Pern Appreciation Month: All The Weyrs Of Pern

I’d have been perfectly content if this had been the last novel in the series. It’s a great place to finish: during the course of this book the threat of Thread is eliminated, there’s a tearful ending of a long and fruitful life and the promise of a better future for those who want to … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: All The Weyrs Of Pern →

Pern Appreciation Month: “Rescue Run”

During the events of Dragonsdawn, a group of terrified colonists launched an emergency beacon. This was after the horrendous toll was taken from the first Threadfall and before the first generation of dragons had hatched. Some 49 years later, a ship – the Federation of Sentient Planets vessel Amherst - happens to be patrolling that … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: “Rescue Run” →

Pern Appreciation Month: “The Impression”

Felessan is facing an Impression. As the only child of Benden Weyrleaders F’lar and Lessa, there is a certain expectation that he will “do well” and possibly impress a dragon, despite it being his first time as a candidate… Honestly, this story is a piece of fluff. It goes with the resource book The Dragonlover’s … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: “The Impression” →

Pern Appreciation Month: The Renegades Of Pern

The 1980s had been very good to Anne McCaffrey. She had had successes not only with the Dragonriders novels, but with so many of her other books as well: by the end of that decade she had sold nearly fourteen million copies of her books. It didn’t hurt that Dragonsdawn explicitly stated that the Pern … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: The Renegades Of Pern →

Pern Appreciation Month: Dragonsdawn

I don’t normally enjoy prequels. Too often you have authors trying to shoehorn a future onto a situation that feels forced. Sometimes a story just needs to have happened without it being explained too much. However, when you are dealing with an imagined history, sometimes you do need to fill some gaps. Such a situation … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: Dragonsdawn →

Pern Appreciation Month: “The Girl Who Heard Dragons”

(Like “A Time When,” the extract from The White Dragon, this was first published in a limited edition hardback, this time by the ironically-named publisher Cheap Street in 1986.) Aramina and her family are on the run from the vicious ex-noblewoman Thella. Thella is searching for them because Aramina can hear dragons, which would be … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: “The Girl Who Heard Dragons” →

Pern Appreciation Month: Nerilka’s Story

Nerilka is one of the daughters of Lord Tolocamp of Fort Weyr. During the events of Moreta: Dragonlady Of Pern, Tolocamp dishonoured himself by leaving his family to die of plague at Ruatha while he returned to Fort to make sure that measures were taken to protect his hold. On his arrival back at Fort, … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: Nerilka’s Story →

Pern Appreciation Month: Moreta: Dragonlady Of Pern

Moreta is a name that has already been dropped several times in this series. We know that she was a famous dragonlady from the past, and in Dragonsinger: Harper Of Pern, we are treated to an impromptu performance of the opera/ballad based around her life and death. We also know that she dies at the … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: Moreta: Dragonlady Of Pern →

Pern Appreciation Month: Dragondrums

This was published in 1979 and is set roughly three years after the events of Dragonsinger: Harper Of Pern and about four years before The White Dragon. Piemur wakes up one morning in the Harperhall, helps Menolly feed her fire lizards, has breakfast, then goes off to rehearse a new musical piece that has been … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: Dragondrums →

Pern Appreciation Month: The White Dragon

(The first part of this book was published as a chapbook entitled “A Time When” in 1975. I’ve managed to procure some copies of early versions of the novels and stories in this series for when it was relevant, but due to my parents not being named Rockefeller I was unable to obtain this.) This … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: The White Dragon →

Pern Appreciation Month: Dragonsinger, Harper Of Pern

When we left Menolly at the end of Dragonsong, she was overjoyed to discover that she was going to live at the Harperhall. After a lifetime of abuse because of her musical talent, she was finally going to be recognised and accepted for her skills. Dragonsinger: Harper Of Pern begins with Menolly arriving at the … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: Dragonsinger, Harper Of Pern →

Pern Appreciation Month: Dragonsong

I mentioned previously that “The Smallest Dragonboy” was picked up as a short story idea because Anne McCaffrey was working through a story about a girl called Menolly. After K’van’s adventure was published, she went back to her notes and fleshed out the basic idea some more. And in 1976, Dragonsong was published as a … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: Dragonsong →

Pern Appreciation Month: “The Smallest Dragonboy”

In 1973, Anne McCaffrey should have had the world at her feet: she had released several short stories and novels into the world, won some awards that no other woman had won before her, and had the beginnings of a bestselling series in Dragonflight and Dragonquest. However, she had recently divorced her husband and emigrated … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: “The Smallest Dragonboy” →

Pern Appreciation Month: Dragonquest

It’s not often that you read a sequel that feels as though it was written by a different author. I first experienced this with Terry Brooks’s The Elfstones Of Shannara, the sequel to The Sword Of Shannara, a novel that owes a rather large creative debt to The Lord Of The Rings. Elfstones is a … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: Dragonquest →

Pern Appreciation Month: Dragonflight

Dragonflight first appeared as two short stories: “Weyr Search” and “Dragonrider”. These were originally published in Analog magazine in October 1967 and in the December – January 1967-68 issues. Together they make up parts 1, 3 and 4 of Dragonflight. Part 2 of the novel (named “Dragonflight” in the book) was submitted to John W. … Continue reading Pern Appreciation Month: Dragonflight →