All Jax ever wanted to be was a Dragonrider, but as Lord of Ruatha hold, he has far greater responsibilities. But when he attends a birthing ceremony and hears a voice crying for help from a small deformed egg, he has to save the baby dragon. Ruth is a runt, white and small, but both boy and dragon have a greater role to play than anyone ever imagined.

This was probably my favourite Pern book when I first began on the series, and not a lot has changed now. It's the book when (if you're reading them in published order) that you suddenly realise that you're reading science fiction and not fantasy ... and I remember how much that blew my mind.

Jaxom and Ruth are such great characters - halfway between dragonriders and holders, but with their own unique powers. Jaxom's struggle to fit in, to grown up and find the person he wants to be, echoes with us all - he's just lucky enough to have an amazing dragon at his side when he does it.

This is also the book where McCaffrey knits together the Harper Hall and the Dragon Weyr stories, where they work more closely together to help all of Pern, and it's much better for that. Having all our favourite characters, even the ones we don't like all that much, gives the book a much more rounded storyline.

A great read - looking forward to moving to the next one.