The people and the problems mentioned [in Dragondrums] would make more sense if you had read the earlier books and the adult trilogy on Pern. Well written, but confusing for the uninitiated. The series doesn't live up to the promise of the first book.

Ruth M. Stein, "Book Remarks: 'Dragondrums'," in Language Arts (copyright © 1980 by the National Council of Teachers of English; reprinted by permission of the publisher and the author), Vol. 57, No. 2, February, 1980, p. 189.