The Dolphins of Pern by Anne McCaffrey

A Spoiler Free Reread Review

So, first, I definitely remember reading The Dolphins of Pern during my last attempted Pern read-through. I remembered bits of it as I started this reread and those were mostly the ending bits with Readis. I'm pretty sure I only remembered him setting himself up in the caves to be around the dolphins and the part about him going to school in Landing and that's it. Boy, was I surprised at the rest of this book.

The Dolphins of Pern was absolutely delightful. I don't think I've had this much fun reading a Pern book since Dragonflight. The dolphins are absolutely spot on and just wonderfully realized. I loved everyone's reactions to them and their delight at both talking to and helping the dolphins was infectious.

I was honestly extremely annoyed with Aramina from the beginning. I know parents can be over-bearing in the ways she was, but, as I've never experienced it myself, it comes across in not-great ways. She's realistic, I'll give McCaffrey that, but I really don't like the person Aramina's become. I know a good portion of that is worry, but she's worrying far too much and being closed-minded to boot.

I don't really have much to say about the other characters. Readis' journey is honestly fairly standard, as far as journeys of growth go. He's more or less your bog-standard male protagonist coming of age doing something his parents don't understand. T'lion was also pretty standard. Loved Gadareth, of course. The dragons are often the best parts. Aaand Toric... got what was coming to him. He was honestly the least interesting part of this book and it's no wonder I completely forgot that bit.

I didn't mention this in my All the Weyrs of Pern review because it happened toward the end of the book, but Robinton's passing had me in tears. I don't feel it's super spoiler-y to mention here as it happened mid-book. His funeral was touching and I was in tears again. Robinton was one of my favorite characters and he lived a nice, long life through the series.

So, yeah, The Dolphins of Pern is probably my favorite after Dragonflight. Love the further expansion of Pern... in both the re-addition of dolphins and the technological leaps forward. Love the dolphins. Love the dragons. Just all around love for this book... except Toric and Aramina. Heh.