The Dragonriders of Pern Series

Author: Anne McCaffrey
Rating: 4.0 Bookworms
My Opinion:
While I have been recovering from my hand surgeries I have been off line but I passed the time by reading. For years my sister Jacque has talked about the Dragonriders of Pern Series but I had not taken the time to read them. I like Anne McCaffrey and have read several of her other books so I can't really say why I put this series off for so long. At any rate later is better than never so here is my opinion of the lastest of the series I have read.

All the Weyrs of Pern
This picks up the story of Pern where the White Dragon left off...sort of. In this book Ms. McCaffrey brings the first settlers of Pern into focus through AVIS which is a massive computer that has stored the knowledge, history, science, and culture of the first settlers who came across space from a distant planet we all know and love. These early space travelers left Earth behind to colonize an new planet in the hope that they could create a better world for themselves and their children. They vowed to use only the minimum technology necessary to survive. They pledged to care for the natural resources and make the best use of their new world. Unfortunately they did not know about the dreaded Thread that threatened to destroy their fragile new world. Add to that the forces of nature and over time AVIS was forgotten only to be rediscovered by the present day leadership. This opened up the possiblitly that Thread could be destroyed forever. As the people were taught to use the "new" technology many of the older leaders were not willing or able to accept the change. As more and more changes came to their world it was bound to create friction and fear which caused some to resort to violence. Jaxom and the Weyrleaders must find a way to bring all the Lord Holders and Craft Halls together to work toward the goal of ending the attacks of Thread as well as end the internal strife.

The Dolphins of Pern
This story takes place alongside the above story so I am very glad that I read them close together. The first settlers brought along with them their technology, skills, knowledge, and unique partners. They brought dolphins that had been "enhanced" so that they could actually speak with the men they worked closely with. This helped the men map out the planet and the dolphins assisted the fishermen by locating schools of fish, warning of bad weather, and helping shipwrecked sailors. Over the 2500 years since the first settlers arrived and present day Pern this relationship had been forgotten by men. The dolphins however remembered and did their best to maintain their language skills. They were faithful to their purpose and still assisted men when possible. The dolphins waited for men to remember. This book starts with an exciting rescue of a small boy and his uncle by dolphins who speak with them. When AVIS learns of the experience he re-introduces the knowledge of dolphins to men and the young boy who was saved receives special training. His desire to become a dolphineer never leaves him. As the humans have more contact with dolphins they discover they have the ability to "read" the human body and help healers diagnois some illnesses. This is a great help to the people.

These stories are fun and well written. Ms. McCafferey has a wonderful imagination and in this series has created a marvelous world where dragons, fire-lizards, doplins, and men communicate to create a better life for themselves. I have enjoyed these books very much.

Buy It or Borrow It: I honestly think I'll try to buy this series. They were published a while ago so I'm not sure if they are still available but as we all know anything is possible on Amazon. Enjoy!