Dragonriders of Pern

Dragonflight (1968) .
	"The men who rode the dragons were a breed apart. Chosen when the dragons were first hatched, they became soulmates for life with the huge, magnificent beasts they controlled - the green, blue, brown and bronzes - beautiful - terrible - the only creatures who could defend the planet Pern from the blood-red star. But without the Queen, the dragons would become extinct. Only the gigantic, golden Queen could breed the new flights. And the Queen was fading... dying... leaving behind one last, huge, golden egg."

Dragonquest (1971) .
	"Another Turn, and the deadly silver Threads began falling again. So the bold dragonriders took to the skies and their magnificent flying dragons swirled and swooped in space, belching flames that destroyed the shimmering strands before they reached the ground. But F'lar knew he had to find a better way to protect the peoples and lands of Pern, and he had to find it before the rebellious Oldtimers could breed any more dissent... before his brother, F'nor, would be foolhardy enough to launch another suicide mission... and before the mercurial fire-lizards could cause even more trouble."

Dragonsong (1976) .
	"Menolly - Mistress of Music, Ward of Fire Lizards Every two hundred years or so, shimmering threads fall, raining black ruin on Pern. The great dragons of Pern hurl themselves through the beleaguered skies, flaming tongues of fire to destroy deadly Thread and save the planet. It was not Threadfall that made Menolly unhappy. It was her father who betrayed her ambition to be a Harper, who thwarted her love of music. Menolly had no choice but to run away. She came upon a group of fire lizards, wild relatives of the fire-breathing dragons. Her music swirled about them; she taught nine to sing... Suddenly Menolly was no longer alone."

Dragonsinger (1977) .
	"When Menolly, daughter of Yanus Sea Holder, arrived at the Harper Craft Hall, she came in style, aboard a bronze dragon, followed by her nine fire lizards. The Masterharper of Pern, aware of her unique skills, had chosen her as his only girl apprentice. But the holdless girl had first to overcome many heartaches in this strange new life. Two things sustained her; her devoted lizards - a subject on which she was fitted to instruct her Masters - and the music... music of transcendent beauty, music-making where at last she was accepted. In the Great Hall, Menolly could fulfill her destiny..."

The White Dragon (1978) .
	"Never had there been as close a bonding as the one that existed between the young Lord Jaxom and his extraordinary white dragon, Ruth. Pure white and incredibly agile, Ruth possessed remarkable qualities. Not only could he communicate with the iridescent, fluttering fire lizards, but he could flay back in time to any WHEN with unfailing accuracy. Nearly everyone else on Pern thought Ruth was a runt who would never amount to anything, but Jaxom knew his dragon was special. In secret they trained to fight against the burning threads from the Red Planet, to fly Back in time as well as Between, and finally their close and special union was to result in the most startling and breathtaking discovery of all..."

Dragondrums (1979) .
	"Piemur, a boy soprano, had been chosen out of all the singers at the Harperhall of Pern for the leading role in the dramatic choral work to be presented at Lord Groghe's Gather. But during practice one day his voice broke - and suddenly his whole future at the harperhall seemed uncertain. But Masterharper Robinton, Menolly and Sebell had other plans for Piemur - they were sure that his quick wits and discretion could be used to keep a check on the troublesome Oldtimers and their strange traffic in fire lizards. So whilst serving as a messenger-drum apprentice, Piemur carried out special errands for the three. And it was on one such errand that he realized his wildest dream - and got in deeper trouble than ever before..."

Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern (1983) .
	"Some fourteen hundred Turns after men first came to Pern rode Moreta, on her great golden dragon, Orlith. It was towards the end of the Pass of the Red Star - a rime when every living creature on Pern was threatened by threadfall - when the courage and daring of dragons and riders was all that kept the planet from extinction. And then, at the height of the battle against Thread, came a new and terrible evil. Moreta, in one last superhuman endeavour, was to save her people, and become the greatest legend of dragonlore until the end of time. This is the story of Moreta's Ride!"

Nerilka's Story (1986) .
	"It was in Moreta's time - a time of legend, of heroic valour, of terrible threadfall, and the Great Plague that devastated both Holders and Dragonfolk. For Lady Nerilka of Fort Hold the tragedy was twofold for, with the death of her mother and sister, her father's mistress took possession of the Hold. Angry and betrayed, Nerilka decided to escape and as Pern seethed in turmoil, she began her perilous journey to Ruatha, prince Alessan, and an unknown destiny."

Dragonsdawn (1988) .
	"IN THE BEGINNING... Before Thread, before the dragons, before the Holds and the Weyrs and the elite Dragonriders of Pern, was just the great ship gliding through space with nearly three thousand colonists prepared to tackle to mighty task of beginning a new world on a strange planet. It was a jewel of a planet - with rivers and seas and mountains, and breathable air and growing things. Then came the terror. The strange, unidentified circles in the grass suddenly revealed a meaning, and every living thing was at risk. Many died - a horrible and consuming death. All resources, every man, woman and child had to fight the terrible nightmare of Thread. But a new creature was about to save the planet. From the delicate fire lizards a new life was born - a new symbiosis between man and beast. The Legend of Pern was about to begin."

The Renegades of Pern (1989) .
	"They were the misfits, the outcasts, the murderers without Hold of Crafthall. Some were resentful, some sought vengeance, but it was not until Thella, Lady Holder of Telgar, began to weld them together into a terrifying and brilliantly evil clan that they became the Renegades of Pern. It was a time of great turmoil on the planet. The pass of the Red Star had brought a new terrible reign of Threadfall, and in the Southern Hold, Toric was carving out an enormous empire for himself from lands as yet uncharted. And as the times of trouble grew, so did the ravages of Thella and her band, turning from theft to murder to vicious and insane revenge. Jayge Lilcamp, the young trader, was one of the first to fall foul of the renegades, and as he saw what Thella had done to his family and his wagon train he began to seek his own revenge, a revenge which grew into a determination to destroy the most evil woman on Pern."

All The Weyrs of Pern (1991) .
	"When AIVAS - the Artificial Intelligence Voice Address System - was first discovered at Landing, the entire planet of Pern was awed at the knowledge it divulged. All the history of the people of Pern was there. Dragonholders, Lord Holders, and Craftmasters crowded into the tiny inner room to learn the secrets of their beginnings. And AIVAS had other gifts to offer - stored information of old crafts that had been forgotten, of medicine, music and technology. But the greatest promise AIVAS offered was the chance to rid Pern of Thread forever. All the great ones of Pern began the long and arduous task of learning just how to operate the incredible plan - a plan of such daring and epic proportions that both dragons and riders would be put at risk."

Chronicles of Pern: First Fall (1993) .
	"Here are five gripping episodes of early Pern - from the very first space survey recommending colonization, to the last, where the early world, its young dragon culture undetected, is condemned to be isolated in space. Here is the saga of the mass evacuation from the volcanic southern continent, an entire group of people moved across the dangerous seas, guarded and guided by a flotilla of dolphins. Here, too, is the story of the creation of Ruatha Hold - a mammoth undertaking in the early days of Pern. And here is one of the most fascinating dragon tales ever written by Anne McCaffrey, when Fort Weyr was the only weyr, and when dragonriders and dragons were overcrowded to danger point. As the news broke of three fresh weyrs to be established, a young girl, Torene, came to realize that her dragon could be the next Queen of the newly formed Benden Weyr."

The Dolphins of Pern (1994) .
	"When Master Fishman Alemi took young Readis out to catch redfins for the evening feast, neither of them realized it heralded a new chapter in the history of Pern. For when a sudden black squall blew up, their mast splintered and broke and their boat capsized. It was the shipfish who saved them, swooping up from the deep, holding them firm above the water, guiding them back to land, and above all speaking to them. Alemi, called to the all-encompassing power of AIVAS, learned that the shipfish were dolphins - brought to Pern with the early colonists to help and guide man through the oceans of the new planet. Now all the old dolphin law had been rediscovered. Readis, fascinated by the many gifts of the dolphins - gifts unshared by any other creature on Pern - longed to work with them. Helped by T'lion, the young dragonrider with his bronze Gadranth (who established his own particular friendship with the dolphins), Readis, fighting against vehement parental opposition, set out to become Pern's first dolphineer."

Dragonseye / Red Star Rising (1997) .
	"For two hundred years there had been peace on Pern - but now the signs were ominous. Violent winter storms and erupting volcanoes heralded the coming of the second Pass of Thread, when the red planet would rain down its horrifying harvest and destroy every living organism on the face of Pern. No human or dragon or animal or planet was safe from the hideous death inflicted by Thread. Weyrs and Holds tried to prepare, but they had serious problems. Over the generations much of the old technology had been lost. AIVAS, the giant information bank, was buried under tons of volcanic ash, and valuable and skilled men and women had succumbed to disease and old age, taking with them the knowledge of a great civilisation. They had to prepare as best they could, training the great flights of dragons and ensuring that the Lord Holders did their part by protecting their people in every possible way. Only Lord Chalkin, Holder of Bitra, refused to co-operate. He did not believe in Threadfall. It was a plot of the Weyrs to gain ascendancy over the Holds. He would do nothing to protect Bitra or its people. The Lord Holders and Weyrleaders were of one accord. Chalkin must be impeached and removed from his lands if the planet was to be made safe."

The Masterharper of Pern (1998) .
	"MasterSinger Merelan and Harper Petiron were a brilliant and devoted couple. Merelan was the most outstanding soprano ever heard on Pern, and was often the only one who could master Petiron's technically accomplished compositions. When, after a long and difficult birth, Robinton was born to them, it should have been the culmination of a unique partnership. But Petiron, almost from the first day, had no time for his son, refusing to see the incredible talent the boy possessed, ignoring his achievements and maintaining a strict and disapproving vigilance over him at all times. Carefully, secretly, the Harper Hall took over, training the greatest talent Pern had ever seen - a talent that was more than just musical, for Robinton was able to talk to the dragons of Pern. As constant sadness beset his personal life, so a startling career sent him like a meteor through the Holds and Weyrs of Pern, until, as MasterHarper, he became part of the great plan to rescue Lessa from the brutal rule of Holder Fax - Lessa, who was to be the saviour of the dragons of Pern"

The Skies of Pern (2001) .
	"A new age is dawning on Pern, for since the dragons have changed the orbit of the Red Star, the horrors of Threadfall will soon be a thing of the past. But even as the dragon riders are trying to decide what their future role will be, further dangers are beginning to emerge, as those calling themselves the Abominators plot together to destroy all the learning from the records of the Old Ones. Their first vicious assault is on the Healer Halls - irrevocable damage is done and it is obvious that this is a worldwide movement with a dangerous mind leading those who would destroy all of the new knowledge. And now comes a fresh and terrible catastrophe - a large cometary fragment is hurtling towards Pern and cannot be deflected. Everyone - dragons, riders, holders and craftmen - must stand by to perform a giant rescue operation. As F'lessan, son of Lessa and F'lar, plays his heroic part in the events that follow, he is helped by Tai, his new weyrmate. But it is the dragons, bronze Golanth and the brilliant green Zaranth, who will provide the solution to the dangers of the skies."

Dragon's Kin (with Todd McCaffrey) (2003) .
	"Young Kindan has no expectations other than joining his father in the mines of Camp Natalon. However, mining is fraught with danger and a disaster leaves Kindan orphaned. Grieving, Kindan is taken in by the camp's new Harper and finds a measure of solace in a burgeoning musical talent... and in a new friendship with the mysterious Nuella. Nuella helps Kindan when he is elected to hatch and train a new watch-wher for the camp, a creature distantly related to dragons and uniquely suited to specialized work in the dark, cold mineshafts. Meanwhile, long-simmering tensions are dividing the camp. As warring factions threaten to explode, Nuella and Kindan begin to discover hidden talents in the watch-wher - talents that could very well save an entire Hold and which show them that even a seemingly impossible dream is never completely out of reach..."

Dragonsblood by Todd McCaffrey (2005) .
	"A deadly plague has begun to wipe out the dragons and firelizards, leaving mankind no defence against the deadly Thread which has begun to fall in the Third Pass. Tantalized by a song that seems to suggest that Lorana can find out how to heal the dragons, the Harper Kindan and Lorana race against time to solve the clues that Wind Blossom left behind. Can they find the cure in time to save Lorana's queen, Arith, and the rest of the dragons? If they don't, there will be no dragons left, and all life on the planet will be devoured. And how could Wind Blossom, Pern's last geneticist, know of a peril 400 Turns after her death?"

Pern Short Stories and Omnibuses >>