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i_read_whatSo we finally start Dragonquest proper. It's a bit different in terms of format than Dragonflight was: it has chapters, for one, instead of vaguely defined parts separated by song lyrics. We get a bit more variety in terms of point of view as well.
For example: this section starts with Robinton.
So we start with Robinton, the Masterharper of Pern as he's composing a ballad for the wedding of Lord Asgenar of Lemos Hold to one of Lord Larad's sisters. I remember that I liked Lord Larad last book, when he was one of the Lords to (understandably) challenge the Weyr, showed concern over his wife, and then ended up a sensible ally due to the threat of Thread.
I also remember Robinton being an annoying F'lar-sycophant.
The most interesting thing is how Robinton is writing his ballad: he's using smoothed moist sand in shallow trays.
Okay, this is a little ridiculous. I understand that due to the cave system, Northern Pern doesn't have a lot of trees and thus no easy source of lumber for paper. We've seen them use skins to write on, but have trouble preserving them, which implies that they don't know how to properly make parchment despite having skins already.
But I feel like there ought to be alternatives! Okay, I get that Robinton probably wants something he can erase, but you're telling me this entire rocky continent has nothing by way of slate and chalk? Those are rocks!
Anyway, Robinton proves himself pretty fucking creepy with this line: "He fancied the sand begged to be violated with words and notes, while he, Pern's repository and glib dispenser of any ballad, saga or ditty, was inarticulate."
I...are you imagining that you're trying to rape the sand? REALLY? I...don't even know how to respond to that except to say that I think I understand why you like F'lar so much. Jesus Christ.
So anyway, Robinton decided that for his ballad, he'd tell the story of Lessa's ride. He's having some trouble doing it justice. It's basically just a recap session, but I think most of us can sympathize with the creative process, and of having a great idea that just isn't coming out.
Robinton notices that there is only one watchman visible at Fort Hold, when there should be six. This is explained by the fact that it was planting season. But Robinton notes that last spring, Lord Groghe wouldn't have neglected those duties.
We're told that there is tension between Fort Hold and Fort Weyr, which has "growing agitation over the immense forest lands." Apparently T'ron and Mardra have been "less scrupulous" about checking to see that no burrows escaped to fall on the forests. Groghe on the other hand has been scrupulous in his ground crews.
And here begins the biggest disappointment of Dragonquest for me: the treatment of the "Oldtimers", specifically T'ron (who was T'ton, in Dragonflight. The name change is unexplained, but it's clearly meant to be the same man) and Mardra. If you recall, we spent an entire book dealing with the vain, petty, and downright horrible modern dragonriders, until Lessa went back in time. Then we met T'ton and Mardra, who were the first genuinely kind, warm and sympathetic dragonriders that we saw.
These were people who didn't hesitate to take care of a sick stranger. They were gentle and listening to Lessa, even when they didn't really believe her story. They enthusiastically came forward to help, even though Thread had just finished in their time, giving up friends, family, and a lifetime of peace. They comforted Lessa, when time travel was too much, and encouraged F'lar in his green leadership. They were, by far, the best people in that fucking book.
Well, I hope you enjoyed that while it lasted, because that's not the case in Dragonquest. Gone are the warm, kind, selfless people we saw before. Now, they're going to be, if anything, worse than the assholes of this time period. And there'll be no reason for the change.
Take this part for example: apparently T'ron and Mardra, people who have been fighting thread their ENTIRE LIVES. Who, again, came forward FOUR HUNDRED YEARS, to fight more thread. The people who know all the negative effects of thread by heart. SUDDENLY, they've decided to be "less scrupulous" about threadfall? Fucking really?!
Okay, anyway, Robinton has "suspicions" about Fort Weyr and Fort Hold, and considers his option. He considers a scolding song, but thinks that neither Groghe or Mardra and T'ron would listen.
Oh hey, in case you've wondered if the treatment of women will improve in this book, since they made other changes:
"Mardra had soured lately. She ought to have sense enough to retire gracefully to a chair and let men seek her favors if T'ron no longer attracted her."
Ugh, fuck you, Robinton. What the hell does Mardra's sexual availability have to do with anything?! Are you suggesting that Mardra would do her job better if she got laid? We're also told that T'ron is still sexually active, "to hear the Hold girls talk". And that he should restrain himself, because Lord Groghe "didn't take kindly to too many of his chattels bearing dragonseed."
Chattels. CHATTELS. As in FUCKING PROPERTY. Robinton, one of the people we're supposed to side with here, is calling women Lord Groghe's PROPERTY and indicating that he should have a say in who these women sleep with. I mean, I'm presuming these women are consenting to T'ron's advances, given the way that Robinton presents it. I feel like we'd hear otherwise if it were rape. But who fucking knows, with this book.
Robinton also considers telling F'lar, but realizes that that won't do much good as the Weyrs are autonomous. Robinton regrets how F'lar had been so eager to relinquish his leadership after Lessa had gone back between to bring the five lost Weyrs forward in time.
Is that what happened? I remember F'lar trying to resign his own command in favor of someone more experienced, but I don't remember F'lar in a position to command the entire force. Why would he be, when the Oldtimers have a lifetime of experience? But okay, given how much I hate F'lar, I suppose I'll give him credit for not wanting to be Lord Dictator of the Weyrs. It's one plus in his column.
Robinton decides to use his ballad to remind Lord Holders of their gratitude to the Weyr, and starts composing. We're told that he must have a "tender but intricate theme for Lessa. She's Legend already." I won't argue with you, Robinton. We are however told that Lessa is child-sized, which is news to me.
Dragonflight told us that Lessa is small and delicate, but I don't remember her being described as specifically childlike. It makes F'lar's treatment of her even worse though.
Robinton plans a "well-stated martial theme" for F'lar, who Robinton kind of sounds like he has a crush on: "with his keen amber eyes, his unconscious superiority, the intense energy of his lean fighter's frame." Oh, it's not unconscious, Robinton. But also "Could he, Robinton, rouse F'lar from his detachment? kind of sounds like Robinton wants to rouse something else...if you know what I mean. I...might be a little intrigued by a Robinton/F'lar ship if it means Lessa gets freed up for someone better.
Lytol gets mentioned, AND, we finally get a timeframe for his accident!!! He gets a sad note, well-sustained, and we learn his accident was fourteen or fifteen years ago.
Wait. WAIT. Supposedly, according to one of the People of Pern books, Lytol had daughters who caught Fax's eye. How the fuck did he end up with a wife and daughter in seven or eight years? Is Fax a fucking pedophile? Was there a retcon somewhere??? Does Anne McCaffrey just not keep track?
Oh, and we learn that Robinton once had a youthful ambition to be a dragonman, which explains so much. I admit, as recaps go, this is an interesting way to go about it. Though this is basically just the same ground as the Prelude.
We learn how Robinton preserves his scores: he etches them in sand and then fills it with clay to preserve it. He is interrupted, because of a premature Threadfall in Tillek.
-
We then join F'nor at Benden Weyr. We're told that he's been on Search, because there's a new clutch of eggs, including a golden egg, in Benden. We're told that Benden produced more dragons, and more queens, than the five Oldtimers' Weyrs.
You know, we're told later that Benden's bronzes also tend to be stronger and larger than the Oldtimer's, but this doesn't really make sense to me. If anything, it should be the reverse, given that Benden's dragons are inbred as fuck. They've gone multiple generations of having only one queen dragon, with her mates being either father, brothers, or sons. The Oldtimers on the other hand, have five entire Weyrs, and plenty of genetic diversity. If anything, they should have the greater clutches and healthier dragons.
But let's be honest, this is authorial fiat. Benden Weyr must somehow be the best of the best.
F'nor is also contemplating the relations between Hold and Weyr: He'd gone to Southern Boll recently, and the holders and crafters had been hostile until he identified himself as being from Benden. It should have been the other way around, since they're Weyrbound to Fort. We're told that T'ron is very adamantly traditional in upholding all that was traditional, customary, and status.
It bugs me so much that this description of T'ron is NOTHING like the man we met in Dragonflight. Remember T'ton's pretty amazing speech? These are people who jumped forward in time, using a never before seen method, FOUR HUNDRED YEARS. And T'ton himself had been thrilled to see F'lar's charts, and openly admiring of Fanderal's Agenothree sprayer! What HAPPENED?
Anyway, we're told that traditionally Fort Weyr would have first claim on possible riders from their own territories, but the Oldtimers rarely sought beyond their own Lower Caverns.
Okay, I guess we haven't really heard otherwise, but we do know that Mardra is from Ruatha, her father is the Lord who commissioned the Tapestry. It seems weird that they are so insular now, unless they want to keep to people of the same political bent...hmm, okay, I guess that makes sense. Anyone from modern Holds would have modern sympathies. Okay, I rescind this complaint.
We're told again that Oldtimer clutches are not as big and it makes me wonder if that's a side effect from not being in their own time. But then Pridith managed a decent clutch or two ten years ago. Hmph. Authorial fiat, I suppose.
Anyway, F'nor agrees with F'lar that it makes more sense to give the dragonets a big pool to choose from, and while the women of the Lower Caverns are "agreeable", there just aren't enough Weyrborn lads to match.
F'nor suggests that if some of the other Weyrleaders, like G'narish of Igen, or R'mart of Telgar, were to open their junior queens' flights, the Oldtimers might notice an improvement in size of clutch and dragons. "A man was a fool to breed only to his own Bloodlines all the time."
...Benden Weyr is entirely the product of ONE, MAYBE TWO queens! Okay, maybe before Jora there was more than one. But by Jora's time, we had decades of one queen. Ramoth and Mnementh are half siblings! Pot. Kettle. Black.
Anyway, the women of the Weyr are apparently making numbweed: the salve that they use to tend Thread. It has a pervasive odor and most dragonmen make themselves scarce. Hmph. The WOMEN don't get to make themselves scarce, do they? We're told that F'lar and Mnementh "were off somewhere, no doubt escaping the smell of numbweed as well as Lessa's uncertain temper." which sounds a little...
We're also told that Ramoth only permits two junior queens and F'nor, as Wing-second, gets choice of quarters. He'd chosen an unoccupied Weyrwoman's quarters. F'nor muses about weyrlings: apparently the new freedom and privileges of the Weyr sometimes go to a boy's head (not a girl's, but that's because there is no freedom or privileges for a Weyrwoman, fuck it all).
Oh hey, more reference to the Weyrs' child sexual abuse set up. "Again, F'nor agreed with F'lar's preference in presenting older lads at Impression though the Oldtimers deplored that practice at Benden Weyr, too. But, by the Shell, a lad in his late teens recognized the responsibility of his position (even if he were holdbred) as a dragonrider."
Fuck, Oldtimers. Where is that "We were rooting for you!" gif.
As a reminder, when these dragons are a year or two old, they reach maturity. They take part in mating flights! You know, where the humans, telepathically linked to their dragons, TAKE PART WITH EACH OTHER??? "A lad in his late teens" is still a fucking MINOR. And the Oldtimers prefer YOUNGER candidates.
Burn the Weyrs. All of them.
So F'nor ends up joining his "blood mother" (weird way to word that), Manora, Lessa and Brekke, a young Weyrwoman of Southern Weyr, who F'nor initially doesn't recognize. F'nor was actually the one to bring Brekke to Impress her dragon Wirenth.
F'nor, like his brother, is quick to evaluate a woman's looks: Brekke is a shade too thin for his tastes, and is not much taller than Lessa, but she is sweet and solemn, with "self-effacing modesty". The women are concerned because one of the pots is cracked, and causes discoloration to the salve within and they want to make sure it isn't tainted.
We get a nice comparison of F'nor and F'lar from Lessa's point of view, as well as a continuity error. "Yet the two men, though the stamp of their mutual sire was apparent in the thick shocks of black hair, the strong features, the lean rangy bodies (F’nor had a squarer, broader frame with not enough flesh on his bones so that he appeared unfinished), the two men were different in temperament and personality. F’nor was less introspective and more easygoing than his half brother, F’lar, the elder by three Turns. The Weyrwoman sometimes found herself treating F’nor as if he were an extension of his half brother and, perhaps for this reason, could joke and tease with him. She was not on easy terms with many people."
I really do love that Lessa is prickly and unpleasant at times. But here is the continuity error: F'nor is described as being three years younger than F'lar. Which is true, IF we don't take the time in Southern Weyr into account. If you remember, F'nor and Kylara and company went back in time ten Turns. There they managed to stay for Four Turns, so Kylara's Pridith could breed. So, if we do the math, F'nor should now be the OLDER brother, by one year.
To be fair, F'lar strikes me as the sort to ignore that kind of thing as inconvenient to him.
Anyway, F'nor doesn't mind going to the Mastersmithhall to find out what he'd coated the pot with, and assure the safety of the salve within (as the women don't want to waste it if they don't have to), since he's got to search anywhere.
There's also a nice hint here that Lessa and Brekke are friends, as F'nor considers that it's surprising for a Southern Weyrwoman to take part in Benden brewing. She is brisk, but seems grateful and warm to Brekke, when the other woman shyly speaks. I want Lessa to have female friends.
Also, we're told that Southern Weyr basically acts as the medics, and that's where injured dragons go to recuperate.
F'nor banters with Lessa a bit, and tells us that F'lar and Lessa have a "permanent attachment". Which, ugh. But it probably can't be helped. You can do better, Lessa.
Oh and just in case we need more reason to feel bad for Lessa: After chuckling wryly over Manora's maternal instincts, he mentions that Lessa is just as broody about her son, Felessen. However, the Weyrs practice fostering, and we're told that this is just as well, for Felessan "got along far better with his placid foster mother than he would have with Lessa had she the rearing of him."
First, you don't know that. Fuck you, F'nor.
Second, Lessa doesn't even get to raise her own child!!!
I hate the Weyr. I hate the Weyr. I hate the Weyr.
Also, F'nor is a dick:
"As he ladled out a bowl of stew, F’nor wondered at the perversity of women. Girls were constantly pleading to come to Benden Weyr. They’d not be expected to bear child after child till they were worn-out and old. Women in the Weyrs remained active and appealing. Manora had seen twice the Turns that, for instance, Lord Sifer of Bitra’s latest wife had, yet Manora looked younger. Well, a rider preferred to seek his own loves, not have them foisted on him. There were enough spare women in the Lower Caverns right now."
Okay, so let's unpack this:
1) The lives of women in Pern are so bad that the dubious freedoms of Benden Weyr is preferable.
2) F'nor is a shallow dick who measures the quality of life of a woman based on how "appealing" they are. And he evaluates HIS OWN MOTHER's looks.
3) Women of the Lower Caverns are expected to be sexually available to the dragonriders, hence "a rider preferred to seek his own loves". What exactly do the women of the Lower Caverns get to pick?
4) SPARE WOMEN. He calls them "spare women".
5) Oh, and because he doesn't feel like dealing with a few more women, he's happy to leave the ones he meets in utterly miserable straits.
Fuck you, F'nor.
--
So the last segment of the chapter involves F'nor's trip to the Mastercrafthall. When he gets there, he sees a green and brown dragon who are together. F'nor notes that from the green dragon's color, she probably shouldn't be away from their home Weyr.
Now, we get an interesting line from F'nor about Canth's romantic prospects, namely that he has no lack of partners, and greens would prefer a brown who was as big as most bronzes.
So...does this mean F'nor is bisexual? If the riders sleep together with their dragons, then F'nor has probably then had relationships with men. I suddenly find F'nor a bit more interesting! But he's still a dick.
Anyway, F'nor enters the crafthall and notices that two riders are menacing Terry, who is Fandarel's second and his major innovator. The riders are B'naj and T'reb, who are bonded to the brown and green. T'reb is particularly temperamental, as he's affected by his dragon's state.
Things go bad very quickly: T'reb and F'nor exchange heated words. B'naj tries to calm them down, and in the process it's revealed that they were there for a knife which they were trying to "confiscate" from Terry. T'reb ends up grabbing the knife, and when F'nor tries to stop him, he stabs F'nor in the shoulder.
--
So, this was a very busy first chapter, establishing a lot of the new status quo. I always expect a sequel to introduce more complex ideas than the book that came before, and so far Dragonquest delivers: the world building is more involved, and we're getting a deeper look at the society and politics of Pern, be it Hold, Craft, or Weyr. We've gotten a bit of an update for characters that we know and loved (or hated) from the first book.
Now the bad: I absolutely despise what Ms. McCaffrey did to the Oldtimers. I realize that she wanted a new conflict, and it makes some sense that the modern riders and the Oldtimers wouldn't see eye to eye. But this conflict seems to be invented whole cloth for this book. And I am particularly bitter that the Oldtimers are characterized as committing the same damn sins as Benden was last book, only worse, so F'lar and company look better in comparison.
Ultimately, I feel like this is the same issue that we had with R'gul in Dragonflight. Ms. McCaffrey seems uninterested in showcasing an understandable conflict between reasonable people of differing views. Instead one always has to be an irrational idiot, even at the expense of prior characterization. God forbid anyone other than F'lar, F'nor or their cronies be right.
And the role of women still sucks. Now, look, it's okay to tell a story about a society where women are oppressed. But generally speaking, that goes hand in hand with allowing female characters to transcend that oppression. Dragonflight did this with Lessa, at least to an extent. But there is no comparable female lead in Dragonquest. Brekke is a lovely girl, but she doesn't take center stage the way Lessa does. And she isn't the one with the big role-transgressing heroic triumph.
And we really shouldn't be having characters like F'nor or Robinton parroting these sexist views. These men are supposed to be the heroes!
For example: this section starts with Robinton.
So we start with Robinton, the Masterharper of Pern as he's composing a ballad for the wedding of Lord Asgenar of Lemos Hold to one of Lord Larad's sisters. I remember that I liked Lord Larad last book, when he was one of the Lords to (understandably) challenge the Weyr, showed concern over his wife, and then ended up a sensible ally due to the threat of Thread.
I also remember Robinton being an annoying F'lar-sycophant.
The most interesting thing is how Robinton is writing his ballad: he's using smoothed moist sand in shallow trays.
Okay, this is a little ridiculous. I understand that due to the cave system, Northern Pern doesn't have a lot of trees and thus no easy source of lumber for paper. We've seen them use skins to write on, but have trouble preserving them, which implies that they don't know how to properly make parchment despite having skins already.
But I feel like there ought to be alternatives! Okay, I get that Robinton probably wants something he can erase, but you're telling me this entire rocky continent has nothing by way of slate and chalk? Those are rocks!
Anyway, Robinton proves himself pretty fucking creepy with this line: "He fancied the sand begged to be violated with words and notes, while he, Pern's repository and glib dispenser of any ballad, saga or ditty, was inarticulate."
I...are you imagining that you're trying to rape the sand? REALLY? I...don't even know how to respond to that except to say that I think I understand why you like F'lar so much. Jesus Christ.
So anyway, Robinton decided that for his ballad, he'd tell the story of Lessa's ride. He's having some trouble doing it justice. It's basically just a recap session, but I think most of us can sympathize with the creative process, and of having a great idea that just isn't coming out.
Robinton notices that there is only one watchman visible at Fort Hold, when there should be six. This is explained by the fact that it was planting season. But Robinton notes that last spring, Lord Groghe wouldn't have neglected those duties.
We're told that there is tension between Fort Hold and Fort Weyr, which has "growing agitation over the immense forest lands." Apparently T'ron and Mardra have been "less scrupulous" about checking to see that no burrows escaped to fall on the forests. Groghe on the other hand has been scrupulous in his ground crews.
And here begins the biggest disappointment of Dragonquest for me: the treatment of the "Oldtimers", specifically T'ron (who was T'ton, in Dragonflight. The name change is unexplained, but it's clearly meant to be the same man) and Mardra. If you recall, we spent an entire book dealing with the vain, petty, and downright horrible modern dragonriders, until Lessa went back in time. Then we met T'ton and Mardra, who were the first genuinely kind, warm and sympathetic dragonriders that we saw.
These were people who didn't hesitate to take care of a sick stranger. They were gentle and listening to Lessa, even when they didn't really believe her story. They enthusiastically came forward to help, even though Thread had just finished in their time, giving up friends, family, and a lifetime of peace. They comforted Lessa, when time travel was too much, and encouraged F'lar in his green leadership. They were, by far, the best people in that fucking book.
Well, I hope you enjoyed that while it lasted, because that's not the case in Dragonquest. Gone are the warm, kind, selfless people we saw before. Now, they're going to be, if anything, worse than the assholes of this time period. And there'll be no reason for the change.
Take this part for example: apparently T'ron and Mardra, people who have been fighting thread their ENTIRE LIVES. Who, again, came forward FOUR HUNDRED YEARS, to fight more thread. The people who know all the negative effects of thread by heart. SUDDENLY, they've decided to be "less scrupulous" about threadfall? Fucking really?!
Okay, anyway, Robinton has "suspicions" about Fort Weyr and Fort Hold, and considers his option. He considers a scolding song, but thinks that neither Groghe or Mardra and T'ron would listen.
Oh hey, in case you've wondered if the treatment of women will improve in this book, since they made other changes:
"Mardra had soured lately. She ought to have sense enough to retire gracefully to a chair and let men seek her favors if T'ron no longer attracted her."
Ugh, fuck you, Robinton. What the hell does Mardra's sexual availability have to do with anything?! Are you suggesting that Mardra would do her job better if she got laid? We're also told that T'ron is still sexually active, "to hear the Hold girls talk". And that he should restrain himself, because Lord Groghe "didn't take kindly to too many of his chattels bearing dragonseed."
Chattels. CHATTELS. As in FUCKING PROPERTY. Robinton, one of the people we're supposed to side with here, is calling women Lord Groghe's PROPERTY and indicating that he should have a say in who these women sleep with. I mean, I'm presuming these women are consenting to T'ron's advances, given the way that Robinton presents it. I feel like we'd hear otherwise if it were rape. But who fucking knows, with this book.
Robinton also considers telling F'lar, but realizes that that won't do much good as the Weyrs are autonomous. Robinton regrets how F'lar had been so eager to relinquish his leadership after Lessa had gone back between to bring the five lost Weyrs forward in time.
Is that what happened? I remember F'lar trying to resign his own command in favor of someone more experienced, but I don't remember F'lar in a position to command the entire force. Why would he be, when the Oldtimers have a lifetime of experience? But okay, given how much I hate F'lar, I suppose I'll give him credit for not wanting to be Lord Dictator of the Weyrs. It's one plus in his column.
Robinton decides to use his ballad to remind Lord Holders of their gratitude to the Weyr, and starts composing. We're told that he must have a "tender but intricate theme for Lessa. She's Legend already." I won't argue with you, Robinton. We are however told that Lessa is child-sized, which is news to me.
Dragonflight told us that Lessa is small and delicate, but I don't remember her being described as specifically childlike. It makes F'lar's treatment of her even worse though.
Robinton plans a "well-stated martial theme" for F'lar, who Robinton kind of sounds like he has a crush on: "with his keen amber eyes, his unconscious superiority, the intense energy of his lean fighter's frame." Oh, it's not unconscious, Robinton. But also "Could he, Robinton, rouse F'lar from his detachment? kind of sounds like Robinton wants to rouse something else...if you know what I mean. I...might be a little intrigued by a Robinton/F'lar ship if it means Lessa gets freed up for someone better.
Lytol gets mentioned, AND, we finally get a timeframe for his accident!!! He gets a sad note, well-sustained, and we learn his accident was fourteen or fifteen years ago.
Wait. WAIT. Supposedly, according to one of the People of Pern books, Lytol had daughters who caught Fax's eye. How the fuck did he end up with a wife and daughter in seven or eight years? Is Fax a fucking pedophile? Was there a retcon somewhere??? Does Anne McCaffrey just not keep track?
Oh, and we learn that Robinton once had a youthful ambition to be a dragonman, which explains so much. I admit, as recaps go, this is an interesting way to go about it. Though this is basically just the same ground as the Prelude.
We learn how Robinton preserves his scores: he etches them in sand and then fills it with clay to preserve it. He is interrupted, because of a premature Threadfall in Tillek.
-
We then join F'nor at Benden Weyr. We're told that he's been on Search, because there's a new clutch of eggs, including a golden egg, in Benden. We're told that Benden produced more dragons, and more queens, than the five Oldtimers' Weyrs.
You know, we're told later that Benden's bronzes also tend to be stronger and larger than the Oldtimer's, but this doesn't really make sense to me. If anything, it should be the reverse, given that Benden's dragons are inbred as fuck. They've gone multiple generations of having only one queen dragon, with her mates being either father, brothers, or sons. The Oldtimers on the other hand, have five entire Weyrs, and plenty of genetic diversity. If anything, they should have the greater clutches and healthier dragons.
But let's be honest, this is authorial fiat. Benden Weyr must somehow be the best of the best.
F'nor is also contemplating the relations between Hold and Weyr: He'd gone to Southern Boll recently, and the holders and crafters had been hostile until he identified himself as being from Benden. It should have been the other way around, since they're Weyrbound to Fort. We're told that T'ron is very adamantly traditional in upholding all that was traditional, customary, and status.
It bugs me so much that this description of T'ron is NOTHING like the man we met in Dragonflight. Remember T'ton's pretty amazing speech? These are people who jumped forward in time, using a never before seen method, FOUR HUNDRED YEARS. And T'ton himself had been thrilled to see F'lar's charts, and openly admiring of Fanderal's Agenothree sprayer! What HAPPENED?
Anyway, we're told that traditionally Fort Weyr would have first claim on possible riders from their own territories, but the Oldtimers rarely sought beyond their own Lower Caverns.
Okay, I guess we haven't really heard otherwise, but we do know that Mardra is from Ruatha, her father is the Lord who commissioned the Tapestry. It seems weird that they are so insular now, unless they want to keep to people of the same political bent...hmm, okay, I guess that makes sense. Anyone from modern Holds would have modern sympathies. Okay, I rescind this complaint.
We're told again that Oldtimer clutches are not as big and it makes me wonder if that's a side effect from not being in their own time. But then Pridith managed a decent clutch or two ten years ago. Hmph. Authorial fiat, I suppose.
Anyway, F'nor agrees with F'lar that it makes more sense to give the dragonets a big pool to choose from, and while the women of the Lower Caverns are "agreeable", there just aren't enough Weyrborn lads to match.
F'nor suggests that if some of the other Weyrleaders, like G'narish of Igen, or R'mart of Telgar, were to open their junior queens' flights, the Oldtimers might notice an improvement in size of clutch and dragons. "A man was a fool to breed only to his own Bloodlines all the time."
...Benden Weyr is entirely the product of ONE, MAYBE TWO queens! Okay, maybe before Jora there was more than one. But by Jora's time, we had decades of one queen. Ramoth and Mnementh are half siblings! Pot. Kettle. Black.
Anyway, the women of the Weyr are apparently making numbweed: the salve that they use to tend Thread. It has a pervasive odor and most dragonmen make themselves scarce. Hmph. The WOMEN don't get to make themselves scarce, do they? We're told that F'lar and Mnementh "were off somewhere, no doubt escaping the smell of numbweed as well as Lessa's uncertain temper." which sounds a little...
We're also told that Ramoth only permits two junior queens and F'nor, as Wing-second, gets choice of quarters. He'd chosen an unoccupied Weyrwoman's quarters. F'nor muses about weyrlings: apparently the new freedom and privileges of the Weyr sometimes go to a boy's head (not a girl's, but that's because there is no freedom or privileges for a Weyrwoman, fuck it all).
Oh hey, more reference to the Weyrs' child sexual abuse set up. "Again, F'nor agreed with F'lar's preference in presenting older lads at Impression though the Oldtimers deplored that practice at Benden Weyr, too. But, by the Shell, a lad in his late teens recognized the responsibility of his position (even if he were holdbred) as a dragonrider."
Fuck, Oldtimers. Where is that "We were rooting for you!" gif.
As a reminder, when these dragons are a year or two old, they reach maturity. They take part in mating flights! You know, where the humans, telepathically linked to their dragons, TAKE PART WITH EACH OTHER??? "A lad in his late teens" is still a fucking MINOR. And the Oldtimers prefer YOUNGER candidates.
Burn the Weyrs. All of them.
So F'nor ends up joining his "blood mother" (weird way to word that), Manora, Lessa and Brekke, a young Weyrwoman of Southern Weyr, who F'nor initially doesn't recognize. F'nor was actually the one to bring Brekke to Impress her dragon Wirenth.
F'nor, like his brother, is quick to evaluate a woman's looks: Brekke is a shade too thin for his tastes, and is not much taller than Lessa, but she is sweet and solemn, with "self-effacing modesty". The women are concerned because one of the pots is cracked, and causes discoloration to the salve within and they want to make sure it isn't tainted.
We get a nice comparison of F'nor and F'lar from Lessa's point of view, as well as a continuity error. "Yet the two men, though the stamp of their mutual sire was apparent in the thick shocks of black hair, the strong features, the lean rangy bodies (F’nor had a squarer, broader frame with not enough flesh on his bones so that he appeared unfinished), the two men were different in temperament and personality. F’nor was less introspective and more easygoing than his half brother, F’lar, the elder by three Turns. The Weyrwoman sometimes found herself treating F’nor as if he were an extension of his half brother and, perhaps for this reason, could joke and tease with him. She was not on easy terms with many people."
I really do love that Lessa is prickly and unpleasant at times. But here is the continuity error: F'nor is described as being three years younger than F'lar. Which is true, IF we don't take the time in Southern Weyr into account. If you remember, F'nor and Kylara and company went back in time ten Turns. There they managed to stay for Four Turns, so Kylara's Pridith could breed. So, if we do the math, F'nor should now be the OLDER brother, by one year.
To be fair, F'lar strikes me as the sort to ignore that kind of thing as inconvenient to him.
Anyway, F'nor doesn't mind going to the Mastersmithhall to find out what he'd coated the pot with, and assure the safety of the salve within (as the women don't want to waste it if they don't have to), since he's got to search anywhere.
There's also a nice hint here that Lessa and Brekke are friends, as F'nor considers that it's surprising for a Southern Weyrwoman to take part in Benden brewing. She is brisk, but seems grateful and warm to Brekke, when the other woman shyly speaks. I want Lessa to have female friends.
Also, we're told that Southern Weyr basically acts as the medics, and that's where injured dragons go to recuperate.
F'nor banters with Lessa a bit, and tells us that F'lar and Lessa have a "permanent attachment". Which, ugh. But it probably can't be helped. You can do better, Lessa.
Oh and just in case we need more reason to feel bad for Lessa: After chuckling wryly over Manora's maternal instincts, he mentions that Lessa is just as broody about her son, Felessen. However, the Weyrs practice fostering, and we're told that this is just as well, for Felessan "got along far better with his placid foster mother than he would have with Lessa had she the rearing of him."
First, you don't know that. Fuck you, F'nor.
Second, Lessa doesn't even get to raise her own child!!!
I hate the Weyr. I hate the Weyr. I hate the Weyr.
Also, F'nor is a dick:
"As he ladled out a bowl of stew, F’nor wondered at the perversity of women. Girls were constantly pleading to come to Benden Weyr. They’d not be expected to bear child after child till they were worn-out and old. Women in the Weyrs remained active and appealing. Manora had seen twice the Turns that, for instance, Lord Sifer of Bitra’s latest wife had, yet Manora looked younger. Well, a rider preferred to seek his own loves, not have them foisted on him. There were enough spare women in the Lower Caverns right now."
Okay, so let's unpack this:
1) The lives of women in Pern are so bad that the dubious freedoms of Benden Weyr is preferable.
2) F'nor is a shallow dick who measures the quality of life of a woman based on how "appealing" they are. And he evaluates HIS OWN MOTHER's looks.
3) Women of the Lower Caverns are expected to be sexually available to the dragonriders, hence "a rider preferred to seek his own loves". What exactly do the women of the Lower Caverns get to pick?
4) SPARE WOMEN. He calls them "spare women".
5) Oh, and because he doesn't feel like dealing with a few more women, he's happy to leave the ones he meets in utterly miserable straits.
Fuck you, F'nor.
--
So the last segment of the chapter involves F'nor's trip to the Mastercrafthall. When he gets there, he sees a green and brown dragon who are together. F'nor notes that from the green dragon's color, she probably shouldn't be away from their home Weyr.
Now, we get an interesting line from F'nor about Canth's romantic prospects, namely that he has no lack of partners, and greens would prefer a brown who was as big as most bronzes.
So...does this mean F'nor is bisexual? If the riders sleep together with their dragons, then F'nor has probably then had relationships with men. I suddenly find F'nor a bit more interesting! But he's still a dick.
Anyway, F'nor enters the crafthall and notices that two riders are menacing Terry, who is Fandarel's second and his major innovator. The riders are B'naj and T'reb, who are bonded to the brown and green. T'reb is particularly temperamental, as he's affected by his dragon's state.
Things go bad very quickly: T'reb and F'nor exchange heated words. B'naj tries to calm them down, and in the process it's revealed that they were there for a knife which they were trying to "confiscate" from Terry. T'reb ends up grabbing the knife, and when F'nor tries to stop him, he stabs F'nor in the shoulder.
--
So, this was a very busy first chapter, establishing a lot of the new status quo. I always expect a sequel to introduce more complex ideas than the book that came before, and so far Dragonquest delivers: the world building is more involved, and we're getting a deeper look at the society and politics of Pern, be it Hold, Craft, or Weyr. We've gotten a bit of an update for characters that we know and loved (or hated) from the first book.
Now the bad: I absolutely despise what Ms. McCaffrey did to the Oldtimers. I realize that she wanted a new conflict, and it makes some sense that the modern riders and the Oldtimers wouldn't see eye to eye. But this conflict seems to be invented whole cloth for this book. And I am particularly bitter that the Oldtimers are characterized as committing the same damn sins as Benden was last book, only worse, so F'lar and company look better in comparison.
Ultimately, I feel like this is the same issue that we had with R'gul in Dragonflight. Ms. McCaffrey seems uninterested in showcasing an understandable conflict between reasonable people of differing views. Instead one always has to be an irrational idiot, even at the expense of prior characterization. God forbid anyone other than F'lar, F'nor or their cronies be right.
And the role of women still sucks. Now, look, it's okay to tell a story about a society where women are oppressed. But generally speaking, that goes hand in hand with allowing female characters to transcend that oppression. Dragonflight did this with Lessa, at least to an extent. But there is no comparable female lead in Dragonquest. Brekke is a lovely girl, but she doesn't take center stage the way Lessa does. And she isn't the one with the big role-transgressing heroic triumph.
And we really shouldn't be having characters like F'nor or Robinton parroting these sexist views. These men are supposed to be the heroes!