[In Dragondrums] McCaffrey returns us to the fascinating planet of her other dragon tales and once more intertwines the strange and the familiar in this story of a boy's maturing from a likable, restless trouble-maker to a self-sufficient youngster who has learned to survive. Though the plot lacks form at times, placing little emphasis on the major incidents, leaving readers with a loose, episodic adventure, young people will be entranced again by Pern's ways and in Piemur find an impulsive, thoroughly sympathetic hero.

Sara Miller, "Grades 3-6: 'Dragondrums'," in School Library Journal (reprinted from the May, 1979 issue of School Library Journal, published by R. R. Bowker Co./ A Xerox Corporation; copyright © 1979), Vol. 25, No. 9, May, 1979, p. 64.