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Dragon's Kin by Anne and Todd McCaffrey
01/01/2004 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
pub: Bantam Press. 292 page hardback. Price: £16.99 (UK). ISBN: 0-593-05287-0. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.booksattransworld.co.uk/annemccaffrey
Although I have 3 more of the main Dragonrider books to catch up on, 'Dragon's Kin' is pretty much a standalone book.
As the title suggests, it's not so much about the dragons as their cousins, the watch-whers, and how they are used in mining. Miner's son, Kindan, is left orphaned when his father and brothers are killed in a cave-in at a newly opened coal-mine.
The watch-wher dies of exhaustion after trying to rescue them. Kindan is delegated to the new Harper, Zist, and because of his father's link to the watch-wher is considered the best candidate to impress a replacement when an egg is available.
There's a certain amount of queue-jumping, when the journeyman miner Natalon offers a winter supply of coal for the privilege. We then follow the birth and development of Kisk as he's prepared for his duty down the mines keeping an eye out for bad air or gases.
Kindan is aided by Nuella, Natalon's blind daughter who is kept secret from the rest of the keep lest it's believed her handicap will reflect on her father's leadership qualities. There's a little skulduggery from Natalon's brother, Tarik, that gets side-lined towards the end when it really should have been dealt with more effectively.
Quite where the blame for that can be attributed is hard to say and I doubt the McCaffreys are going to say. Not being able to totally differentiate between the two writers doesn't allow me to adhere credit for the various elements either. Although there is no cast list and only a brief introduction to place the time setting - somewhere after the second interval of thread fall - this is very much Pern.
It will no doubt be easier to see who wrote what when son Todd McCaffrey releases his own Pern book sometime later this year. There's a lot of useful information derived from this book, especially in relation to how the weyrs treat the normal folk and the threads - if you excuse the term - of why the knowledge of the dragons' ability to go between times was suppressed.
If anything, the change in knowledge boundaries demonstrates a slowly devolving civilisation over the years, even if this is written somewhat in retrospect. If you're already a collector of Pern books, then this will quickly be added to your collection. If you're new to the series and want to know where to start, technically it's 'Dragonsdawn' although this book can be read in its own right without a need for exact knowledge of this reality.
Saying that, if you're an SF fan and haven't touched on any of McCaffrey's books over the years then you haven't been paying attention.
GF Willmetts
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