A reread after many years, which holds up well. Not much style but a lot of substance—settlers fleeing a dying Earth emigrate across the stars to a planet in orbit around Rukbat. A story for our times for sure.

Only—uh-oh—until…after they’ve landed and moved planetside they discover that an erratic body that transverses Rukbat’s solar system drags a bunch of toxic waste into their orbit to rain down on the planet where it destroys every living thing, them included, every 200 years.

In response they bioengineer one of Pern’s indigenous species, tiny telepathic teleporting dragons, into great big enormous telepathic teleporting dragons, all of whom share the ability to sear Thread from the sky with their fiery breath.

Okay, fine, good, good, until…remember erratic body, aka the Red Star? Sometimes it stays away for four hundred years at a time, during which the Pernese tend to forget why they bred and are tithing to support those big dragons and their riders because Thread obviously is gone for good this time, right? Until…it isn’t.

These three, plus the Harper Hall trilogy, plus All the Weyrs of Pern will tell the tale in full, although there are other books in the series which dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s. McCaffrey had a great imagination and human beings are the same everywhere, here or on Pern. Recommended.

This review and 1100 others included in No Stars, a collection of the book reviews I’ve written over the years on Book Review Monday.
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Book Review Monday Chatter Anne McCaffrey Dragonriders of Pern No Stars