The Dragonriders of Pern

Anne McCaffrey

Mar 2002 · Sold by Del Rey

About this ebook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Together in one volume—the first three books in the world’s most beloved science-fiction series!

DRAGONFLIGHT

On a beautiful world called Pern, an ancient way of life is about to come under attack. Lessa is an outcast survivor—her parents murdered, her birthright stolen—a strong young woman who has never stopped dreaming of revenge. But when an ancient threat reemerges, Lessa will rise—upon the back of a great dragon with whom she shares a telepathic bond more intimate than any human connection. Together, dragon and rider will fly, and Pern will be changed forever.

DRAGONQUEST

Since Lessa and Ramoth, her golden queen dragon, traveled into the past to bring forward a small army of dragons and riders to save their world from deadly alien spores, fear and desperation have spread across the land. But while the dragonriders struggle with threats both human and otherworldly, a young rider named F’nor and his brown dragon, Canth, hatch a bold plan to destroy the alien scourge at its source—the baleful Red Star that fills the heavens and promises doom to all. 

THE WHITE DRAGON

Never in the history of Pern has there been a dragon like Ruth. Mocked by other dragons for his small size and pure white color, Ruth is smart, brave, and loyal—qualities that he shares with his rider, the young Lord Jaxom. Unfortunately, Jaxom is also looked down upon by his fellow lords, and by other riders as well. His dreams of joining the dragonriders in defending Pern are dismissed. What else can Jaxom and Ruth do but strike out on their own, pursuing in secret all they are denied? But in doing so, the two friends will find themselves facing a desperate choice—one that will push their bond to the breaking point . . . and threaten the future of Pern itself.

Ratings and reviews

I read these wonderful books as a teenager (oh how I dreamed of having a fire lizard) and again in my thirties. At 59 I just finished reading them again. Pern by Anne McCaffrey, is my absolute favorite fantasy/sci-fi story of all time. My second is The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazney. Can't wait to continue the Pern journey and eventually finish the collection, with the last ones written that I haven't read yet.

When the word Dragon, not to mention Dragonrider, appears in a search, all the sites associated with it tend to be fantasy related sites. Using a startling method, McCaffery manages to put dragons into the last place you'd expect to see them: science fiction. Through the three books McCaffery writes about dragons that make sense, anatomically and biologically. NO MAGIC INVOLVED. Even the people, in the middle ages by our standards, are not suffering from the complete lack of education and religious zealousness that permeated the Earth during the comparitive era. They DO try to make scientific discoveries, they DO find rational solutions to their problems, and these problems are real ones: which is to say social, mechanical, and an enemy that could be considered biological. There are no evil necromancers in this book. The characters are also relatively well thought out (don't want to spoil the plot, this is a review, not a synopsis), or at least well enough that it made for an entertaining read. People who have read the Eragon series should be familiar with many of the dragon-specific traits used in these books (considering McCaffery invented them and Paulini adopted the concepts as his own). Even if you haven't, Dragonriders of Pern is worth your time. A warning though, this particular copy is a bit bulky (say... small textbook size) and might not be ideal for a book that you take out to read in a waiting room or a short airplane ride. Rather, this is a good book for a long unoccupied winter day, or a longer (say, 3 or more hours) airline flight, if you're willing to sacrifice the carry-on space.

This will be my second venture into the world of Pern that Anne McCaffrey has created. I remember my first was when I was in grade school and read Dragondrums. I loved the book so much that as an adult I remembered that read and sought out more works by the author. I found this "trilogy" on google's ebook and purchased it. I don't believe I went one day without reading at least a few pages at a time. Anne McCaffrey's books all introduce enduring characters alongside their protagonists in such a way that draws me into the world. I relate with the characters plights in my own way and enjoy reading the climactic (or sometimes anti-climactic) resolutions. The dragons of Pern along with their smaller cousins the fire-lizards, all seem to have varying personalities that add to the fun and intrigue in reading these books.

About the author

Anne McCaffrey, one of the world’s most popular authors, is best known for her Dragonriders of Pern® series. She was the first woman to win the two top prizes for science fiction writing, the Hugo and Nebula awards. She was also given the American Library Association’s Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement in Young Adult Fiction, was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, and was named a Science Fiction Writers of America Grand Master. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1926, McCaffrey relocated to Ireland in the 1970s, where she lived in a house of her own design, named Dragonhold-Underhill. She died in 2011.