Todd mccaffrey is ruining pern!

[kdf_333]

please stop him. dragonheart was not a very good book.

okay so he is telling the story of the dragon riders that went back in time during the dragon plague. fine...poor storytelling. i mean his books are getting worse instead of better. there were so many thing i did not like.

the dialogue was a major issue. the ages of fiona and terin was another one, a lil gross and kinda unbelievable. the needless detail about how they were going to get the weyr up and running. i mean yeah it is nice to know but really so many pages of dialogue were spent on it i got bored. oh and how about the not keeping of the secrets from the future i mean they were blabbing to everyone stuff they should not.

i am sorry it was just so ick. it was supposed to be more of a character story not a lot of action going on, the characters were great ideas but not very realistic or fully formed. i was sooo very disappointed.

i think i should start a petition and send it to todd and anne mccaffrey. i think there are writers out there that would do a much better job at continuing the story of the dragonriders of pern than todd.

 

[ghost8772]

Unfortunately it seems Anne made a decision that ONLY Todd will ever be allowed to continue the stories on pern..... Aside from herself of course.

 

[Pyan]

Having said that, if enough readers (and buyers!) tell her the same thing, who knows?

But I don't think it's likely she'll change her mind, you know...

 

[afroelf]

I have'nt read Dragonheart, but I must agree that the two last ones I read - mainly about mining, and watchweyrs, were rather a bore. He has bad continuety and is nto very descriptive.

 

[manephelien]

I made the decision a few years ago not to read anything with Todd McCaffrey on the cover. So far, my decision has held.

Anne herself is pretty crap with continuity (ages changing, dead people coming back to life), but at least she has great characterization to compensate. I love her books in spite of their faults, but so far I haven't heard of a single redeeming fact about Todd's work to make me change my mind.

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

I have been disappointed with Todd as well. I have read some of his, but haven't read the two most recent I think. Dragonharper and another one maybe? Can't remember, but I definately don't run out to get them. Perhaps if the used bookshop has them I'll give them a try. I almost think a reread of the originals would be a better use of my time though.

 

[kythe]

I've recently gotten into the Dragons of Pern books, so this is good to know. However, it wouldn't necessarily be better to assume another author could pick up the series just as well. Someone else may have a very different vision for the direction of the stories and alienate fans even more. Authors are usually pretty selective in who (if anyone) they choose to collaborate with on their stories. Of course she will be biased toward Todd because he is her son.

I've read other series that were continued by other authors, and often it has the same result. You can tell the difference in writing style and story focus, and eventually just drop off reading the take-offs and return to the originals.

 

[Omphalos]

Keep your hopes up, Dragonlovers. Maybe one day this series will be as good as Kevin J. Anderson's Dune saga.

 

[Yuoaman]

Am I the only one who doesn't mind Todd McCaffrey's work? It's not the same as his mother's, but it's still decent, in my opinion at least...

 

[kdf_333]

okay the first one and dragnblood book i did not mind too much but the rest well if you are going to repeat the same basic story line "plague! oh no, must save pern by traveling back in time." then the rest of the story, mainly the character stories, have to be awesome and with todd they are not.

you really think if we started an online petition that she would not listen? i know mothers can be blind to their children's faults but aren't a writer's characters like children to them as well? i mean i'd rather the series end than to have it ruined by subpar material.

 

[manephelien]

Me too, but unfortunately Anne herself doesn't.

 

[Overread]

Remember also the her publisher is possibly putting on some pressure for her to keep writing books - or at least continue the Pern saga. Also its very uncommon for a writer to allow another writer to take over their works (especially something of the size of Pern) for what ever reason (fear of it changing, fear of a different voice etc...) and most times this happens it tends to be with the sad death of a writer leaving works unfinished.

Not all children of writers are good writers, one would hope that after many years though, that they have a good grasp of the world though an the thoughts of their parent as they write the story and also hear about it. Remember that they might well hear ideas and stories that we (readers) never get to see and are never recorded on paper.

That said he might just need more time to get used to writing - of course this does mean that we have to have substandard work in the collection - somthing that fans do not like and something which (in later years ) Todd might be less than enthusiastic about.
However when all is said and done one has to remember on thing - Pern is not ours its hers (and her publishers to a lesser or greater extent) so in many ways it is not out right to demand anything from the writer with regard to their works. We do not pay an author to write we pay them for what they have written. Any petition or collection of people voicing displeasure must (I feel) take a firm, but respectful stance with this matter - not simply bossing Anne that she must not let her son write for that line would not only be insulting and rude, but it also hardens her against the idea from the get go and thus any hope will be lost.

An approach which (lets say) encourages a writer (in this case Todd) to develop his own voice and works separate from Pern instead might be met with more acceptance. Also such an appraoch should also take into account the publishers who might simply be placing pressure on the authors for more works in Pern - pressure (if needed) on them should be to allow Todd to be published away from Pern in a new direction

 

[pakhet]

I read Dragonheart and don't understand it. Where is the part about the cure for the sick and dying dragons? Who is the gold rider? Wasn't there supposed to be something about 500 years in the past and the original settlers? Could someone explain the ending for me?

 

[Lilmizflashythang]

I think people have told Mrs. McCaffrey that they felt her son is ruining the series. The reason I say this is because she wrote a scathing dedication to Dragon's Blood, ending it with a word of praise for her son. He has been a part of the books for a long time. He even explained where the dragon and rider entombed in solid rock came from.

I say we give him time, and see if we can see what she sees in him. She is not as blind as some may think. In the later books he had a lot of influence on, including Renegades and Weyrs.

 

[kdf_333]

hmm i wonder do you really think no one has said anything to her or Todd or the publishers or the agents?
maybe it is like the Michael Jackson thing. after the first accusation of child molestation , you would think his friends, family, and employees discouraged the sleepover with boys and he was just too stubborn to listen, but then again maybe they were in such fear/respect they did not.
i wonder if that is what is going on. the book agent and the family and friends are not saying anything due to those reasons.

although the sales of the books may give a false impression. i mean i saw and bought the starwars prequels which were not anywhere near as good as the original trilogy but it was part of the story so i bought it. maybe they actually think the books are good cuz of the sales.

that is why i say a petition. it could be they don't know. i mean, we as fans are generally loathe to write a letter to say we dislike something. it feels petty and mean, but i think they don't know. i cannot believe they really think the books are great....then again the petaybee and acorna series were written by Anne herself so maybe they do.

and i disagree that Anne would get on the defense if presented with a petition. she either would ignore it cuz she really truly believes Todd is doing a great job or she would listen if she has her own doubts about the books. as old and successful as she is, by now critics should not bother her. and aren't artists always thanking fans because without us...well they would be starving artists, not making any profit from their art.

but that is me. i might get my feelings hurt but i listen and if the criticism is truthful and comes from a place of wanting to help i take it., i don't like it, but i take it. i cannot believe Anne is less mature than i am regarding criticism.

and i did write the publisher, but the site informed me to write directly to the authors. if his next book does not improve than i will write both of them, with or with out others to back me up so they know i am not one lone crazy fan, obsessed fan.

oh and the ones he helped his mom write don't count. i have read books Anne has coauthored with other authors and read those authors all by themselves and it was totally different and not as enjoyable since i am an anne mccaffrey fan, not those other women. well i did like the military series by the woman who coauthored the sassinak books, even though i cannot remember her name. Elizabeth i think, but i digress and i know you folks don't like that.

 

[kdf_333]

I read Dragonheart and don't understand it. Where is the part about the cure for the sick and dying dragons? Who is the gold rider? Wasn't there supposed to be something about 500 years in the past and the original settlers? Could someone explain the ending for me?

you need to go the the dragonheart topic where like every single detail of the book is discussed. it is the one that is more than 4 pages and has a spoiler alert.

 

[sielah]

I think a big part of the problem is the size and length of the Pern series. It's been going for so long, and so many novels have been written, that it's all getting a bit old and tired (IMHO). It's hard to find anything new and innovative in it any more.

The books probably sell like hot cakes, and probably still have a lot of fans, but I honestly think it's time for McCaffrey to retire Pern, and to let Todd find his own way as an author, with his own world and his own characters.

 

[dustinzgirl]

Setting all the writing talent aside, if I were Anne and my so called fans kept writing me about how crappy of a job my son was doing taking over, I'd write them back a nice long letter about where they can stick it and not to ever, never, ever buy one of my books again.

That's her son, peeps--not just some fly by night author that got the job from a hat drawing.

Absolutely no amount of fans, nor amount of disdain, could possibly ever change her decision.

So you better get used to it.

Hint: Pretend you never read any of Anne's versions.

 

[AE35Unit]

Well I've only read one of her books(tho my sister is a HUGE fan) but I'm with dust. Todd is her son,and is not some young kid. She's getting on in years now and wants to pass the baton on to someone competent and she feels her son is that someone. They may be good,they be crap but thats just the way it is.

 

[Ainethedragon]

I read alot of Anne McCaffery as a teen (note my SN, my obsession with dragons started with Pern, and had persisted ever since) and then picked up Dragonblood and another on audio book a few months ago (after a long time not having read any Pern books) By the time I got to the end of it, I was thinking "did I really love this series that much? what the heck?" So, I went ahead listened to the other book, and I felt like "hey, this is what I remember" and it was not until afterwards that I noticed Dragonsblood was written by someone else, and I figured that explained it. I just didnt get into it, or fall really in love with the characters the way I did with her books.