Much better than my previous Pern read, Dragon’s Fire. Although this is the first of the solo-written Todd McCaffrey books, it actually sticks far more closely to ‘the template’ than the co-written one. Which is a good and bad thing, I guess! Actually, it did all seem very familiar – I was wondering at one point if this plot line had been reused: timing it, saving all the dragons…

I do like seeing a bit on the original settlers, and Dragonsblook mixes chapters from the early days with a more familiar Pern tale. The earlier period is interesting: the settlers have been forced to flee the Southern continent, have met thread, and dragons have already been engineered. We’re on a good generation or two, and the survivors are learning to cope with a more patoral lifestyle, and the knowledge that their knowledge is soon going to be lost.

The ‘present day’ sections are perhaps a bit too similar to earlier novels. None of the characters really grabbed me, none feel original.

Overall, though, this hit that exact ‘comfort reading’ spot that Dragon’s Fire just missed.