I Read What?!

So we've reached the end of Nerilka's Story, which means that it's time for me to decide whether or not this book has withstood the test of time.

And, hopefully unsurprisingly, it has! It is, without a doubt, the best of the Pern books I've read so far.

It does say something that the most readable Pern books, in my opinion, are the ones about normal people as opposed to dragonriders. Nerilka's Story, Dragonsong, and Dragondrums were all really good, fun reads. Moreta was a pretty decent book, but it still had a lot of the gross sexual politics that ruin dragonriding as a fantasy to me.

I still can't get over how Anne McCaffrey invented a world where folks can fly dragons, but also made it sound so terrible that I'd rather be anything BUT a dragonrider.

But that's a rant that belongs to a different book. Nerilka's Story has absolutely none of that.

So let's talk about it!

Plot

The interesting thing, to me, is that there really isn't that much of a plot in this story. Nerilka is unhappy, Nerilka holds things together during a crisis, Nerilka leaves, Nerilka finds a new place to thrive, Nerilka holds things together during another crisis, and eventually things resolve.

Nerilka really isn't even the driving force behind why things resolve so well. Alessan is the one who proposes marriage, and Alessan has to come to his own epiphany. All Nerilka does is basically just be there and do her thing.

And you know? That's enough.

A story doesn't HAVE to be high stakes to be good. The characters don't have to be big damn heroes to be interesting. The worst thing I can say about a book is "nothing happened", but the "something" doesn't have to be huge. It can be small and intimate.

White Dragon annoyed me because there was nothing after Jaxom stole the egg. For god knows how many chapters. Dragonsinger annoyed me because there was no point to anything. The beginning to the end of that story could be reduced to a single paragraph of exposition in a better novel.

Objectively, I can't say that Nerilka's story has that much more happening than either of those books. But they're worlds apart in terms of execution. I felt with Nerilka, I wanted her to find her place, and I worried for her when things weren't going well. I felt satisfied with the resolution.

That said, as I complained before, I do wish we'd gotten a little more of a peek at Nerilka's married life prior to the Hatching. And I might have liked a little bit afterward too. It was good to see Alessan pull his head out of his ass, but I'd have liked to see a little actual romance between the characters.

But I admit the emotional development that we did see was enough that I can follow the trajectory. I believe in the happy ending.

Characters:

Nerilka is lovely, of course. She's got a different kind of strength than Lessa or Moreta, but she's still very admirable. I liked reading about her and I was invested in her experiences.

Alessan is more complex here than in Moreta. In a good way. Even before Moreta's death, we saw more of the weight of the tragedy on the poor guy's shoulders. It becomes more obvious, reading this book, how much of a good front he was putting on for Moreta. And then, of course, after Moreta died, we saw a darker side of his personality. But McCaffrey does a surprisingly good job at keeping him from crossing the line. As I said above though, I do wish we got to see a little bit of him treating Nerilka better, now that he's had his cathartic epiphany.

McCaffrey's still got that issue with nuance. When she decides a character is awful, then they are awful, and they literally have no redeeming qualities ever. Tolocamp isn't allowed to ever have a point in what he does. Anella is completely incompetent. Et cetera and so forth. It's so extreme that I was rather shocked when she allowed Campen to occasionally have a point, and worry about Nerilka after she left.

I definitely think Anella's role is worth revisiting. Obviously, and understandably, Nerilka's got a lot of resentment for the woman. But how much of Anella's actions are what she actually wants to do? Did she WANT to come to the Hold? Or did she come because she was terrified of the plague and wanted to get her family into safety?

Recall, one of Nerilka's complaints was that Anella brought SO MANY of her family with her. But let's be honest here. If it were me, and I could get my family somewhere safe, I'd be dragging as many of them as possible too.

And as to her relationship with Tolocamp, what WOULD have happened if Anella had done like Nerilka and refused Tolocamp after Pendra's death? We've seen how petty the man is. Do we think he'd have let her stay in the Hold if she refused him?

She makes a lot of mistakes and has clearly bad priorities, but it doesn't seem like anyone is bothering to explain anything. Honestly, I think the girl's in a rough spot. I wouldn't trade places. I'd read "Anella's Story" if someone ever wanted to write it.

But anyway, the complaints are pretty mild. Overall, as I said, this was the best Pern novel so far. It's making me cautiously optimistic to see if the quality remains high from this point on.

So last time, we hit the end of Moreta's primary story. This is interesting, because we've hit the point where Moreta ends. There's an epilogue, of course, but we have no idea how the story will get from here to there. That's pretty interesting.

What's also interesting is that we're three chapters from the end. And it's funny to think about. When I look at this book objectively, I realize that not much really has happened. Nerilka suffers an off-screen tragedy, manages things at the estate, leaves in disgust, and goes to Ruatha. Objectively speaking, more happened in White Dragon. But at no point do I feel bored or restless when I read this book.

I think it's because, while the stakes are far lower than in White Dragon, and while not much seems to happen in terms of big events, there's still a lovely small scale sense of momentum. Nerilka is not a static character, and the emotional stages that she goes through in this book provide us with a sense of action, even when she herself is just going through the motions. It probably also helps that McCaffrey isn't going out of her way to portray Nerilka as the best thing ever or the most put-upon martyr in the world. She's a normal person, with some talents that are worthy of recognition, some obstacles in her path, and some goals that she can reach.

And it helps that the story is focused on the future and where Nerilka is going, rather than the past accomplishments that she's already done. I don't need my friend to make me a "shut up about the egg!" meme for Nerilka, thank goodness.

So let's see where Nerilka's going now!

( We've got some tragedies to revisit )

So last time Nerilka made a few pit stops and found her way to Ruatha. And I didn't say this before, but I really appreciate the pacing of that. It would have been a bit of a waste to send Nerilka straight to Ruatha proper, rather than let her roam a little. But since we know the plot continues in Ruatha, it would have been annoying to stretch that part out too long.

McCaffrey, when she's on, is a very good craftsman. This is a good example of it. But now, let's let the plot continue...

( And let's see what happens next )

One thing I have to admit about Ms. McCaffrey is that she is excellent at writing grief. In this book or in the Ship Who Sang, she's got a real knack for presenting that emotional punch.

I'm really looking forward to the point when this book moves past Moreta, and we get to experience that aftermath. I'm expecting it to be honestly devastating.

...honestly, I'll be happy once Nerilka leaves Fort Hold. I think I'll enjoy the book a lot better when the cartoon villains are in the rear view mirror.

( Unfortunately, we're not there yet )

So I've been thinking, and I think my review of Chapter Two was a little TOO critical. The thing that did not come across very well is that I actually DO like the chapter, and the book so far.

Essentially, Nerilka's Story hits the exact issue that Moreta did with me. I would say objectively that both of these books are the best written of the Pern books I've read so far. (And of the two, I'd say that Nerilka feels stronger.) The problem then is that the...McCaffrey-isms, if you will, stand out more.

But I think I'm getting carried away. My resentment over past books is overshadowing my review of the current book. That's not fair. I'm going to try to step back from that and judge the story on its own merits.

( It might be tough when we see Tolocamp again... )

So last time, I introduced the book and made comments about a character list. This time, I'm actually going to start the book.

( So let's go )