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My memory of the original Dragonriders of Pern trilogy was that Robinton, the Masterharper of Pern, was my favorite character, carrying me through parts of the book I found less interesting. So it seemed logical to me that I would eventually read this prequel about the life of the Masterharper.

Well, whatever made Robinton my favorite character in the original books, there's absolutely no trace of it here. Like Menolly and Piemur, Robinton is an obnoxious prodigy, able to compose amazing music from a young age, and basically better at everything than everybody else. And that's it, that's the book! He never seems to struggle, he just is the best at everything he does. I think McCaffrey doesn't really understand excellence; she seems to think it some kind of effortless superiority. Some of the most excellent people you know work the hardest and struggle the most, but you wouldn't know it from reading a McCaffrey novel. And why does Robinton have to be the best composer, the best singer, the best player? Surely the skills required to be Masterharper are not these technical ones, but the skills of leading men and having wisdom? These are skills Robinton never demonstrates in this book. Why is he picked as Masterharper? It's not clear, he just is. How does he adjust to this new role? As boringly effortlessly as he does everything else.

On top of all that, Robinton can hear all dragons talk, which totally contradicts the depiction of Robinton in the original trilogy. Wow, he's just so so special. Actually, a lot of stuff doesn't line up; Menolly's boyfriend Sebell is aged up by a whole generation here, and Robinton's mother was a harper when the Harper Hall trilogy made clear there were no women harpers prior to Menolly. Why write a prequel if you can't make it join up right?

This book was a tedious, awful slog that made me hate a character who had been one of my favorites. I've seen it said that as the Pern series went on, McCaffrey lost sight of what made it work in the original books. For the readers, Pern was an awesome place you'd want to live, but that hadn't been true for the characters. But as it went on, that became true for the characters too. The Pern of the 1990s has had all its rough edges rounded off, and that loses what made Pern work to begin with back in the 1960s.

In a time when no Thread has fallen for centuries - when, indeed, many are beginning to dare to hope that Thread will never fall again - a boy is born to Harper Hall. His name is Robinton, and he is destined to be one of the most famous and beloved leaders Pern has ever known.
It is a perilous time for harpers. They sing of Thread, yet more and more people are beginning to doubt the return of that deadly scourge. They teach reading, writing, history, but Fax - who hates the harpers in general - is determined to keep his growing area of influence free of the learning that might sow unrest. And they extol the dragonriders, whom many view increasingly as a drain on the resources of the Holds. Now harpers are being turned away from the holds; and, worse yet, they are being derided, attacked, even beaten.

It is the climate of unrest that Robinton will come into his own. For despite the tragedies that beset his own life, he continues to believe in music and in the dragons, and is determined to save his beloved Pern from itself . . .so that the dragonriders can be ready to fly against the dreaded Thread when it at last returns!

Anne McCaffrey is the quintessential writer of fantasy books pertaining to dragons. These books are always wonderful, well written, and perfectly characterized. All of her series are great but the ones that take place on Pern are the best of all. This book was a bit hard for me to read because it gave one of my favorite fictional characters a bit of clay feet but nevertheless I enjoyed it for all the backstory it gave to the world of Pern.

Robiton is one of my favorite characters. A musician, teacher, politician (or more of a lobbyist) and a man of most uncommon sense. This fills in some holes that don't get explained in the other books.

Found the unabridged audiobook and gave it a listen. I must've read this book at least one dozen, if not two dozen, times in my youth. (Listen, whippersnappers, eBooks weren't a thing and our library was small back then, so re-reading favorites was common.) I loved Pern, I loved dragons, I love Robinton. These are all still true.

Re-reading as a more critical adult, things that I didn't notice, or didn't care about, as a kid are things that irk me now. This book retcons several major Pernese events, plays havoc with the timeline, breaks canon, contradicts itself, and makes Rob even more of a Gary Stu than he was previously. Rob is suddenly involved in situations that have huge implications for Pern and his relationships, but he is never noticed and never discusses it (because he was shoehorned in after the fact rather than having it be a planned, organic thing).

The book stomps all over the Harper Hall trilogy in general and Menolly in particular. Many of the 'firsts' are retroactively first done by Robinton, sometimes down to word-for-word descriptions being pulled from the original trilogy. Part of this is likely the same poor continuity that has plagued the series from its start, part of it is likely due to the fact that the Harper Hall gets the spotlight when the Weyr doesn't, leaving so much ground already covered and making repetition somewhat inevitable (and other crafts/halls/holds woefully under-developed).

Rob's relationship with his mother is decidedly co-dependent and creepy. Its understandable, to an extent, given what they have in common and that they weathered an abusive relationship together. But I can't think of a situation in which saying the feel of a lover in your arms is just like holding your mom is, uh, healthy.

This is a book for the folks die-hard enough to read every Pern novel but not die-hard enough to worship the canon.

2020 reread via audiobook narrated by Dick Hill:

I love this entry in the Pern series - Robinton is one of my favorite characters and, having seen him and come to love him in the earlier books, it is very enlightening to read about his life from his birth up to the events in the first book of the series, "Dragonflight". Dick Hill does a great narration.

Okay, so I started out a little pissed that she was milking this story again, since Robinton is in the first three books as well as renegades and this is simply "the story of his life", and so retelling part of the other four books. But, she goes back to the very beginning, so it is basically all new and engaging information. Very little is a repeat of the start of book one. I was actually sobbing at one point and crying in earnest at a couple of others. That's a book I was obviously into! I really enjoyed it.

I absolutely loved reading about Master Robinton's life. I really liked seeing the whole evolution of this generation of Pern through his eyes. I also really enjoyed the explanation of how Flax came to power, which has always confused me a bit. Portions were frustrating, but only because I think, they were supposed to be from a plot's perspective. An excellent addition to the Pern series.

Good telling of the original Pern series from another point of view. Enjoyed it very much.

I so wanted to give this book four stars since Robinton is my favorite character in the Pern series. But the inconsistencies between this book and the "first" trilogy were so annoying. It's hasn't been so long since I read DF, DQ, and TWD and it bugged me throughout the entire book. I feel like this book just confused everything. If you're going to write a book about a character already a pretty major character in your other books, do your research first. Don't just write it hoping that everything stays consistent. So annoying.

The story of Master Robinton from his being born til the events of the first Dragonrider trilogy. An extremely talented boy is ignored by his perfectionist father even while being better than him. Amazing that Robinton turned out as well as he did. A very enjoyable tale, even though McCaffrey shows her true colors in regards to her views on marriage and sexuality.

Not sure what is up with this specific edition on Goodreads. It is NOT abridged. [nor specially priced :D]

Usually I give a book until page 80 before deciding to quit it. This one didn't make it past page 42. Boring.

This book tries to explain everyone and everything that lead up to the original Dragonrider books. That some of it works is a testimony to Anne McCaffrey's great talent. But even she can't make the whole thing seem anything but contrived.

Loved all of the Dragonrider books - Anne McCaffrey writes a thrilling novel.

Okay, so I started out a little pissed that she was milking this story again, since Robinton is in the first three books as well as renegades and this is simply "the story of his life", and so retelling part of the other four books. But, she goes back to the very beginning, so it is basically all new and engaging information. Very little is a repeat of the start of book one. I was actually sobbing at one point and crying in earnest at a couple of others. That's a book I was obviously into! I really enjoyed it.

For me THE best Dragonrider's novel! Anne McCaffrey describes the life of Masterharper Robinton here, a fascinating character with a troublesome history, which made him the outstanding man he is (with some bad habits).

A lighthearted Biography of the Greatest MasterHarper of them all, this tome follows the story of Robinton from his birth to a musical genius of a family, his early travails with a father who does not understand him, to his journeys about Pern.
For all who have wondered HOW Robinton became the man he is, how he understood a misused, abused girl so well, and could so easily divert and distract a woman who was sometimes a joy and sometimes a shrew...
This is the journey you will take.

The story of Master Robinton's life up to the beginning of "Dragonflight". It's about half as long again as even the longest of the other books and it does feel rather over-extended at times. The author does say in the acknowledgements that she wrote the book to answer questions she'd been asked about events leading up the other books, and although it was nice to get the answers, some judicious pruning would have been better½

The back story leading up to Lessa’s becoming Weyrwoman of Benden Weyr. Story ends with death of Fax as Ruatha Hold is liberated. The main part of the story is the growth of Robinton, his relation with his parents, and his eventual acceptance of the post of Master Harper.

As a stand a lone book, The Masterharper of Pern is a well written, enjoyable story. However as the 15th or so book in the Pern universe, it unfortunately ignores the lore and framework established in the earlier books. These aren't little things but major storyline affecting continuity breaks. The book is basically written in some alternate universe where the characters and settings are familiar, but the history and relationships are different. The overall effect is that of a mary sue piece of fan fiction.½

Masterharper Robinton may be Anne McCaffrey's most beloved character. A truly good man, who wants the best for his people and friends. After a long wait by fans, McCaffrey finally gave us his story. Excellent!

This is one of my favorite music books. I just wish I could play all of the songs in it.

I have been reading Anne McCaffrey's Pern books for many years. I discovered them when I was twelve, and over the course of that summer I devoured all that had been written. I adored them. I adore Masterharper Robinton. I have a print of the portrait of Robinton that Robin Wood did for her People of Pern book. I always thought a book about Robinton would be great, and I wanted to like The Masterharper of Pern when it came out. I expected a lot from The Masterharper of Pern, and I was greatly disappointed. Ms. Caffrey seems to have written this book in a vacuum. It does not fit in at all with the impressions of Robinton's early life and life at the Harper Hall at the end of the long interval that she gave in her earlier books. She gives short shrift to story lines and characters she had alluded to in earlier (written) books, while focusing on entirely new characters created for this book. If these other events and people were so integral to Robinton's life--why were they never mentioned later in his life? Ms McCaffrey fell for the same pitfall that many writters of prequels encounter. That said, I am sure Pern fans will still want to read The Masterharper of Pern, but it won't be one of those books to make it into the reread pile. Instead when you get a hankering for Robinton and the Harper Hall, I would suggest listening to the companion CD of the same name recorded by Tania Opland and Mike Freeman. The cd is definitely the best thing to have come out of the book.½

CHRONICLES OF PERN