Introduction

Reason about reading this book I.

a) CopyRight
b) Personal Impression
c) Title of the book

Main Characters II.

Page 1

Plot Summary III.

Page 2-5
 Reason about reading the book:

The reason I read the book is because is to gain knowledge and the more you read, the
more imaginative you become. Whenever you read a fiction book, it takes you another
world. In the new world, your imagination works at its best as you try to see things in
your own mind.

All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1976 by Anne McCaffrey.

Cover art Copyright © 1986 by Rowina Morril.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without permission in writing from publisher.

For information address: Atheneum publishers,

886 third avenue, New York, NY 10022.

Personal Impression

Menolly, a young fisher's daughter, had dreamed all her life of learning the Harper's craft. When
her stern father denied Menolly's destiny, she fled Half Circle Hold just as Pern was struck again
by the deadly danger of Thread fall, the killing ropes of death that fall from a nearby star. Taking
shelter in a cave by the sea, Menolly made a miraculous discovery that ensured her a new
home among the master musicians of Pern's Harper Hall.

Dragon Song

Dragon song is the first book of the Harper Hall Trilogy in the Dragon riders of Pern series. It
tells how Menolly of Half-Circle Sea Hold becomes Pern's first female Harper.

I.
 MAIN CHARACTERS:

Menolly

Menolly is a 15 year old girl, considered an outcast by her own family. She ran away
from Half Circle Hold. She has nine fire lizards whom she has Impressed. She is the
youngest of her family and is constantly in trouble for her singing by her father and
mother. She was taught the Teaching Songs by Petiron the old Harper.

Elgion

Elgion is the new Harper in Half Circle Hold. With a sense of humor he becomes friends
with Alemi to find the supposed "fire lizards. “He finds out that Menolly was the one who
wrote those beautiful songs which had been sent by the old Harper to Master Harper
Robinton before Petiron had died.

Alemi

The caring brother of Menolly, Alemi is the only sibling who actually misses her. He is
one of the best seamen of Half Circle Hold and befriends the New Harper Elgion.
Together they try to find the fire lizard egg clutches for the dragon riders.

The Nine Fire Lizards

These nine fire lizards have been Impressed by Menolly as soon as they hatched and
have been bonded ever since. Menolly had saved their eggs and was there as soon as
they hatched.
These are their names:
Gold: Beauty
Bronze: Rocky, Diver
Brown: Lazybones, Mimic, Brownie
Blue: Uncle
Green: Auntie 1, Auntie 2
Yanus

Yanus is Menolly's father and the leader of Half Circle Hold. He will do anything to not
disgrace the Hold, even by berating Menolly for everything she does including singing.

mavi

Mavi is Menolly's mom and is exasperated with her. She cares a little more about
Menolly but yet like her husband does not want to disgrace the Hold

Page 1
 Plot Summary

Dragonsong opens with the death of Petiron, the harper at Half-Circle Sea Hold. Until a
replacement harper can be sent to the hold, Menolly, the daughter of the Sea
Holder Yanus and Petiron's favorite student, is begrudgingly chosen to teach the
children. However, Menolly is expected to put aside all hopes of a musical future, as
women don't become harpers, and as such she is forbidden to practice or play any
instruments - despite Petiron approving her music and even sending it to the Harper
Hall.

Despite this, Menolly plays in secret, and leaves her tunes for the new harper to
discover. Unknown to her, her mother Mavi is aware of this, and later intervenes, and
one day Yanus catches her; beating her with his belt and confiscating her gitar.
Following this, Menolly is sent to gather fresh herbs from the lands surrounding Half-
Circle Sea Hold. While out, Menolly witnesses the mating flight of a queen fire-lizard; a
creature thought mythical, though occasionally reported by the seaholders. As she
returns to Half-Circle Sea Hold, Menolly discovers that Petiron's replacement, Elgion,
has arrived.

A few days later, Menolly cuts her hand while gutting pack tails, and her hand becomes
infected. Mavi treats it, but informs Menolly that her hand has been crippled as a result,
and she will likely never play music again. When Menolly heals, she returns to
harvesting herbs - often running ahead of the others so she can be alone. On one
occasion, she ends up at a cove near the Dragon Stones; a natural rock feature along
the coast of Nerat, and witnesses a queen Fire lizard flying at the water; rising with the
tide.

Climbing down to the cove, Menolly discovers the reason for the queen's acts; it has laid
a clutch of eggs on the beach that will be swept away by the rising tide. The queen and
several other fire-lizards at first fly at Menolly; thinking her a threat to the eggs, but she
inadvertantly soothes them by singing, and aids in rescuing the eggs by carrying them
to a cave, before returning home.

Page 2
 Around this time, Elgion begins asking Yanus who taught the children in his stead, as
he believes they would make a good harper, but Yanus lies and says it was a fosterling
from another hold. Unknown to Yanus, Elgion has been instructed to stir up change
at Half-Circle Sea Hold - Master harper Robinton believing that holds all
across Pern need to become open to new ways of thinking - and also to find who wrote
the music Petiron sent to the Harper Hall.

At a dinner, Elgion calls every member of Half-Circle Sea Hold to sing,

but Mavi forbids Menolly from singing any louder than the women of the hold normally
sing. In anger, Menolly leaves the hall, and sneaks out early the following morning to
return to the cove. Halfway to the cove, Thread begins falling, and Menolly is forced to
shelter in the fire-lizard cave, where the eggs are hatching. The hatchlings are hungry,
and attempt to leave the cave as Thread falls over it. In an attempt to prevent their
deaths, Menolly begins feeding the hatchlings with the food she has with her.
As Threadfall ends, the queen fire-lizard guides the others out, and Menolly decides to
remain in the cave.

Menolly's absence is eventually noticed at Half-Circle Sea Hold, and the inhabitants
wonder if she was killed by Thread. Elgion talks with her parents, and they conclude she
is probably hiding in a cave along the Nerat coast, as she knows the area well. Two
days after the Threadfall Menolly has not returned, and it is ultimately decided not to
look for her. Elgion is unsatisfied with this, and manages to tell the dragon riders of the
situation when N'tonarrives from Benden Weyr to ask him to search the coast for fire-
lizards; recently "rediscovered" on the Southern Continent

Meanwhile, in the cave, Menolly wakes to find nine fire-lizard hatchlings resting around
her - she has Impressedthem. Instead of returning to Half-Circle Sea Hold, she decides
to remain in the cave, emerging only to get supplies for herself and the fire-lizards. In
time, she names her fire-lizards and gets into the habit of singing to them - especially
once they sing back.

At Half-Circle Sea Hold, Elgion strikes up a friendship with Menolly's brother Alemi, who
is keen to learn about the outside world. Alemi teaches Elgion how to sail, and
at Elgion's urging, the two end up sailing to the Dragon Stones - Elgion is planning to
search for fire-lizards there. At the Dragon Stones, Elgion and Alemi overhear music
coming from the shore - Menolly playing from within the cave. The conversation turns
to Menolly, and Elgion soon realises that she was the teacher. Alemi tells him
that Yanus thought Menolly acting as a harper was disgraceful, and also adds that he
feels Menolly is better off away from the hold. They return to Half-Circle Sea Hold,
where Elgion sets up a signal for N'ton, and plans to head to the cove near the Dragon
Stones to see if Menolly was playing the music he heard.

Page 3
At the cave, Menolly is woken by the feelings of hunger from her fire-lizards, and heads
out to find food. While she is out, Thread begins falling, and Menolly begins running for
the safety of the cave - despite knowing it is too far away. As she reaches the cove, she
is seen and rescued by T'gran, a dragon rider, who takes her to Benden Weyr.

Upon arrival, Menolly finds she cannot walk without great pain - her old boots tore as
she was fleeing the Thread, and her feet are lacerated - and so T'gran takes her to be
treated by Manora; who puts her to sleep with a dose of Fellis.

Also at Benden Weyr is Elgion - having been rescued from Thread while searching
for Menolly - who uses his time there as a chance to observe Weyr life.

When Menolly wakes, she tells her fire-lizards to hide, and later requests
from Manora that nobody tell her family she is here. Menolly is later cared for by Mirrim,
a child her age who lives at Benden Weyr, and the two become friends. Mirrim later
looks over Menolly's "crippled" hand, and her pronouncement causes Menolly to
realise Maviintentionally let her hand heal badly to prevent her from playing music.

Over time, Menolly's feet heal, and she offers to help with the weyrbred children;
realizing as she works that she is at last free from the restrictions of her
home. Menolly notes the mood in the Weyr is odd, and she is later told by Sanra -
another inhabitant of the Weyr - about the recent events on Pern, including the deaths
of Prideth and Wirenth, and how they fear Wirenth's rider Brekke - foster mother
of Mirrim - who has since gone catatonic, will lose her mind as a result. To remedy this,
they are controversially planning to place her as a candidate in the next Hatching.

Menolly is unable to keep her fire-lizards secret for much longer, and she is approached
by Lessa, who asks her about where she found them, before sending her to the cove
with T'gellan to try and find another fire-lizard clutch, which they do. Lessa plans to hand
these eggs out to the Lord Holders and Craft masters who attend the
Hatching. Lessa states Menolly belongs in Benden Weyr as a result of her fire-
lizards and Menolly becomes overwhelmed to the point of tears by how nice everyone is
being to her.

Page 4
 After calming down, Menolly joins Mirrimand T'gellan in the Dining Caverns, and is
called to sing with Oharan - along with her fire-lizards, who join in - when they overhear
her humming a harmony to his tune.

The next morning, Menolly helps the inhabitants of the Weyr prepare for the Hatching
festivities. T'gellan takes Menolly to the Hatching Grounds, where she
witnesses Brekke emerge from her catatonic state - failing to Impress -, and
young Jaxom of Ruatha Hold leap onto the sands and break open an egg ignored by
the others; inadvertantly Impressing the white hatchling inside.

Following the Hatching, Menolly meets a harper who carries her to the Dining Caverns
when he sees she is having trouble walking. In the Dining Caverns, it is revealed that
the man is no less than Masterharper Robinton, but he leaves before Menolly can talk
with him. Mirrim and T'gellan arrive to talk with Menolly about the Hatching - Mirrim has
been with the recovering Brekke - before Menolly is taken to the Kitchen Caverns to
help distribute the fire-lizard eggs.

At the same time, Elgion plays music with Oharan, before going over to talk
with T'gellan about where he found the fire-lizard eggs. T'gellan ends up telling him
about Menolly, and Elgion rushes to find Robinton and inform him
that Menolly is Petiron's "lost apprentice".

Much later in the evening, Menolly is waiting for Robinton to return for his fire-
lizard egg. Oharan approaches her and asks her to sing with him, which she does. He
then switches to one of her songs, and Robinton enters and asks she play for him,
before inviting her to come back with him to the Harper Hall and become a harper.

Page 5
 DRAGON SONG

By: Anne McCaffrey

Publisher: Atheneum Books

Pages: 176