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Dragon Harper
Dragon Harper
Nov 11, 2025 1:20 PM

Author:Anne McCaffrey,Todd McCaffrey

Dragon Harper

Kindan is an apprentice harper at the Harper Hall but he is finding the lessons very difficult and although he has his friends, Nonala, Kelsa and Verilan, he also has enemies, such as the bully Vaxoram. Things begin to improve for Kindan when he beats Vaxoram in a duel and Vaxoram becomes first his servant and then gradually his trusted friend. Then Kindan impresses a fire-lizard and becomes the proud owner of the magnicent Valla. At the hatching he meets Koriana, daughter of Lord Holder Bemin of Fort Hold. She also impresses and she and Kindan fall in love, but her parents disapprove and she has to return to Fort Hold. Then a plague begins to spread across Pern, killing nearly everyone infected. Kindan and his friends search the harper records to see if they can find a cure, but all they can find is mention of a similar plague over a hundred Turns past. As the plague gets worse Kindan and Vaxoram are sent to Fort Hold to help tend the sick. Kindan will be reunited with Koriana, but will she be free of the plague, and will he be able to find a cure before more people die?

Reviews

A pleasant, feelgood read...the sort of thing that it's good to sit down with on a rainy day and read from cover to cover

—— SFX

Todd McCaffrey takes the reins of the dragonriders of Pern in a coming-of-age story

—— DeathRay

Captivating . . . The McCaffreys are well known for their brilliant characterizations, and they do not disappoint here

—— Booklist

Provocative and beautifully written

—— Booklist

A seductive story... a metaphysical thriller

—— The Observer

Canter is a sympathetic writer and one with a keen eye and ear for the absurd. There are sentences on almost every page which raise a smile

—— Scotsman

With shades of Mike Leigh's Another Year, it's a consistently funny skewering of middle-class clichés with memorable characters and a dark twist

—— Shortlist

It's set in my favourite place (Suffolk) and I opened it at random, read a page and laughed

—— Julie Myerson , Daily Telegraph

A darkly comic read that's perfect for anyone considering chucking in city life and starting afresh

—— Sport Magazine

The author's comic take on the gap between his characters' aspirations and their shortfall makes for hilarious, snappy reading... A sermon on the perils of the rural dream, it will have estate agents blanching. But as a robust and sharp piece of fiction, it is smart, confident and, in places, eye wateringly upfront

—— Elizabeth Buchan , Sunday Times

Jon Canter is hilarious and self-deprecating, a wonderful, wise and witty writer

—— Helen Fielding

Jon Canter is a North London Woody Allen

—— Independent

Canter is a sharp writer with a wickedly dry wit

—— Metro

Hilarious…every page contains a joke

—— Christopher Hirst , Independent

Metropolitan media types transplanted to Suffolk provides fertile ground for Canter’s third hilarious novel…every page contains a joke

—— Christopher Hirst , Independent

Acute, horrifying and entertaining

—— The Lady

An intriguing, enlightening,and totally compelling read with surely the most unlikely hero in young people's literature

—— Rosalind Kerven , Northern Echo

Laugh-out-loud funny

—— TimeOut

...original, kind, disturbing and profoundly moving.

—— The Guardian

A stroke of genius, as the advantages of having a naive, literal-minded boy in the driving seat are manifold...we do learn what it might fe el like to have Asperger's Syndrome.

—— David Newnham, T.E.S.

A truly original work of fiction . . .a unique tale

—— York Evening Press

excellent

—— Claire Allfree , Metro Midlands

A wonderful first person narrative of a boy with Asperger;s Syndrome; funny, sad and extraordinarily original

—— Philip Ardagh , The Guardian

The highlight of the year

—— John Malam , Manchester Evening News

This is the magazine of the National Autistic Society: the review is written by someone with Asperger's Syndrome. "This book is a good murder mystery story but a better description of how th mind of a different person with some kind of special need looks upon how things work and come about.

—— Communication

This startlingly original story . . . Has surprised everyone-not least the author.The book is funny, gripping, sad and unstintingly entertaining.

—— The Age

So if you're interested in solving mysteries and want to learn about autism in children, you'll love this book

—— Carlisle News and Star

A triumph from first page to last . . . Haddon's prose is empathetic and you cannot help but be drawn into young Christpher's world

—— Dundee Evening Telegraph and Post

This is a unique book written from the perspective of a unique character . . . It is very easy to read and would satisfy anyone from eight to 88

—— The Teacher

I found this book highly entertaining and enthralling though it was a bit sad at times.

—— Books for Keeps
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