Dragonriders of Pern: Dragonquest
| S - | Ep 2 | 1971/05/ |
| Novel | 333 min | |
As it opens, tensions are rising between the Oldtimers, those dragonriders who came forward in time 400 turns (Pernese years) to help the undermanned contemporary dragonriders protect the planet Pern and its inhabitants from the destructive Thread. F'nor attempts to mediate, but things escalate to the point that an Oldtimer, T'reb (who is disturbed by his green dragon being in heat), stabs F'nor. F'nor is sent to the Southern Continent to recover, where he falls in love with Brekke and discovers the wicked deeds of Weyrwoman Kylara. F'lar, F'nor's half-brother, is eventually forced into a duel with T'ron, the leader of the Oldtimers, which ends in banishment for the Oldtimers who will not accept F'lar's leadership and in a grave injury for F'lar. Brekke's queen dragon (Wirenth) rises in mating flight but is attacked by Kylara's queen dragon (Prideth), and both dragons die, leaving their riders in near-catatonic states. Only Brekke recovers, mostly because she can hear other dragons (besides her own queen, Wirenth).
Dragonriders of Pern: ñA Time Whenî
incorporated in "The White Dragon
| S - | Ep 3 | 1975/02/ |
| Novel | - min | |
A Time When was published to mark Anne McCaffrey's appearance as Guest of Honor at Boskone 12 in February 1975. The story in A Time When became the first part of her book The White Dragon (Ballantine), not yet published at the time of this book. A Time When contains interior illustrations by Bonnie Dalzell, and the "Dragondex," a concordance distilled from the previous two Dragon books, Dragonflight and Dragonquest, by Wendy Glasser. The first part of the novel The White Dragon was published three years earlier as A Time When, a special publication by the New England Science Fiction Association for its annual convention Boskone in 1975, where McCaffrey was Guest of Honor.[2]
Dragonriders of Pern: Dragonsong
| S - | Ep 4 | 1976/03/ |
| Novel | - min | |
The protagonist of Dragonsong is Menolly, a fifteen-year-old girl living in a fishing "Hold" in the fictional world of Pern. This novel starts seven years after Dragonflight, the first book set in the Pern universe. Menolly, a young fisher's daughter, had dreamed all her life of learning the Harper's craft. Her musical talent is not valued in her fishing hold, especially by her parents the holders, as women in general tend to be less valued and have fewer choices than men in Pernese society. When her father denies her what she regards to be her destiny, she flees Half Circle Hold just as Pern is struck by the deadly danger of Threadfall, a deathly rain that falls from the sky. Menolly takes shelter in a cave by the sea and there, she makes a miraculous discovery that will change her life.
Dragonriders of Pern: Dragonsinger
| S - | Ep 5 | 1977/02/ |
| Novel | 264 min | |
The novel follows Menolly, now apprenticed into the Harper Hall, a type of music conservatory for harpers (minstrels/educators) and other music professionals, as she begins her musical training to become a harper herself one day. The story begins within hours of the final events of Dragonsong, rounding out the tale of Menolly's coming of age. Menolly finds life in the Harper Hall challenging, and through the events of the novel struggles to make a place for herself. Although she is glad to be accepted as a musician and encouraged to play and write music by most of the authority figures at Harper Hall, she must still deal with those who dislike her for her talents or don't believe she has any real talent at all. At first she is placed in living quarters and classes with a group of paying female students who are, in the majority, extremely unpleasant. She also finds herself torn between master musicians who have conflicting emphases and who want her to specialize in their techniques, instead of developing her own. The situation is complicated by her nine fire lizards, small dragon-like creatures whose properties are still being explored at the time of the story; while some members of the Pern communities want her help in learning what fire lizards can do, many of her teachers in the Harper Hall see them as a nuisance and a distraction that will keep her from developing her musical gifts. Even through her struggles she gains a handful of faithful friends beyond her fire lizards, including Piemur a fellow apprentice and Journeyman Sebell. Over time she finds her place as a musician within the harper system and is sped through the apprenticeship system in near-record time.
Dragonriders of Pern: Dragondrums
| S - | Ep 6 | 1979/03/ |
| Novel | 240 min | |
Dragondrums is the coming of age story of Piemur, a small, quick, clever apprentice at Harper Hall. When Piemur's clear treble voice changes at puberty, his place among the Harpers is no longer certain. He is sent to the drum towers to learn drumming, the primary method of long-distance communication on Pern for non-dragonriders, while his voice settles. There he has to deal with the jealousy and bullying of the other drumming apprentices. When Masterharper Robinton secretly asks Piemur to be his apprentice, Piemur begins journeying through Pern, gathering information and running discreet errands for the Masterharper. In his adventures throughout Pern, Piemur has only his knowledge and wits to deal with a cruel Lord Holder and rogue dragonriders. He Impresses one of the coveted fire-lizards _ a gold he names Farli _ as a companion, discovers his place in the world, and earns journeyman status among the Harpers. The events in Dragondrums take place after Dragonsinger and are contiguous with some events in The White Dragon, which discusses characters and events elsewhere on Pern.
Dragonriders of Pern: Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern
| S - | Ep 7 | 1983/11/ |
| Novel | 286 min | |
Dragonriders of Pern: Nerilka's Story
| S - | Ep 7 | 1986/03/ |
| Novel | 182 min | |
Taking a different approach from previous books in the eight volume series, Nerilka's Story has a non-dragonrider and non-harper as its major viewpoint character. It is set during the events detailed in Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern. Nerilka is the daughter of a Lord Holder who turns her back on her own life of luxury and sets out to fight the disease that threatens to kill all humans on Pern. According to a critic for the Chicago Tribune, Nerilka makes for an "intelligent, resourceful, selfless and, alas, homely" heroine.[3]
Dragonriders of Pern: Dragonsdawn
| S - | Ep 8 | 1988/11/ |
| Novel | 431 min | |
The planet Pern seemed a paradise to its new colonistsseeking to return to an agrarian-based simpler way of life, Admiral Paul Benden, Governor Emily Boll and the rest of the colonists had selected Pern as a place to leave their recent wars and troubles behind. Shortly after arriving on the planet, however, a new threat appeared _ Thread. With time running out and the colony's destruction imminent, geneticist Kitti Ping Yung and her granddaughter Wind Blossom set out to bio-engineer Pernese lifeforms that appear to instinctively react to the Thread _ the dragonets that colonists have adopted as pets. In order to ensure the survival of the newly designed species, as well as reduce the possible threat they may have to the colonists by going rogue, they are created with an ability to bond with humans. By the end of the book, Sorka Hanrahan and Sean Connell and a few other young colonists become the first of the dragonriders.
Dragonriders of Pern: The Dragonlover's Guide
Dragonriders of Pern: 10: "The Impression"
| S - | Ep - | |
| Short Story | - min | |
short story by Jody Lynn Nye and Anne McCaffrey in The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern
Dragonriders of Pern: Renegades of Pern
| S - | Ep 11 | 1989// |
| Novel | - min | |
Like Nerilka's Story, The Renegades of Pern is a departure from the normal perspective for the dragonrider books, presenting a parallel viewpoint, this time running concurrent with the original trilogy; the book begins at the time of Dragonflight and ends a little after the ending of The White Dragon. It tells several stories, tied together by the figure of Thella, renegade sister of Larad (Lord Holder of Telgar Hold). The exploration of the Southern Continent and discovery of ancient human relics there (including the activities of Piemur and Menolly from the Harper Hall trilogy) also figure in the novel, which ends where All the Weyrs of Pern begins.
Dragonriders of Pern: All the Weyrs of Pern
| S - | Ep 12 | 1991/09/19 |
| Novel | 494 min | |
The story follows immediately from the final scene of Renegades of Pern, in which the Admin building from Pern's first generation of colonists is discovered, along with an advanced computer called AIVAS (Artificial Intelligence Voice Address System), at the Landing site that is being excavated. AIVAS has remained undisturbed since the events of Dragonsdawn some 2500 years earlier and, in addition to holding a huge volume of stored information long since lost to the Pernese society, claims to be able to eliminate the threat of Thread forever.
Dragonriders of Pern: "Rescue Run"
13 in The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
| S - | Ep - | |
| Short Story | - min | |
"Rescue Run" follows on from an event described in Dragonsdawn: The unauthorized launch of a distress beacon by a group of dissidents who believed the colony was doomed. Decades later, shortly after the end of the First Pass, this beacon is picked up by a starship in the vicinity of Pern, and a landing party -- under the command of Lieutenant Ross Benden, nephew of the Admiral who commanded the Pernese colonization fleet -- is sent to respond. A quick survey by Lt. Benden's party finds no sign of human habitation on the Northern Continent, where the colony has taken refuge in underground caverns, and finds only one surviving family group in the South, at "Honshu" excavation. The now-elderly Stev Kimmer, a greedy and corrupt original colonist, rules over Honshu and his adopted family with an iron fist. He persuades Lt. Benden that he and the others in Honshu are the only survivors of the biological and geological disaster (i.e. Threadfall), and that they are a group small enough to evacuate entirely. Benden agrees despite his suspicions of Kimmer's true nature, only furthered by speaking to the family that had long lived under his domination, as well as Kimmer's all but openly hostile attitude towards himself (as Kimmer holds Benden's long-dead uncle personally responsible for the "destruction" of the colony). The rescue is dramatically successful, though Kimmer is killed when he is shot out of an airlock (implied to have been "accidentally" opened by one of his "family"). Scientific investigation of Thread, as well as the belief there are no other humans on the planet -- none of the Honshu refugees could refute Kimmer's claim that they were the last survivors of the Pern colony -- leads the Federation to place Pern under strict interdict; the system is considered quarantined, all contact forbidden.
Dragonriders of Pern: "The P.E.R.N. Survey"
13 in The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
| S - | Ep - | |
| Short Story | - min | |
Dragonriders of Pern: ñThe Dolphins' Bellî
in The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
| S - | Ep 13 I | 1993// |
| Novel | - min | |
The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall, by Anne McCaffrey (1993 collection of five stories, two original; set mostly after Dragonsdawn) ´ "The Survey: P.E.R.N." (originally published in 1993 as "The P.E.R.N. Survey") ´ "The Dolphins' Bell" (originally published in 1993) ´ "The Ford of Red Hanrahan" (original to the collection) ´ "The Second Weyr" (original to the collection) ´ "Rescue Run" (originally published in 1991)
Dragonriders of Pern: ñThe Second Weyrî
in The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
| S - | Ep 13 K | 1993// |
| Novel | - min | |
The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall, by Anne McCaffrey (1993 collection of five stories, two original; set mostly after Dragonsdawn) ´ "The Survey: P.E.R.N." (originally published in 1993 as "The P.E.R.N. Survey") ´ "The Dolphins' Bell" (originally published in 1993) ´ "The Ford of Red Hanrahan" (original to the collection) ´ "The Second Weyr" (original to the collection) ´ "Rescue Run" (originally published in 1991)
Dragonriders of Pern: The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
| S - | Ep 13 | 1993// |
| Novel | - min | |
1993 collection of short fiction by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. All five stories are set on the fictional planet Pern; First Fall is one of two collections in the science fiction series Dragonriders of Pern.[1]
Dragonriders of Pern: ñThe Ford of Red Hanrahanî
in The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
| S - | Ep 13 | 1993// |
| Novel | - min | |
The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall, by Anne McCaffrey (1993 collection of five stories, two original; set mostly after Dragonsdawn) ´ "The Survey: P.E.R.N." (originally published in 1993 as "The P.E.R.N. Survey") ´ "The Dolphins' Bell" (originally published in 1993) ´ "The Ford of Red Hanrahan" (original to the collection) ´ "The Second Weyr" (original to the collection) ´ "Rescue Run" (originally published in 1991)
Dragonriders of Pern: The Dolphins of Pern
14
| S - | Ep - | 1994/09/06 |
| Novel | 340 min | |
This novel follows Dragonsdawn and the short story The Dolphin's Bell (short story contained in The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall) by discussing the present state (Ninth Pass) of the dolphins that were brought to Pern by the colonists. Set near the end and after the events of All the Weyrs of Pern it further integrates the science fiction aspects of the origins of the Pern series with the fantastical aspects presented by the original books. The plot focuses primarily on two young characters and chronicles the birth of the Dolphincrafthall and its first Dolphineer. Readis, the Paradise River Lord Holder's son, is saved by talking dolphins ("shipfish") as a young boy after falling into the sea and subsequently develops a strong fascination with the dolphins. T'lion, the young Eastern Weyr dragonrider of Bronze Gadareth, also develops an interest after being involved in an early dolphin encounter. The two befriend each other due to their shared interest and, in their own ways, defy family, Hold and Weyr to maintain their friendships with dolphins and convince others of the dolphins' intelligence and ability to speak. While familiar characters struggle to end the era of Thread, Readis, T'lion and others struggle to begin a new era in which dolphin and human work together again. Well-known characters from previous Pern novels are also involved in the plot, including Benden Weyrleaders Lessa and F'lar, and Masterharpers Robinton and Menolly.
Dragonriders of Pern: Red Star Rising
| S - | Ep 15 | 1996/08/ |
| Novel | - min | |
After the events of All the Weyrs of Pern, The Dolphins of Pern, and The Skies of Pern, Thread is less of a threat to the planet. Returning to an earlier time period in Pernese history, the author brings the earlier conflict of Thread reappearing in the Second Pass. The book is set about 250 years after the Landing (the original settlement on Pern) and consequently it only features characters which do not appear in other books of the series. Following in the footsteps of the novels that established the background of the colony, the book exposes the incremental loss of technology due to the hardships of thread, and inevitable progress towards the more feudal society shown later in the series timeline. It answers such questions as: ´ What happened to the computers? ´ What happened to the technology? ´ Who created the Star Stones?
Dragonriders of Pern: The Masterharper of Pern
| S - | Ep 16 | 1988/01/12 |
| Novel | 431 min | |
Robinton was rejected by his jealous father, Petiron, and spent most of his childhood with his nurturing mother. Since Robinton grew up in a very musically-inclined setting, all the inhabitants helped bring him along in his journey to adulthood. Robinton composed many successful songs at a very early age and was unanimously elected Masterharper, also at a relatively young age. He tried to warn the Lord Holders of the rapacity of Lord Fax, but was unsuccessful. He was present when Lessa used her wit to provoke the duel in which Lord Fax was killed by F'lar; she had been in disguise as a drudge.