Anne McCaffrey (1926- )

Pern is a planet protected by fire-breathing dragons and their human partners from the threat of deadly spores called "Thread." A former colony of Earth, Pern has been divided into a near-feudal society of landholders who often work against the less rigid communities of dragonriders, called Weyrs.

Her Life:

Her first novel was written in Latin class and might have brought her instant fame, as well as an A, if she had written it in that ancient language. Much chastened by teacher and father, she turned to the stage and became a character actress, appearing in the first successful summer music circus in Lambertsville, NJ.

McCaffrey credits her parents for raising her to believe she could do anything. She once commented: "Few women during my adolescence were encouraged to think of having independent careers, or careers at all: marriage was considered quite enough to occupy most women's lives. That's where I . . . lucked out: being subtly conditioned to have marriage, motherhood, AND self-fulfillment."

Anne married H. Wright Johnson on January 14, 1950 (divorced, 1970) and has 3 children: Alec Anthony, Todd, and Georgeanne.

"When I was a very young girl, I promised myself fervently (usually after I'd lost another battle with one of my brothers) that I would become a famous author and I'd own my own horse."

Today, she lives in a house of her own design, Dragonhold-Underhill (so called because she had to dig out a hill on her farm to build it) in Wicklow County, Ireland.

Anne runs a private livery stable and her horses have been successful in Horse Trials and showjumping. She does not ride in competition, she hastens to add, but has enjoyed the success of horse and rider and, until recently, rode out on her black and white mare, Pi.

Her Books:

The Ship Who Sang Series and the novels about the Dragonriders Of Pern are described here. However she has written dozens more.

To the nobles who live in Benden Weyr, Lessa is nothing but a ragged kitchen girl. For most of her life she has survived by serving those who betrayed her father and took over his lands. Now the time has come for Lessa to shed her disguise—and take back her stolen birthright. But everything changes when she meets a queen dragon. The bond they share will be deep and last forever. It will protect them when, for the first time in centuries, Lessa’s world is threatened by Thread, an evil substance that falls like rain and destroys everything it touches. Dragons and their Riders once protected the planet from Thread, but there are very few of them left these days. Now brave Lessa must risk her life, and the life of her beloved dragon, to save her beautiful world. . . .

Another Turn and the deadly silver threads begin to fall again. So the dragonriders began their flight and the dragon's breath burned them before they could touch the ground. But F'lar knew he had to find a better way to protect his beloved Pern.

New characters are introduced ( not to mention the adorable 'miniture' dragons, fire-lizards.) But of course the story wouldn't be nearly as complete without F'lar, the Weyrleader, and Lessa, the Weyrwoman, and don't forget the never-ending thread. Oh, and of course F'lar can't resist but get into another life and death threatening duel.

Menolly is the most talented musician in the village, but she yearns to become a professional Harper and create music as well as sing/play it. Unfortunately, no woman has ever been a Harper before and her conservatively minded family is determined to squash this dream of Menolly's before she shames them in some way. When life for Menolly becomes too harsh, she escapes into the wide world and takes shelter in a cave. There, she discovers a cache of fire lizards, small cousins of the dragons that protect Pern.

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.

When his boy soprano voice begins to change, Piemur is drafted by Masterharper Robinton to help with political work and is sent on missions that lead him into unusual and sometimes dangerous adventures.

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.

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.

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. 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 dragonets 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!

As long as the people of Pern could remember, the Holds had protected them from Thread. In exchange for sanctuary in the huge stone fortresses, the people tithed to their Lord Holders, who in turn supported the dragonriders. But not everyone on Pern was protected. 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!

For generations, the dragonriders had dedicated their lives to fighting Thread, the dreaded spores that periodically rained from the sky to ravage the land. But the greatest dream of the dragonriders was to find a way to eradicate Thread completely. 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, Weyrleader and Weyrwoman of Benden Weyr, excavated the ancient remains of the planet's original settlement, they uncovered the colonists' voice-activated artificial intelligence system-which still functionedhilate Thread once and for all!! the computer had incredible news for them: There was a chance--a good chance--that they could annihilate Thread once and for all!

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 Pernese ocean. Learn how the famous Ruatha Hold was founded, and thrill with the dragonriders as they expand into a second, then a third Weyr.

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. But then disaster struck. The deadly silver spores called Thread fell like rain from the sky, and as the human colonists' dreams of a new, idyllic life shattered into a desperate struggle for survival, the dolphins were forgotten... Now, centuries later, T'lion, a young bronze rider, and his friend Readis, son of the Lord Holder of Paradise River Hold, made contact with the legendary "shipfish."

Thread: deadly silver strands that fall from the sky like rain, devouring every organic thing in their path, animals, plants, and people alike. Who could believe that such horrible things could exist? After all, it's been two-hundred years since Thread supposedly fell on Pern. No one alive remembers that first onslaught. There's no sign of it anywhere in the world. Only the dragons, originally created to be a weapon against Thread, are still around to remind people that once before their population was decimated.

In a time when no Thread has fallen for centuries--when, indeed, many are beginning to dare hope that Thread will never fall again--a boy is born to Harper Hall. His name is Robinton, and he is destined to be one of the most famous and beloved leaders Pern has ever known. The son of Petiron, renowned composer, and Merelan, one of Pern's most gifted singers, Robinton is a prodigy from birth. As a child, he is already composing music that the apprentice and journeyman harpers play with delight. And he also discovers another gift: he has the ability to speak with the dragons, who tend to reach out telepathically only to their riders.

Now that the Red Star has been pushed to another orbit, there will only be a few more ravenous Threads descending from it for them and their dragons to fight--and what role will that leave for them? They have successfully reclaimed Earth's lost technology--and suddenly everyone with a craft that might be outmoded, or who is phobic about surgery, is on the rampage, sabotaging and smashing and making up rumors. These fundamentalist Abominators are sure that something terrible will happen if the old ways are not gone back to--and sure enough, fire descends, on cue, from the skies.

McCaffrey has joined forces with her son, Todd, for this latest book in the Pern series. Fans who have become comfortable with McCaffrey's smooth trademark style over the years will notice no seams-which bodes well for any solo novels her coauthor, the heir apparent, may contribute to the Dragonriders saga.
Now that the surface seams of coal have begun to run dry on Pern, it's imperative to start extracting coal from deep underground, despite the increased danger. Some of the miners rely on the expertise of the watch-whers, smaller versions of dragons, to help keep them safe in the mines. As Kindan, blind Nuella and master harper Zist puzzle out the lore, habits and abilities of these nocturnal creatures, they find out more about the watch-whers (and themselves) than they thought possible.

Pellar is an orphan taken in by Masterharper Zist. Though born mute, Pellar is a gifted tracker, and when Zist sets off to take over as harper for Natalon's coal-mining camp, Pellar - along with his fire-lizard, Chitter - joins him on a secret mission of his own: to find out if reported 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. Lack of food, shelter, and clothes is their lot; hope is unknown to them. And what future would they hope for? Without a hold to call their own, there will be no protection for them when the lethal Thread inevitably falls again. Life is particularly tough for Halla. Her family gone, she must fend for herself. Yet despite the brutality of her surroundings, Halla is kind and gentle, devoted to those more helpless than she.

As depraved as Halla is good, 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, the boy feels he must make amends, even if it means risking his life by mining the volatile firestone, which detonates on 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 defense against Thread. But Tenim has a murderous plan to turn 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.

A novel by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey

Due out December, 2007

Helva had been born human, but only her brain had been saved and implanted into the titanium body of an intergalactic scout ship. But first she had to choose a human partner, to soar with her through the daring adventures and exhilarating escapades in space.

Accompanying her exo-archeologist parents on an EsKay dig, seven-year-old Tia becomes afflicted with a strange neural disorder that leaves her totally dependent on a mechanical life support system. An option for Tia might be the Shell person's program. Thus Tia goes on to train for the B & B ship program. After graduation she takes her chances with brawn Alexander Joli-Chanteau. Tia and Alex are both excellently and eminently convincingly drawn characters. Tia highly intelligent, precocious and flexible is the driving force of her story. The sympathetic and quirky Alex is very well matched with this great heroine.

Nancia, a new member of the elite Courier Service of the Central Worlds and the brain of one of the most advanced stellar ships, finds her innocent vision of human nature shattered when she is paired up with brutish partner Forister.

Space Station SSS-900C, a profitable but out-of-the-way trading and mining center, is attacked by Kolnari, pirates from a planet of sociopathic exiles. While awaiting the arrival of the Central Worlds' Navy, the inhabitants play for time with a major deception planned by Simeon, the shellperson operating the station, whose hobby is the study of early warfare, including guerrilla tactics. (Shellpeople, damaged while young by accident or birth defect and encased in life-support systems, are wired into and control sophisticated technology such as space stations, cities and spaceships, while maintaining their own personalities and emotions.)

The Brain here is Carialle, a bodiless human wired into spaceship SSS-900; the Brawn is supplied by Carialle's human partner, Keff. Explorers Carialle and Keff hope to achieve alien contact. On the chilly planet Ozran they discover a population of furry humanoids ruled by irascible and arrogant ``wizards'' wielding what apparently are magic powers. The wizards take Keff captive but do not immediately learn of Carialle's existence. Keff is aided by Plennafrey, a young, beautiful, and rebellious wizard, and the more powerful Chaumel, who is at least willing to listen. Carialle, you see, has discovered that the source of the wizards' power is a projector called the core of Ozran, set up ages ago .

Planet Bethel bigwig Amos ben Sierra Nueva and his daughter Soamosa are kidnapped by the evil mutant, Belazair of Kolnar, in revenge for a previous defeat; Belazair plans to infect Amos with a contagious brain-destroying virus and then send him back to Bethel. So, after some arm-twisting by secret agent Bros Sperin, spaceship Wyal (brain: Rand; brawn: Joat Simeon-Hap) speeds to the rescue, though Joat and Rand don't yet know about the virus. But then Belazair's kindly son, Karak, refuses to torture Soamosa; instead he falls in love and escapes with her.-

Carialle and Keff were the ones who had discovered intelligent life on the planet Ozran. Now she and Keff are serving as couriers for the "globe-frogs", to return them from whence they came. And now all the evidence is indicating that the dirty rats who caused Carialle such pain in the first place may be the very globe-frogs with whom she and Keff have just become friends.