"Personable characters and superb storytelling make this an excellent choice. . . . Essential for Pern fans of all ages."--Library Journal (starred review)
The son of a miner, Kindan has no expectations for any other life. He loves his lessons with the camp's harper, but music isn't part of a miner's future. He also enjoys helping out with the camp's watch-wher-- a creature distantly related to dragons and uniquely suited to work in dark, cold spaces--but even that important job can't promise a future above the ground. Then disaster strikes. In one terrible instant, Kindan loses his family and the camp loses its watch-wher. It will take a new friendship and a new responsibility to teach Kindan that even a seemingly impossible dream is never out of reach . . . and that light can be found in the deepest darkness.
"A guaranteed pleaser [in] one of SF's most splendid and longest-lived sagas."--Booklist "Another delightful entry in the Pern series."--
Publishers Weekly