Book reviews

Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern - Dragonriders of Pern 7
Anne McCaffrey Book Review

Read a book review online (click here to search reviews)
Books Movies  
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Mystery/Thriller Literature Romance Biography History
Anne McCaffrey Books
New book search
Anne McCaffrey Message Board
Get more information about this book
Plot Summary of Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern - Dragonriders of Pern 7
"A plague falls on the planet killing thosands, but the thread falls on Pern and the Dragon Riders must still rise to char it."
Jolene, Resident Scholar

"Moreta is Weyrwoman at Fort Weyr with Sh'gall as Weyrleader. Moreta loves Orlith, her dragon queen, and would do anything for her, but she does wish that someone else had flown her during her mating flight. Sh'gall is a very able weyrleader in the air when fighting thread, but he does not do as well with people. Moreta is sure that they will go together to the Ruatha Gather, after all it is Lord Alessan's first gather as a Lord Holder and everyone will be there. However, Sh'gall decides to go to the Telgar Gather and to see the strange cat that was captured in the ocean and put on display there. Desdra, Moreta's anxious housekeeper insists that Moreta cannot go without Sh'gall and that it is a terrible slight to her mistress, but Moreta wouldn't miss a good gather for the world!

Moreta has a wonderful time at the gather with Lord Alessan. They are both avid racers and enjoy watching the runnerbeasts compete. When one of the runnerbeasts suddenly collapses, no one is sure what is wrong with the beast, but the fun of the gather continues. Moreta lingers at Ruatha Hold, but is finally forced to leave. She is awoken in the early morning hours by a frantic Sh'gall claiming that Masterhealer Capiam has diagnosed a plague that the wild cat brought over with it from the Southern Continent. All of Pern is in a panic as news of the unknown illness spreads.

All too soon there is no hold or weyr that is untouched by the unknown ailment. But Moreta is a healer and she is determined to help in whatever way she can. She continues to urge the dragonriders to take care and helps unite multiple weyrs to fly thread together, as well as help care for the sick and wounded. When Masterhealer Capiam finds a cure, Moreta is thrilled and ready to do whatever is necessary to give the vaccination to everyone on Pern before a second wave of the mutated virus spreads more death. She cannot understand why some weyrleaders simply refuse to see the truth and will not help take the medicine to the far-reaching holds. Moreta cannot bear to see people die unnecessarily so she secretly arranges for dragonriders from all the Weyrs to help. When part of her plan falls through, Moreta has no choice but to go and help deliver the vaccination herself. But she cannot rider her beloved Orlith because she is guarding her clutch. When she borrows her mentor's queen Holth, the tragedy begins...

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. I first heard of Moreta's Ride in Dragonsinger when Menolly leads the ballad with her fire lizards. I knew that this book was going to have a bittersweet ending, but I love the Pern series so I thought that I would give it a try. I thought that Moreta was a great character - strong, but not overpowering. She tried to make the best of her situation and found joy and love in unlikely places. I thoroughly enjoyed the romance between Moreta and Alessan, but I felt so sorry for Alessan for having to deal with so much tragedy and so many bitter disappointments when he was so young. I also enjoyed seeing the inner workings of a Weyr and becoming familiar with a Weyr other than Benden (much as I love it, of course). I thought that all of the secondary characters were wonderful, too. It was interesting to see how quickly knowledge was lost from when the first settlers arrived on Pern to the time of Moreta. I believe that the sickness was something like pneumonia or some other viral disease that few people die of on Earth, but they simply did not know how to combat any unfamiliar disease on Pern. The plot was very interesting and had a nice, smooth flow as always. Another wonderful addition to the Pern series!


"

Debbie, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern - Dragonriders of Pern 7
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 20%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%




Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes
Plotlets: - fighting a disease/illness affecting everyone
Romance Yes
Romance plotlets: - general romance
Adversaries are… - dragon buddy
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
GIANT monster(s) Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - politician/elected ruler - Prince/Nobleman/King
Age: - 20's-30's - 40's-50's
Has magical/special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character: - can talk to animals - can fly
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - natural phenomena - society
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount - throughout most of the book.

Setting
Terrain - Jungle - Desert - Water - Mountains - Forests
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a primitive/fantasy society
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd - rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a moderate amount of scientific explanation - the book is simply packed with technical jargon
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references only - descript of kissing
How much dialogue? - mostly dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern - Dragonriders of Pern 7
Nerilka's Story by Anne McCaffrey
Dragon's Treasure by Elizabeth Lynn
New Spring by Robert Jordan
Warsworn by Elizabeth Vaughn
The Flower of Clear Burning by Joel Van Valin


Click here for more information about this book


Anne McCaffrey Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Debbie  

SCHOLARS:
Rachael  Rsegovia  Tina Loflin  Maria Cerimeli  Domini  John McCoy  Kim   Lisa Demopulos  sesshoumaru  


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Three ways to search for Science Fiction books!

1) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot or subplot below!

Animal Story

Clones

Coming of age

Cultural problems, alien culture

Explore/1st contact/ enviro story

Family relations

GIANT monster(s)

Horror story?

Inner Struggle

Lifeform altered?

Mental/magical powers focus

Parody

Political power play

Religious overtones?

Repressive society story

Robots, Computers, VR

Romance

Spying & Investigations

Tech./$$$/Info hunt

Time Travel story?

Training/Apprent.

War or Invasion



or 2) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
3) Even more search options available with a Detailed Booksearch (click here)

Use our site!
Feedback
About us
Bribe your congressman!
Rudy Giuliani



Most recent discussions:

General Book Talk
Book writing discussion
Off-topic message board
.
Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer 12:17:36 PM
Michael Gerber 9:39:20 AM
Terry Goodkind 7:22:26 AM
Isobelle Carmody 5:19:11 AM
Norah Lofts 12:26:00 AM
Diana Gabaldon 10:32:23 PM
Ivan Cat 9:23:05 PM
Scott Westerfield 9:20:54 PM
General Discussion (All Topics) 7:10:00 PM
Jude Deveraux 5:56:12 PM
George W. Bush 4:34:34 PM
Ray Bradbury 4:27:50 PM
Karen Armstrong 2:13:10 PM
Karen Armstrong 12:58:19 PM
Lana Wood 6:06:13 AM
Lynn and Gilbert Morris 12:20:20 AM
David Pelzer 10:32:56 PM
Max Shulman 8:44:04 PM
Kate Brian 5:25:02 PM
Ruth Minsky Sender 3:34:26 PM

More message boards