pern and the events that took place before we join Piemur in Southern. If you are like me, and didn’t quite grasp from Dragonflight that the first colonizers of Pern arrived on spaceships and created the dragons through advanced genetic techniques, the introduction clearly lays out those missing details. Old fans of the series will not be bothered by the introduction, as it is quite short, and provides a useful reminder of the backdrop against which Piemur’s story is set.
While I enjoyed seeing familiar characters like F’lar and Lessa (and of course Ramoth), I thought those were the highlights of the story. While the writing is clear and suitable for young adult readers, I thought this novel lacked the depth of previous works in the series. While the political machinations were complex, I felt the characters were rather flat. I thought the cleverest part of the writing was the organization, so that sometimes future events were placed before they occurred in the timeline of the main characters. This nicely echoed the ability of the Dragons to jump between times.
Overall, this book wasn’t up to the standard of Dragonflight, but younger readers or readers new to Pern might enjoy it.