Morshal dismisses her, inadvertently revealing he disapproves of the idea of a female harper. Menolly is also diagnosed by Oldive, the Masterhealer, who prescribes a salve for her feet and a series of exercises to bring her hand - weakened following an injury becoming infected - back to its original strength.įollowing this, Silvina shows Menolly to the cot where the girls attending the Harper Hall are housed, before sending her to Master Jerint, the instrument maker, where she chooses a gitar to practise on - and plays in front of Master Domick, the composition master, whose manner makes Menolly lose confidence - before heading to the Dining Hall, where she befriends Piemur, an apprentice.Īfter eating, Menolly is approached by Master Morshal, the musical theory master, who quizzes her with question after question, each of which she answers successfully, before asking her to play several songs, the last of which Menolly is unable to play due to the injury to her hand. Menolly later heads up to Robinton's quarters, where she checks the fire lizard eggs and talks with Robinton about her future at the Harper Hall. To help, Silvina sends Camo, a mentally-deficient drudge to give them food scraps in the courtyard, where Menolly and her fire lizards inadvertently interrupt a chorus by singing along with them. The next morning, Menolly goes down to the kitchens to get food for her hungry fire lizards.

Ĭontinuing on from the end of Dragonsong, Dragonsinger opens with T'gellan conveying Robinton and Menolly to the Harper Hall, where they are met by a crowd of harpers, and Robinton introduces Menolly as « Petiron's lost apprentice» - and adds that she has secured two fire lizard eggs for him and his apprentice Sebell - before Silvina, the headwoman, escorts Menolly inside to a room, where she sleeps. Edwards Award for her «lifetime contribution in writing for teens».ĭragonsinger placed ninth for the annual Locus Award for Best Novel. The American Library Association in 1999 cited the two early Pern trilogies ( Dragonriders and Harper Hall), along with The Ship Who Sang, when McCaffrey received the annual Margaret A. Dragonsinger was first published by Atheneum in February 1977. No, her parents would never understand that playing musical instruments could be as hard work as sailing or fishing.ĭragonsinger is the second book of the Harper Hall Trilogy in the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey.

They ached and trembled from the constricted movements and tension of an hour of intensive playing. Menolly shook her hands, letting them flap from her wrists. Perhaps that was why her parents couldn’t appreciate her music-it wouldn’t appear to be hard work to them. Of course, an exhausting day at sail lines and nets left little energy to expend on running or laughing.

Dragonsinger by anne mccaffrey