Dragons, dragons

Hello. One of my all time favorite authors is Anne McCaffrey. I have been reading her books for over 25 years now. She wrote the Dragonriders of Pern series, and I first read 'Dragonflight' when I was in high school. My uncle gave it to me to read, and I fell in love with it. 'Dragonquest' and 'The White Dragon' followed, and I have read these books too many times to count over the years. These books are more than simply sci/fi/fantasy. It's her writing that makes them so special. Even if you take away the intriguing plots and the captivating characters, you still have the bones of great writing, which is why Mrs. McCaffrey is an author that's been able to stand the test of time. She has been a top-selling author for more than 40 years now, with nearly 100 books to her credit. This is why I believe Mrs. McCaffrey's books should be taught in literature classes at the high school and college level.

In the Dragonriders of Pern series, humans have settled on the planet Pern. They do not realize that the sister planet, the Red Star, swings in an orbit that brings it close enough to Pern every 200 years for thread to break away and fall to Pern. It burns and destroys everything it touches. The settlers take a local life-form, called dragons become of their resemblance to the creatures in earth folklore, and they genetically enhance them to allow riders to fly on them and fight thread in the air.

Over time, they care cut off from their home world of earth and their technology begins to break down and become useless, so they end up going from a technologically advanced society, to more of what we would think of as middle-ages or medieval times. Since dragonriders are busy saving the planet, they can't provide their own daily needs, like food, drink, clothing, etc. So the worlds Holds (like small countries) tithe to the Weyrs where the dragons live, in exchange for their protection from thread. But every few millennia there is a gap, a time where the Red Star doesn't come close enough for thread to fall. It's during one of these long periods that people begin to see the threat of thread as a folklore, or a story made up to scare the Holds into providing for the Weyrs.

At Bendon Weyr, the only place where dragons still live, their numbers have dwindled. The last Queen dragon has laid a clutch of eggs and then died. There is one golden egg, so one shot at a new Queen to give birth to the new generations of dragons, otherwise they will die out all together. The riders ride on search, to find a female to impress the new Queen. That's where the story starts.

I love these books because Mrs. McCaffrey brought this world to life. The dragons are ranked by color, which also correlates to their size. The biggest are Gold (females, Queens, the only to lay eggs), Bronzes (males, the only to mate Queens), Browns (male), Blues (male), and Greens (female, but because they chew firestone to fight thread they are barren). A human impresses a dragon at it's hatching, bonding to them telepathically and emotionally. It's this bond between dragon and rider that is so compelling. And dragons can go between to any place on the planet instantly.

This is a world with dragons, bards, warriors, kings and queens, chivalry, romance, tragedy... it's a place you want to visit time and time again. There are about 17 books set on Pern (not counting the two compliations and the related Pern works), most are about dragonriders, but some are the Harper Hall series. They are all magnificent.

Mrs. McCaffrey doesn't just write about dragons though. She has a score of other series, some of which I've only recently discovered, such as her 'Dinosaur Planet' series, which I intend to start reading soon. She also has written:
Acorna Series
Brain & Brawn Ship Series
Crystal Singer Series
Dinosaur Planet Series
Doona Series
Petaybee Series
Talent Series
The Coelura Series
Tower and Hive Series
And several non-series books, including many romances

Her website lists nearly 100 of her books. If you've not read an Anne McCaffrey book, please give one a try. Even if you're not a fan of sci/fi/fantasy, she may be just the author to bring you around :)

Here are some links to some sites about Anne McCaffrey, the Dragonriders of Pern, and some with reviews of Mrs. McCaffrey's books

http://www.pern.nl/
http://www.annemccaffreyfans.org/
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/anne-mccaffrey/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonriders_of_Pern
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_McCaffrey
http://pern.srellim.org/
http://mccaffrey.srellim.org/
http://www.amazon.com/Dragonriders-Pern-Anne-McCaffrey/dp/0345340248