A few observations that I definitely did not pick up on as a child:
- The Masterweaver in the novel is named Zurg so the whole time I was reading it I was thinking of the Evil Emperor Zurg from Toy Story (which most definitely did not exist when I was a kid)
- The Weyrleader F'lar shook Weyrwoman Lessa a lot which we all agreed in the group would probably not happen if she wrote the book in more contemporary times.
- I found Lessa to be more petulant as an adult than I did as a child. I still love her though!
It was such a treat to be able to pick up the book again after so many years. While time may have changed and some of the behavior in the book is a little archaic (like F'lar's behavior toward Lessa), I still enjoyed the book just as much as I did when I was younger. I loved how reacquainting myself with the Lessa's story--how she grew up as a drudge in Ruatha after Fax came and invaded the Hold, and her move to Benden Weyr where she Impresses a gold dragon named Ramoth that is about as strong willed as she is. It has also been many years since Thread has fallen and F'lar is trying to get the few dragons that remain ready to fight it.
When I was in Powell's books a few years ago, one of the employees said that, "No one does dragons better than Anne McCaffrey." It's true. I love her description of them and the special bond they have with their riders. I love the way she makes them such an integral part of the story and how they have such individual personalities. Rereading this book reminds me why I dreamed of living on Pern as a kid and even today I still feel that if I could live on a fictional planet, Pern would be my choice. I am so connected with all the characters since they each have their own stories in different books that in a strange way they are family to me. Dragonflight was just as special to read the second time around. I loved it and the Pern books will always be on my favorite list!
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