Book 1

Dragonsdawn

by Anne McCaffrey

Published 17 November 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 ships gliding through space with nearly six thousand colonists prepared to tackle the 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, unidentifiable 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.


Book 2

The Chronicles of Pern

by Anne McCaffrey

Published 1 October 1993
Travel back to the earliest days of Pernese history in this first-ever Dragonriders of Pern short-story collection!

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 Pernest ocean. Learn how the famous Ruatha 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!

Book 3

Dragonseye

by Anne McCaffrey

Published 28 January 1997
In Anne McCaffrey’s New York Times bestselling Dragonseye, join Weyrleaders, Holders, and Craftmasters in the creation of the legendary Star Stones and the teaching ballads of Pern!

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. . . .

Book 4

Dragon's Kin

by Anne McCaffrey

Published 1 January 2003
“Personable characters and superb storytelling make this an excellent choice. . . . Essential for Pern fans of all ages.”—Library Journal (starred review)

The son of a miner, Kindan has no expectations for any other life. He loves his lessons with the camp’s harper, but music isn’t part of a miner’s future. He also enjoys helping out with the camp’s watch-wher— a creature distantly related to dragons and uniquely suited to work in dark, cold spaces—but even that important job can’t promise a future above the ground. Then disaster strikes. In one terrible instant, Kindan loses his family and the camp loses its watch-wher. It will take a new friendship and a new responsibility to teach Kindan that even a seemingly impossible dream is never out of reach . . . and that light can be found in the deepest darkness.

“A guaranteed pleaser [in] one of SF’s most splendid and longest-lived sagas.”—Booklist

“Another delightful entry in the Pern series.”—Publishers Weekly

Book 5

Dragon's Fire

by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey

Published 1 January 2006

When Masterharper Zist takes over as Harper for Natalon's coal-mining camp, he takes with him his apprentice, the orphaned, mute Pellar, and Pellar's fire-lizard Chitter. Pellar has become a gifted tracker and Zist gives him his own mission - to find out if the recent thefts of coal are the work of the Shunned, criminals condemned to a life of wandering and hardship. Halla is one of the children of the Shunned. Though innocent of their parents' crimes, these children have inherited their cruel punishment. With no shelter when the lethal Thread falls again they will have no protection against it. Life is even tougher for Halla, all her family are dead and she must fend for herself. Yet Halla is kind and gentle, devoted to helping those more helpless than she, unlike Tenim, a fellow child of the Shunned. Tenim is in league with Tarik, a crooked miner from Camp Natalon, who helps him steal coal in exchange for a cut of the profit. But Tenim soon realizes there is a lot more to be made from firestone, the volatile mineral that enables the dragons of Pern to burn Thread out of the sky. Tenim doesn't care what he has to do, or whom he has to kill, in order to corner the market. Cristov is Tarik's son. Dishonored by his father's greed and treachery, he decides he must make amends somehow... even if it means risking his life by mining the volatile firestone, which blows up at contact with the slightest drop of moisture.

When the last remaining firestone mine explodes in flames, a desperate race begins to find a new deposit of the deadly but essential mineral, for without it there can be no defence against Thread. But Tenim has a murderous plan to turn the tragedy to his own advantage, and only Pellar, Halla and Cristov can stop him - and ensure that there will be a future for all on the world of the Dragonriders.


Book 6

Dragon Harper

by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey

Published 1 January 2007
Kindan is an apprentice harper at the Harper Hall but he is finding the lessons very difficult and although he has his friends, Nonala, Kelsa and Verilan, he also has enemies, such as the bully Vaxoram. Things begin to improve for Kindan when he beats Vaxoram in a duel and Vaxoram becomes first his servant and then gradually his trusted friend. Then Kindan impresses a fire-lizard and becomes the proud owner of the magnicent Valla. At the hatching, he meets Koriana, daughter of Lord Holder Bemin of Fort Hold. She also impresses and she and Kindan fall in love, but her parents disapprove and she has to return to Fort Hold. Then a plague begins to spread across Pern, killing nearly everyone infected. Kindan and his friends search the harper records to see if they can find a cure, but all they can find is mention of a similar plague over a hundred Turns past. As the plague gets worse Kindan and Vaxoram are sent to Fort Hold to help tend the sick. Kindan will be reunited with Koriana, but will she be free of the plague, and will he be able to find a cure before more people die?

Book 7

Dragonheart

by Todd McCaffrey

Published 1 October 2008
Todd McCaffrey's first solo novel in the classic Dragonriders of Pern series, Dragonsblood, was hailed by critics and embraced by the countless devoted readers of the landmark science fiction saga created by his mother, Anne McCaffrey. Now the chronicles of Pern take another captivating turn as the embattled planet, the brave pioneers who call it home, and the magnificent flame-breathing creatures who fly high to protect it confront a dire new challenge.
The grim specter of sickness looms over the Weyrs of Pern, felling fire-lizards and posing a potentially devastating threat to their dragon cousins, Pern's sole defense against the deadly phenomenon that is Thread. Fiona, the youngest and only surviving daughter of Lord Bemin, is just coming of age, and about to assume the duties of a Weyrwoman, when word spreads that dragons have indeed begun succumbing to the new contagion. With the next season of Threadfall quickly approaching, and the already diminished ranks of the dragons once more under siege, every Weyr across Pern is in crisis mode. It is hardly the time for disturbing distractions---such as the strange voice Fiona suddenly hears in her mind at the darkest and most urgent moments.
Circumstances and the mood of the weyrfolk worsen when advance patrols relay the dreaded news that black dust---the unmistakable herald of falling Thread---has been sighted. As more dragons sicken and die, leaving only a new generation of weyrlings too young to succeed them. Wyerleader B'Nik and queen rider Lorana arrive from Benden Weyr to comb Fort Weyr's archives in a desperate search for clues from the past that may hold the solution to the plague.
But could the actual past itself prove the pathway to salvation for Pern's stricken dragons and the entire imperiled planet? Guided by a mysterious ally from a wholly unexpected place, and trusting in the unique dragon gift for transcending time, Fiona will join a risky expedition with far-reaching consequences for both Pern's future and her personal destiny.

Book 8

Dragonsblood

by Todd McCaffrey

Published 25 January 2005
Pern AL 50: the geneticist Wind Blossom is nearing the end of her long life and is painfully aware that the colonists are running out of the modern technology the settlers brought with them to Pern and that they are forgetting how to use what they do have. Society is beginning to revert to a feudal system and Wind Blossom is concerned that future generations may be hit by an illness they have no tools to fight and that mankind may subsequently be wiped off the face of Pern AL 507: Lorana is training to be an animal healer but when she arrives at Benden Weyr she impresses a golden dragon and becomes a dragonrider. However, a deadly and mysterious plague begins to wipe out the dragons, leaving mankind no defence against the deadly Thread which has just begun to fall. Lorana has two firelizards who manage to travel Back in time to Wind Blossom's era. Wind Blossom discovers what is wrong with the dragons and comes up with a cure. She also devises a way to leave clues for Lorana so that she can discover the cure in her time and save the dragons, and thus the future of mankind on Pern

Book 9

Dragongirl

by Todd McCaffrey

Published 1 July 2010

With a cast of beloved characters from previous Pern novels, Dragongirl is another triumph for Todd McCaffrey—and a riveting chapter for the Dragonriders of Pern.
 
Young Fiona, rider of the gold queen Talenth, has returned with the dragons and riders who fled into the past to heal their battle wounds and prepare to fight anew the menace of Thread. Now more than three years older, Fiona is no longer a child but a woman—thrust into authority by a shocking tragedy. But leading weyrfolk who are distrustful of a young outsider will be only one of her challenges. Despite gaining reinforcements from the past, too few dragons have survived the recent plague to stem the tide of the intensifying Threadfall. As a senior Weyrwoman, Fiona must take decisive action. With the aid of Lorana, the rider who sacrificed her dragon for others, and Fiona’s true love, the harper Kindan, she proposes a daring, nearly impossible plan. But if it succeeds, it just might save them all.


Book 10

Dragons Time

by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey

Published 1 January 2011
Although Lorana cured the dragons' sickness so many died from the disease that there are no longer enough dragons to fight the deadly Thread, and more dragons and their riders die each Threadfall. With their numbers dwindling, Lorana made the decision to fly forward in time in a desperate bid to bring dragons from the future to fight Thread. She knew that jumping so far in time would result in her losing her baby, but without her jump all life on Pern is doomed. Back at Telgar Weyr Fiona, Kindan and T'mar realise what Lorana has done. They are desperately sad, but two things give them hope. The first is that Fiona is expecting twins, and the second the fact that all the dragonriders are exhausted, a sign that they are Timing it - existing elsewhere in space and time - which gives them hope that Lorana has found a way through time to help them. Sure enough, led by messages left for them by Lorana, they fly through space to the Dawn Sisters, the ships hanging in space that brought their ancestors to Pern. From there they look down at the beautiful planet and see a previously undiscovered continent - this is where they are Timing it and where they are reunited with Lorana.
Now they can increase the number and strength of the dragons before going back to their own time to fight Thread. Although Lorana found she couldn't break time, she has found a way to cheat it.

Book 11

Sky Dragons

by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey

Published 1 December 2011
After a vicious plague swept through the world of Pern, there are no longer enough dragons to fight off the current onslaught of Thread, the deadly spore that falls like rain from the skies and devours everything organic in its path. Pern's last best chance to rebuild the decimated dragon population lies with a group of young dragonriders and their dragons left stranded on an unexplored island. Leadership of these dragons and riders falls to Xhinna, female rider of a blue dragon, who, as the most experienced dragonrider in the new Weyr, must earn the respect of all who follow her, as not everyone is ready to accept a female wingleader. She must solve the problem of how to get sufficient numbers of dragon eggs, although her newfangled ideas, like letting green dragons mate and lay eggs to hatch new dragons, cause uproar. All the while she must protect her people and baby dragons from the predators and, worse, traitors or all hope for Pern will be lost.

Book 12

Anne McCaffrey draws the reader back in time to an earlier Pern to tell the story of one of Pern’s great and true heroines.

An air of pleasant anticipation hung so thickly over the Halls, Holds and Weyrs of Pern that it had affected even the businesslike ways of Moreta, the Weyrwoman of Fort Weyr, where her dragon, Queen Orlith, would soon clutch. 

Then without warning, a runnerbeast fell ill. Soon myriads of holders, craftsmen, and dragonriders were dying; and the mysterious ailment had spread to all but the most inaccessible holds. Pern was in mortal danger. For, if dragonriders did not rise to char Thread, the parasite would devour any and all organic life it encountered.

The future of the planet rested in the hands of Moreta and the other deicated, lelfless Pernese leaders. But of all their problems, the most difficult to overcome was time. . . .

Book 13

Nerilka's Story

by Anne McCaffrey

Published 12 November 1986
A deadly epidemic was sweeping across Pern!
 
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 preparing the precious serum needed for mass inoculations against the dread plague.
 
Nerilka had long ago abandoned her 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!

Book 14

The Masterharper of Pern

by Anne McCaffrey

Published 2 January 1998
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “At last, Robinton has his own book . . . McCaffrey adds another absorbing chapter to dragon lore. . . . Readers will revel in this compelling character study of a fascinating personality.”—Romantic Times

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 . . .

“The story takes wing . . . when McCaffrey’s beloved dragons roar and their riders soar upon the beasts’ mighty backs. . . . Fans of Pern will likely be enthralled.”—Publishers Weekly

Book 15

A Gift of Dragons

by Anne McCaffrey

Published 1 January 2002
For more than thirty years, Pern has conjured visions of brave men and women mounted upon the backs of dragons. As anyone knows who has been touched by the storytelling magic of Anne McCaffrey, to read of the exotic world of Pern is to inhabit it - and to experience its extraordinary dragons is to soar aloft with them and share their dazzling adventures. A Gift Of Dragons brings together three well-loved stories and a thrilling new tale of Pern in a single volume illustrated with beautiful artwork by Tom Kid. 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 fear - and 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 dragon-filled skies.
And finally, a very special gift; an exciting new Pern adventure fresh from the imagination of Anne McCaffrey.

Book 16

Dragonflight

by Anne McCaffrey

Published 12 July 1973
At a time when the number of Dragonriders has fallen too low for safety and only one Weyr trains the dragons and their riders, the Red Star approaches Pern, threatening it with disaster.

Book 17

Dragonquest

by Anne McCaffrey

Published 12 July 1973

'Anne McCaffrey, one of the queens of science fiction, knows exactly how to give her public what it wants' The Times
________

Another Turn, and the deadly silver Threads began falling again. So the bold dragonriders took to the skies and their magnificent 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.


Book 18

Dragonsong

by Anne McCaffrey

Published 1 January 1976
Forbidden by her father to indulge in music in any way, a girl on the planet Pern runs away, taking shelter with the planet's fire lizards who, along with her music, open a new life for her.

Book 19

Dragonsinger

by Anne McCaffrey

Published 1 January 1977

Dragonriders of Pern is an epic of the fantasy genre for a reason. Discover why this series is so beloved and lose yourself in Pern: a world of dragons and other worldly forces; a world of mighty powers and omnious threats, from New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author Anne McCaffrey. If you like David Eddings, Brandon Sanderson and Douglas Adams, you will love this.

'Anne McCaffrey, one of the queens of science fiction, knows exactly how to give her public what it wants' - THE TIMES

"Thank heavens for Anne McCaffrey"-- ***** Reader review

"An EXCEPTIONAL work of fantasy, brilliantly written" -- ***** Reader review

"Another fabulous book from Pern's history" -- ***** Reader review

"A great story both as a stand-alone novel... and as part of the Dragonriders series" -- ***** Reader review

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IN A GREAT HALL, A DESTINY UNRAVELS...

When Menolly, daughter of Yanus Sea Holder, arrived at the Harper Craft Hall, she came in style, aboard a huge 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 compelling beauty, music-making where at last she was accepted.

The Dragonriders of Pern series continues in Dragondrums.


Book 20

Dragondrums

by Anne McCaffrey

Published 1 February 1979
Of all the young singers at the Harperhall of Pern, Piemur was the one chosen for the leading role at Lord Groghe's Gather...and then his voice broke. Suddenly his whole future at Harperhall became 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 messanger-drum apprentice, Piemur carried out special errands for the three. And it was on one such errand that he realized his wildest dreams.