Anne McCaffrey is one of the great sci-fi writers around and has been so since I was a kid. Her Dragon riders of Pern series is one of the great examples of a writer creating a whole world and culture that is a delightful place to visit. Starting with Dragonflight, Dragonquest and The White Dragon, she builds a world that is rich and exciting. Pern is full of believable characters and a dynamic story to keep a reader interested and invested.
Interestingly enough, the first time I read it I was thirteen years old or so, and I thought it was a fantasy story. I mean it had dragons, right? Over the first three books, however, you become aware there is something else going on, and despite what some reviewers might think, there is a difference between science fiction and fantasy. They are two distinctly different genre’s.
Anyway I was hooked with the first book and have been enjoying the series ever since. There are now many different books that encompass many different characters and I would encourage anyone looking to find a new series to read, pick up Dragonflight. You will not be sorry you did.
Have you read them?
Thoughts?
I love the world of Pern, read the White Dragon first, then caught up with the rest.
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The White Dragon was definitely fun. It was interesting as the story followed Jaxom growing up. Not many writers do that, but she did it well.
Thanks for the post
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I was hooked by these as well — although, initially not into reading SF but reading fantasy. I quickly realized that most fantasy is frustratingly uninventive (unlike McCaffrey) so I moved to SF….
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They are easy to get hooked on to be sure. I am a big fan of both sci-fi and fantasy so it was a great find that has lasted for most of my life.
Thanks for the post.
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Did they make a movie out of the world of Pern?
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I had heard there was talk into it but that was years ago. I haven’t seen anything since. It is one of those series that would be hard to do right so I am not sure if I would want to see it on film. On the one hand it would be really cool if they got it right, or really frustrating if they got it wrong. I can say I would go see it if someone tried.
Thanks for the post…
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