Books

When you first begin your experiences on Pern games, one of the questions you are likely to be asked is, "Have you read The Books?" (It's very easy to 'hear' the capitalized letters, even if it's not actually typed that way.) The reason you might be asked this question is that, for starters, your reply will provide us with an idea of how much you need to be taught about the wonderful world you are entering... but another, and more basic reason we believe, is that these books are our playground; we've all fallen in love with them and that's why we're here.

The world of Pern exists because of the marvelous imagination and abilities of its creator and author, Anne McCaffrey. And we are here, on SouCon as well as other games, because of her kindness in allowing us to play in her universe. Without her, we would not be here, living out very different and exciting "lives" as our characters and making wonderful friends along the way. For this unique opportunity, we thank her dearly.

A full list of Anne McCaffrey's many works can be found here. They are listed roughly in order of the "timeline" of Pern, beginning with the earliest. The Pernese dates are from The Atlas of Pern.

However, we recommend you begin with the Dragonflight or Dragonsong trilogy, and read them roughly in the order that they were written. So, there's a list for that as well. Anne's newest book is highlighted here, but it is suggested you read the earlier works first.

There are also a number of reference books that you might find useful, as well as a list of artists who've produced artwork for Pern books.

DRAGONSDAWN
Pernese date: 1st Turn; i.e. 0000 - 0001
ISBN: 0345362861
Published: August 1989

The beautiful planet Pern seemed a paradise to its new colonists - until unimaginable terror turned it into hell. Suddenly deadly spores were falling like silver threads from the sky, devouring everything - and everyone - in their path. It began to look as if the colony, cut off from Earth and lacking the resources to combat the menace, was doomed. Then some of the colonists noticed that the small, dragonlike lizards that inhabited their new world were joining the fight against Thread, breathing fire on it and teleporting to safety. If only, they thought, the dragnet were big enough for a human to ride and intelligent enough to work as a team with a rider... And so they set their most talented geneticist to work to create the creatures Pern so desperately needed - Dragons!

THE CHRONICLES OF PERN: FIRST FALL
Pernese date: First Pass
ISBN: 0345368991
Published: August 1994

Join the original survey team as they explore Pern and decide to recommend it for colonization. Share the terror of the evacuation from the Southern Continent, as a flotilla of ships, aided by intelligent, talking dolphins, braves the dreadful currents of the Pernese ocean. Learn how the famous Rather Hold was founded, and thrill with the Dragonriders as they expand into a second, then a third Weyr. And discover a secret lost in time: the rescue of some of the original colonists, before the planet was cut off forever! Building a new life on a distant world, braving the dreaded Thread that falls like silver rain from the sky only to destroy every living thing it touches, flying heroically on the wondrous dragons: The Dragonriders of Pern!

DRAGONSEYE (PUBLISHED IN THE UK AS RED STAR RISING)
Pernese date: 2nd Pass
ISBN: 0345418794
Published: January 1998

It's been two-hundred years since the deadly Thread fell like rain upon Pern, devouring everything in its path. No one alive remembers that first horrific onslaught and no one believes in its return-except for the dragonriders. For two centuries they have been practicing and training, passing down from generation to generation the formidable Threadfighting techniques.

Now the ominous signs are appearing: the violent winter storms and volcanic eruptions that are said to herald the approach of the Red Star and its lethal spawn. But one stubborn Lord Holder, Chalkin of Bitra, refuses to believe-and that disbelief could spell disaster. So as the dragonriders desperately train to face a terrifying enemy, they and the other Lord Holders must find a way to deal with Chalkin - before history repeats itself and unleashes its virulence on all of Pern…

DRAGON'S KIN
Pernese date: 2nd Interval
ISBN: 0-345-46200-9
Published: November 2003
Sample chapter

Anne wrote this novel with her son, Todd.

Watch-whers keep a watch at night at both Holds and Weyrs, and help in the mines. An unfortunate cave-in wipes out Kindin's father and brothers as well as the old watch-wher, and Kindin then moves in with camp Harper. There he taught Harper skills, including the ever important discretion and mediation. Eventually, he and Nuella, another camp resident, learn the secret of how watch-whers see in the dark, and about their communication with dragons.

MORETA: DRAGONLADY OF PERN
Pernese date: 6th Pass; 3.10.1543 forward
ISBN: 034529873X
Published: July 1984

It was towards the end of the Pass of the Red Star - a time 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 there, at the height of the battle against Thread, came a new and terrible evil. Moreta, in one last superhuman endeavor, 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
Pernese date: 6th Pass; concurrent with Moreta
ISBN: 0345339495
Published: January 1987

Everyone, holder and dragonrider alike, pitched in to help - except Nerilka's father, who refused to share Fort Hold's bounty with the other holds. So, ashamed of her family and determined to do her part, Nerilka packed up medicines and supplies and sneaked off to aid her people.

Her quest to help wherever she was most needed led her finally to Ruatha Hold, where Lord Alessan was frantically inoculations against the dread plague.

Nerilka had long ago abandoned the hope of marriage and a home of her own. Now she found happiness in being useful and appreciated - first the Healers and then Alessan made very clear that they were grateful for her help.
She had no idea that her new path would change the course of her life forever!

MASTERHARPER OF PERN
Pernese date: just pre-9th Pass
ISBN: 0345424603
Published: November 1998
Sample chapter

In a time when the deadly scourge Thread has not fallen on Pern for centuries-and many dare to hope that Thread will never fall again-a boy is born to Harper Hall. A musical prodigy who has the ability to speak with the dragons, he is called Robinton, and he is destined to be one of the most famous and beloved leaders Pern has ever known.

It is a perilous time for the Harpers who sing of Thread-they are being turned away from holds, derided, attacked, even beaten. In this climate of unrest, Robinton will come into his own. But despite the tragedies that beset his own life, he continues to believe in music and in the dragons, and he is determined to save his beloved Pern from itself-so that the dragonriders can be ready to fly against the dreaded Thread when at last it returns . . .

DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN TRILOGY
Pernese date: Just before the 9th Pass; 2508 to 9th Pass; circa 2520
ISBN: 0345340248
Published: November 1988

Bestselling author Anne McCaffrey's astonishing world of the Dragonriders of Pern has captured the hearts and minds of over 4 million science fiction readers. Now, new fans and old can relive the magic of the first three Dragonriders books - all in one omnibus edition.

1. DRAGONFLIGHT
Pernese date: Just before and at the beginning of the 9th Pass; 2508
ISBN: 0345335465
Published: May 1971

After ten long Turns, Lessa was ready to come out of hiding, to reclaim her birthright... and to Impress the young dragon queen and become Weyrwoman of Benden. Suddenly the deadly silver Threads once again threatened all Pern with destruction. But the mighty telepathic dragons that for centuries had defended Pern were now few in number, not nearly enough to protect the planet in its hour of greatest peril. Then Lessa hatched a daring and dangerous scheme to rally support from people who had long ago ceased to exist!

2. DRAGONQUEST
Pernese date: 9th Pass; 2515
ISBN: 0345335082
Published: September 1973

Another Turn, and the deadly silver Threads began falling again. So the bold dragonriders too to the air once more and their magnificent flying dragons swirled and swooped, 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 his beloved 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 those dratted fire lizards could stir up any more trouble!

3. THE WHITE DRAGON
Pernese date: 9th Pass; circa 2520
ISBN: 0345341678
Published: February 1979

Never had there been as close a bonding as the one that existed between the daring and adventurous young Lord Jaxom and his extraordinary white dragon, Ruth. Pure white and incredibly agile, Ruth was a dragon of many talents, though almost everyone on Pern thought he was a runt that would never amount to anything. But Jaxom knew better, knew he could teach his dragon to fly and to destroy the deadly silver Threads that fell from the sky. Disobeying all rules, Jaxom and Ruth trained in secret. Their illicit flight seemed but a minor disobedience - until they found themselves in the path of danger and in a position to prevent the biggest disaster of all!

THE HARPER HALL OF PERN TRILOGY
1. DRAGONSONG
Pernese date: Beginning of the 9th Pass; 2514; concurrent with DragonQuest
ISBN: 0553258524
Published: March 1977

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.

2. DRAGONSINGER
Pernese date: Beginning of the 9th Pass; concurrent with DragonQuest
ISBN: 0553258540
Published: August 1978

Menolly - Mistress of Fire Lizards, Apprentice of Harper Hall. Menolly arrived in triumph at the Harper Hall, aboard a bronze dragon. She had run away from home and lived in a cave, outrun Threadfall, impressed nine fire lizards and written songs that pleased the Masterharper of Pern. But what was her future at the hall to be? it seemed she was always late or her fire lizards underfoot, and why didn't any of the other girls like her? Now there was nothing to keep her from her beloved music and fire lizards, could Menolly learn to live among others, realize her talent and find her rightful place in the future of Pern?

3. DRAGONDRUMS
Pernese date: Beginning of the 9th Pass
ISBN: 0553258559
Published: November 1979

Piemur - dreamer of fire lizards, apprentice of drums. Once again Pern was in danger. The air trembled with rumors of deadly Threadfall. And, from within, there was another peril. The restless Oldtimers, who once battled the shimmering Thread, were now banished to Southern Hold, and breeding rebellion. His great singing career thwarted by the changing voice of youth, Piemur was now a drum apprentice, his messages sounding from the heights, The wily lad, vowing to help his beloved Pern, ends up in the south after a narrow escape during a secret mission, vanishes, survives Threadfall and turns up with, at long last, the little fire lizard of his dreams.

GET OFF THE UNICORN
Contains the novella "The Smallest Dragonboy".
Pernese date: 9th Pass
Published 6/1977

The only thing Keevan wanted in life was to be a dragonrider, just like his father. Surely nothing could be as thrilling as soaring through the air between the powerful wings of a dragon... But Keevan was small, and there were always more boys than there were dragons - someone must be disappointed. Keevan wasn't exactly the foremost candidate but dragons have their own standards, especially the bronzes, the most highly prized dragons of all...

RENEGADES OF PERN
Pernese date: Just before the 9th Pass
ISBN: 0345369335
Published: August 1990

All Holds Barred...

As long as the people of Pern could remember, the Holds had protected them from Thread, the deadly silver strands that fell from the sky. In exchange for sanctuary in the huge stone fortresses, the people tithed to their Lord Holder's, who in turn supported the dragonriders, Pern's greatest weapon against Thread.

But not everyone on Pern was protected. Some had been rendered holdless as punishment for wrongdoing. Some, like Jayge's trader clan, simply preferred the freedom of the roads to the security of a hold: Others, like Aramina's family, had lost their holds. And they all feared the outlaws who preyed on holds and holdless alike.

The Lady Thella's renegades were the most dangerous yet - all they needed was Aramina, whose telepathic link with dragons could help them evade the dragonrider patrols. But Jayge was out to stop Thella...and he would never let her have Aramina!

THE GIRL WHO HEARD DRAGONS (SHORT STORY)
Pernese date: 9th Pass, circa 2520
ISBN: 0812510992
Published: June 1995

Featuring the title Pern short novel, The Girl Who Heard Dragons, a story that covers the adventures of Aramina, Jayge Lilcamp and Lady Holdless Thella which is detailed more in The Renegades of Pern.

ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN
Pernese date: mid-9th Pass
ISBN: 0345368932
Published: October 1992

For generations, the dragonriders had dedicated their lives to fighting Thread, the dreaded spores that periodically rained from the sky to ravage the land. On the backs of their magnificent telepathic dragons they flew to flame the deadly stuff out of the air before it could reach the planet's surface. But the greatest dream of the dragonriders was to find a way to eradicate Thread completely, so that never again would their beloved Pern be threatened with destruction.

Now, for the first time it looked as if that dream could come true. For when the people of Pern, led by Masterharper Robinton and F'lar and Lessa excavated the ancient remains of the planet's original settlement, they uncovered the colonists' voice activated artificial intelligence system - which still functioned! And the computer had incredible news for them: There was a chance - a good chance - that they could, at long last, annihilate Thread once and for all!

THE DOLPHINS OF PERN
Pernese date: 9th Pass; overlaps with the end of ATWoP
ISBN: 0345368959
Published: September 1995

When the first humans came to settle the planet Pern, they did not come alone: intelligence-enhanced dolphins also crossed the stars, to colonize the oceans of the new planet while their human partners settled the vast continents. But then disaster struck in the form of Thread, deadly silver spores that fell like rain from the sky, devouring everything - and everyone - in their path. And as the human colonists' dreams of a new, idyllic life shattered into a desperate struggle for survival, the dolphins were forgotten, left to make their own life in the seas of Pern. As time went by, human memory of dolphins was lost to legend, and only the occasional tall tale of "shipfish" rescuing fishermen lost at sea kept the legend alive. But the dolphins never forgot, and from generation to generation they preserved their oral history against the day when humans at last might remember their old friends, and once again the seas would resound with the ringing of the dolphins' bells from docks and ships... Now, centuries later, the dragonriders of Pern were on the verge of ridding their planet of Thread forever. But T'lion, a young bronze rider, was not old enough to participate in that great venture. Instead, he and his dragon, Gadareth, were relegated to conveying people from place to place - until he and Readis, son of the Lord Holder of Paradise River Hold, made contact with the legendary "shipfish." And as the dragonriders grappled with the ending of an era, T'lion, Readis, and the dolphins faced the start of a new one: reviving the bond between land- and ocean-dwellers and, in the process, resurrecting the dreams of the first colonists of Pern...

THE SKIES OF PERN
Pernese date: 9th Pass
ISBN: 0345434684
Published: April 2001
Sample chapter

It is a time of hope and regret, of endings and beginnings. The Red Star, that celestial curse whose eccentric orbit was responsible for Thread, has been shifted to a harmless orbit, and the current Threadfall will be the last. Technological marvels are changing the face of life on Pern. And the dragonriders, led by F'lessan, son of F'lar and Lessa and rider of bronze Golanth, and Tia, rider of green Zaranth, must forge a new place for themselves in a world that may no longer need them.

But change is not easy for everyone. There are those who will stop at nothing- not even violence-to keep Pern and its people pure. And now a brand-new danger looms from the skies... and threatens a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions.

Once again, the world looks to the dragons and their riders to solve the crisis and save the world. But now, as the friendship of F'lessan and Tia begins to bloom into something more, unforeseen tragedy strikes: a tragedy destined to forever change the future-not just of the two young lovers, but of every human and dragon on Pern...

A GIFT OF DRAGONS
Pernese date: 9th Pass
ISBN: 0-345-45635-1
Published: October 2002
Sample chapter

A Gift of Dragons brings together three stories and a thrilling new tale of Pern.

In “The Smallest Dragonboy,” Keevan is the youngest dragonrider candidate, determined to impress a dragon when the next clutch of eggs hatches. But what transpires will surprise everyone—Keevan most of all.

In “The Girl Who Heard Dragons,” a young girl’s rare ability to communicate with dragons puts her family in danger and will bring her face to face with her greatest fears—and with her most secret desire.

The “Runner of Pern” is a girl named Tenna, who follows family tradition by delivering messages—and who will find her destiny on the mossy traces that runners have used for centuries under the dragon-filled sky.

And finally: a new Pern adventure about the destiny of twins.

DRAGON'S KIN
Written with Todd McCaffrey
Pernese date: ?
ISBN: 0-345-46198-3
Published: November 2003
Sample chapter