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The planet Pern has been colonized for centuries by humans. When humans first settled on this world, they did not take notice of its sister planet, which had an indigenous life form that attempted to land on Pern when it came within reach. These silver "threads" fell in a destructive wave on the temperate lands of Pern once every 200 years, destroying all life they encountered. To combat this menace, the inhabitants of Pern developed a species of dragon that could burn these threads out of the sky before they touched down. Now, centuries have passed between threadfalls, and the danger of thread is considered a myth. However, a dragon rider named F'lar knows that the riders are once again needed.
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Another Turn, and the deadly silver Threads began falling again. So the bold dragonriders took to the air once more and their magnificent flying dragons swirled and swooped, belching flames that destroyed the shimmering strands before they reach 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 Old-timers could breed anymore 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.
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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 flights 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!
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As the story opens Moreta, rider of a Queen dragon, is enjoying herself at a Gather. Unfortunately a flu virus had been inadvertently been introduced into the population and quickly spread through out the population, both human and equine. The various segments of Pernese society work together to combat the now dual threat of virus and Thread in order to save the planet with Moreta thrust into a centre role.
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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.
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Dragonsinger is the second book in the Harper Hall Trilogy and is the sequel to Dragonsong. It starts right after the previous book ends, with Menolly arriving in Harper Hall a-dragonback. There she begins her musical education with the masters of music. Menolly always thought that harpers would be different and that she would fit in among them, but she finds that people are the same wherever you go. All of the other girls are jealous of her musical talents and do not want her living in their cottage. The boys insist that she has no place with them and her nine fire lizards make her stand out even more.
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This is the third book in the Harper Hall trilogy. The heroine of the two previous books, Menolly, now a confidant journeywoman, does appear and has some wonderful romantic moments, but it mainly revolves around her friend, the charming, young scamp Piemur. He believes his beautiful Soprano voice is his only asset to the Harper Hall. When his voice begins to break, he feels at a loss, but finds out that his ingenuity and intelligence are just as valued by the Masterharper Robinton as his youthful voice was. After a period of rough adjustment and a violent encounter with jealous rival apprentices, Piemur's other talents gain him a fire lizard and take him farther from the Hall than he ever dreamed, all the way to the mysterious Southern continent of Pern.
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After 15 years of cold sleep, 6000 colonists land on Pern, seeking a simpler existence, escaping the aftermath of interstellar war and an overly technical society. The colony prospers until the consuming Threads, that destroys all life it comes in contact with, makes its first appearance. A brilliant bioengineer attempts to develop a biological weapon to save them, a much larger version of a native life form many of the colonists have adopted as pets, dragonets with the ability to teleport and breathe flame after eating phosphoric rock. The book ends with the first successful result of that experiment.
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This begins with the rediscovery of the computer left by the first settlers to Pern. This computer, named AIVAS, complete with its vast store of knowledge, had managed to stay operational in the intervening 2,500 plus years since the settlers had been forced to flee the original settlement. In that time the settlers had developed a new society and found methods to deal with the menacing Thread that periodically attacked their world but had lost many of the technologies that their ancestors had brought with them from Earth. Now that AIVAS was available to them the people of Pern would have the opportunity to regain this knowledge, but at what cost to their society?
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As long as the people of Pern could remember, dragons had fought Thread and kept people alive. Everyone lived in strong stone fortresses or caves because Thread wouldn't eat through stone. However, it had been hundreds of years since Thread had fallen on Pern and there were many who did not like to live behind stone walls, beholden to the Lord of the area and forced into careers that they did not want. Some, like Jayge Lilcamp's clan were traders. They traversed the length and breadth of Pern, bartering and taking messages to other holds. They were always welcome at holds, especially ones that were out of the way. However, when they ignored the warning that Thread was once again falling on Pern, his trader caravan was decimated. Instead of being independent, they were now forced to accept whatever charity they could from the last hold the visited. Jayge couldn't bear it and set out on his own.
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The humans of Pern are reunited, after eons of noncontact, with the intelligent dolphins who had originally settled the planet with them. When a boy, Readis, is rescued by "shipfish" and realizes that they can talk, he develops a lifelong obsession with the fascinating creatures. But, though his interest is shared by the young dragonrider T'Lion and his dragon, Gadareth, it is forbidden by his mother, who has feared the unusual ever since she was kidnapped by outlaws because of her ability to hear and talk with dragons. Readis pursues his briney friendships nonetheless, reporting his findings to the computer, Aivas, which is attempting to guide the humans to a new era by freeing Pern forever from the devastating, life-consuming Thread. Meanwhile, the leading dragonriders and holdlords must act to contain the lust for land and power of Toric, Lord Holder of the South.
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The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall is actually a collection of 5 short stories that take place around the time of Dragonsdawn. They are The Survey: P.E.R.N, The Dolphin's Bell, The Ford of Red Hanrahan, The Second Weyr and Rescue Run.
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Nerilka is a hardworking rather plain daughter of the Lord Holder of Fort Hold. She spends most of her summers gathering and laying up medicines and other stores. She spends the rest of her time helping in the kitchens and sewing or whatever other work needs doing. When her father decides to take some of her younger, unmarried sisters to the Ruatha Gather in hopes of snaring Lord Alessan as a husband, she believes that she will get to go too, but her father leaves her behind. Nerilka thinks that this is very cruel because her best friend was Lord Alessan's first wife before she was killed in a tragic runnerbeast accident and she used to write to Nerilka about Ruatha. Nerilka would give just about anything to see it.
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When the volcanoes rumble and the powerful storms begin brewing on Pern, it means one thing: Thread. For 257 years Pern has been free of the life-destroying Thread, but now the Red Star has reappeared in the sky and soon the deadly Threadfall will follow. In the holds and weyrs across the land, the genetically-engineered dragons of Pern and their human riders begin feverishly training to combat the Thread, for only dragon fire can destroy the silvery invaders. But, incredibly, one Lord Holder refuses to believe the Thread will fall again, and he may endanger the entire planet.
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Masterharper of Pern is the story of Robinton, and covers his childhood, adolescence and early manhood.
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"The Girl Who Heard Dragons" is a collection of 15 short stories. The title short story itself is a natural lead-in to the full-length novel "The Renegades of Pern" from a somewhat different perspective.
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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 rumours. 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.
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A Gift of Dragons is a collection of four short works in the Pern series. The Smallest Dragonboy (1973) is the story of a twelve year old boy who is the smallest candidate in his Searched group and cruelly treated by another older boy, yet perseveres in his efforts to impress a hatchling. The Girl Who Heard Dragons (1994) is the story of a young holdless girl who can hear dragons talk to each other and, when her family is threatened, finds that she can also talk to them. Runner of Pern (1999) is the story of a young women who is a runner, carrying written messages for long distance, who comes to Fort Hold at gather time with a score to settle with someone who ran her off the runner trace the night before. Ever the Twain (2002) is the story of a pair of twins, one of whom desperately wants to become a dragonrider, but the other is selected to be a candidate at the next hatching.
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Anne McCaffrey, The Dragons of Pern
