Dragon Harper: A Closing Review on THE Book for a Pandemic

By: Riya Kumar

A conclusion that has been too long in the coming...I have finally gotten around to articulating my final thoughts on the book after having finished it.

It does not need to be explained again that the McCaffrey's (Anne and her son, Todd) are brilliant authors. There is a reason the world of Pern and the entire Dragonriders of Pern series is so well-loved, and Dragon Harper is no exception.

I started reading the book shortly before the pandemic reached us, and it really is a funny coincidence that our world's happenings were reflected in the book in many ways. A plague sweeps through the world, affecting certain ages more than others. Many die and many are affected. People are quarantined and treated as well as they can be, but it is not a cure. The desperate search for a cure (or a vaccine) ensues as the death toll increases, with people turning to the pages of history for help—for we all know how history repeats itself. Is this not a strikingly apt reflection of our world in these times?

Stories and books are perhaps the best tools for us to explore and understand the human experience in ways we can't in our own lives and bodies. The book will show a pandemic through a very different set of eyes, as well as much more beyond the disease and global events. Readers will experience young love, anger at injustice, grief from death, the pressures to find a lifesaving cure, heartbreak, pride from one's own achievements, compassion for your enemy, the intense stresses of trying to save countless dying patients without a cure, and so much more through Dragon Harper.

If you are interested in a fantasy book with beautiful world-building, very real characters and human relationships, and a realistically written world event that coincides with real global issues, then this is the perfect book for you!

I highly recommend the rest of the Dragonriders of Pern series as well. Check out my previous review for more information on that!