Product Description

Continues the story of Pern. A sudden squall blows up and capsizes Alemi and Readis's boat. The shipfish save them by holding the ship above water, guiding them and speaking to them. The shipfish are dolphins and Readis longs to work with them and be Pern's first dolphineer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28085 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 319 pages

From the Publisher
A new chronicle in the epic saga of PERN.

From the Back Cover
When Masterfisher Alemi took young Readis out to catch redfins for the evening feast, neither of them realised it heralded a new chapter in the history of Pern. For when a sudden black squall blew up, their mast splintered and broke and their boat capsized. It was the shipfish who saved them, swooping up from the deep, holding them firm above the water, guiding them back to land, and above all speaking to them.

Alemi, called to the all-encompassing power of AIVAS, learned that the shipfish were dolphins - brought to Pern with the early colonists to help and guide man through the oceans of the new planet. Now all the old Dolphin law had to be rediscovered.

Readis, fascinated by the many gifts of the dolphins - gifts unshared by any other creature on Pern - longed to work with them. Helped by T'lion, the young dragonrider with his bronze Gadareth (who establishes his own particular friendship with the dolphins), Readis, fighting against vehement parental opposition, set out to become Pern's first Dolphineer.

About the Author
Anne McCaffrey was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College, majoring in Slavonic Languages and Literatures. A prolific bestselling author, she is best known for her handling of broad themes and the worlds of her imagination, particularly in her tales of the Talents and the novels about the Dragonriders of Pern. Anne McCaffrey lives in a house of her own design, Dragonhold-Underhill, in County Wicklow, Ireland.

Customer Reviews

great read
Anne McCaffreys Pern books are somewhat lightweight but addictive nonetheless. 'Dolphins of Pern' is certainly one of the better tales in the series. In previous books 'doll fins' and 'sailfish' had been mentioned a number of times although not in any detail. It was nice to have this area expanded on and to learn how the dolphins came to be on Pern, galaxies away from Earth, and what role they have to play in this long running saga.
It isn't a novel that you could pick up and read without having read any of the previous books; the author does assume the reader has prior knowledge of the series and the characters, but for fans of McCaffrey and Pern I would recommend it as an addition to your library.

Not the best of Pern
I'm a fan of Anne McCaffrey, and Pern in particular - but I couldn't help finding this one of the less gripping books in the series. I couldn't help thinking, "Haven't I read this before?"

While it isn't exactly the same, I found too many parallels with "Dragonsong" to really enjoy this. It's not quite as simple as "Readis=Menolly, Dolphins=Fire Lizards", but sometimes it feels like it; at the time I first read this, I thought Pern was finished as a series and began to treat further volumes with a little suspicion. Fortunately I've found "Red Star Rising", "The Skies of Pern" and "Masterharper of Pern" to be a significant improvement.

Just when you thought it was over....
The majority of the dolphins of Pern runs concurrently with the events of 'All the Weyrs of Pern'. The dolphins of Pern is a wonderful book for dragon and dolphin lovers alike. You might be tempted to think that because the Pern series was 'supposed' to end with All the Weyrs of Pern, this book wouldn't be as good as those before it. I assure you this is not the case. However, this book should not be read before 'All the weyrs of Pern'. I would recommend reading Dragonsdawn, Dragonflight, Dragonquest, The white dragon, All the Weyrs of Pern then The Dolphins of Pern.