mpm@hpfcla.UUCP (01/24/86)
Re: sequels to the Pern books by Anne McCaffrey > Who will take over as Master Harper? Menolly? It would break tradition, > but she seemes the most worthy musically. Sebell? No where near as > good a musician or a composer. How does Menolly feel about this? I think the Master Harper is most importantly a "political" figure, and secondarily as a musician. Look at Master Robinton's influence. In many respects he functions as de facto planetary chief. (Then again this might be a case of the strongest individual rising to positions of power no matter what their background.) It does look like Menolly is developing some of the political skill necessary in the role of Master Harper. It wouldn't be a surprise to me if McCaffrey promoted her in a future book. (I suspect she might intro- duce some nasty turn of events just to shake us out of our complacency - just like the return of Threadfall does to the holders.)a -- From the land of high mountains (but no weyrs) Mike McCarthy (ihnp4,hplabs)!hpfcla!mpm
ccrdave@ucdavis.UUCP (Lord Kahless @ Imperial Propoganda) (01/24/86)
> > > From: umcp-cs!israel (Bruce Israel) > > > When do you think the next Dragonriders book should be coming out? > > M,DLoP is (c) as long ago as 1983, and she obviously wrote The White > > Dragon with the intention of making a sequel in which they explore > > the terran artifacts, i.e. the space ships and the Dawn Stars. > > That isn't so obvious to me, or in other words, I disagree. > To me, part of the interest in the society as it progressed > throughout the series was their rediscovery of technology. > Once they found the ship, it seems all downhill from there. > I would just as soon *not* see any post-WHITE DRAGON novels. > > !decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian > ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.DEC.COM I beg to differ. While being stuck rediscovering the electric light bulb would be as boring as the rediscovery of the telegraph was, that would not be the only thing a third trilogy could cover. Consider the following unresolved issues: Who takes over when F'lar, who we left around age 60, finally retires. What is the process? Imagine the mighty struggle, between the proud F'lessan and the courageous and determined K'van. Imagine the revelation of new Dragonlore. Which Weyr will be the leader, Benden, home of the (eventually) late F'lar, or Fort, site of leadership for centuries. What do the Lord Holders do when the thread fall stops, especially as the grubs have been seeded over the North to protect during the next Fall. Speaking of which, what happened to whatzisface, that Weyerling who got kicked out of Benden for fighting? What territorial conflicts will develop over the Southern continent, especially when the thread fall stops. What caused the first men to flee the south? A single volcano? That seems odd. Why not just move to some place on the same continent that has fewer volcanos? If they were so bright, why did they build on an active volcano to begin with? Maybe there is something in those ships that set off the volcanos, something we are better off not finding. Who will take over as Master Harper? Menolly? It would break tradition, but she seemes the most worthy musically. Sebell? No where near as good a musician or a composer. How does Menolly feel about this? Answers to these and other important human questions will be answered by somebody with enough imagination. {dual,lll-crg,ucbvax}!ucdavis!vega!ccrdave +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. | | Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched | | C-Beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All | | those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. | | Time to die." -- Roy Baty, Nexus6, N6MAA10816, Combat | +-----------------------------------------------------------+
tim@ism780c.UUCP (Tim Smith) (01/25/86)
There was a conference on Compuserve several months ago in the science fiction forum with Ann McCaffrey. If anyone is interested, I can upload the transcript. [ There is also a conference with Larry Niven that I have the transcript of and can upload if anyone wants to see it ] Here is some random stuff I remeber from the conference: There will be more Dragonrider books In particular, she has stuff in mind for Jaxom and Ruth Ruth will never become interested in sex F'lar will die in threadfall The dragons will reach the orbiting ships Pern will never be rediscovered by Earth -- Tim Smith sdcrdcf!ism780c!tim || ima!ism780!tim || ihnp4!cithep!tim
franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams) (01/29/86)
[This is the line after the one eaten by the line-eater] In article <647@decwrl.DEC.COM> boyajian@akov68.DEC (JERRY BOYAJIAN) writes: >> When do you think the next Dragonriders book should be coming out? >> M,DLoP is (c) as long ago as 1983, and she obviously wrote The White >> Dragon with the intention of making a sequel in which they explore >> the terran artifacts, i.e. the space ships and the Dawn Stars. > >That isn't so obvious to me, or in other words, I disagree. >To me, part of the interest in the society as it progressed >throughout the series was their rediscovery of technology. >Once they found the ship, it seems all downhill from there. >I would just as soon *not* see any post-WHITE DRAGON novels. Well, I think it's obvious she *intend(ed/s)* to write another. I suspect she's having a hard time actually doing it. Further sequels would be hard to write and even harder to do well. If one does come out, I will hope for the best but expect the worst. Frank Adams ihpn4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka Multimate International 52 Oakland Ave North E. Hartford, CT 06108
ins_atrh@jhunix.UUCP (Thomas Richard Holtz) (02/05/86)
In article <24000029@hpfcms.UUCP> mpm@hpfcla.UUCP writes: > >> Who will take over as Master Harper? Menolly? It would break tradition, >> but she seemes the most worthy musically. Sebell? No where near as >> good a musician or a composer. How does Menolly feel about this? > > It does look like Menolly is developing some of the political skill >necessary in the role of Master Harper. It wouldn't be a surprise to me >if McCaffrey promoted her in a future book. I believe that Sebell is promoted to Master Harper (or at least de facto Master Harper) during Robinton's convalescence at Cove Hold. While Sebell certainly isn't as good a musician as either Robinton or Menolly, he is adept at political intrigue (see _Dragondrums_ for examples). Since the Pernese are certainly going to be going through a bit of culture shock as they rediscover their Terran heritage, a political Master Harper will probably be needed. (I wouldn't be surprised if Menolly got the job, though.) Dominus Draconum Genetic Engineering: We Bring Good Things To Life
farren@well.UUCP (Mike Farren) (02/06/86)
In article <24000029@hpfcms.UUCP>, mpm@hpfcla.UUCP writes: > It does look like Menolly is developing some of the political skill > necessary in the role of Master Harper. It wouldn't be a surprise to me > if McCaffrey promoted her in a future book. (I suspect she might intro- > duce some nasty turn of events just to shake us out of our complacency - > just like the return of Threadfall does to the holders.) Probably only if some nasty event shakes her out of HER complacency - it's amazing how well money will dull a writer's sensibilities. I felt the first book, and about half of the second, were excellent. Good stories, good characters, you name it. The rest of the books are entertaining, but I don't think they're excellent any more - just entertaining. Nothing wrong with that, but excellence is so rare, I hate to see it go... -- Mike Farren uucp: {your favorite backbone site}!hplabs!well!farren Fido: Sci-Fido, Fidonode 125/84, (415)655-0667