" Having recently finished 'The White Dragon', in which the current residents of Pern have just uncovered an area formerly settled in the distant past, this was a good follow-up. I enjoyed learning why and how the first settlers came to Pern, and to get the back-story filled in. I was disappointed in how many great characters got killed off willy-nilly, often so abruptly whacked and forgotten that it made my head spin. I feel like many of the characters set up to be major ones in subsequent books were not always very well-rounded, and for many of them I don't really care what becomes of them. I was mostly disappointed to learn, in coversation with other Dragonriders readers, that all the rest of the books I can look forward to reading take place from this time up to that of 'White Dragon'... but no further. The characters in the later times are ones I want to know more about, while these 'originals' I don't much care about... so I'm sorely disappointed. I may keep reading, but I'm actually not sure yet. "
— Amie, 2/4/2014