In my world-building A to Z we’ve reached P, for which I’ve selected Pern, the world created by Anne McCaffrey for her Dragonriders series.
In a nutshell, the stories are adventures, often featuring strong, powerless young women (and men) with special talents (see B for Ballybran) and featuring human interaction through telepathy with dragons (and their smaller cousins, firelizards).
The number of websites I found dedicated to Pern when I started looking for data online both surprised me and not. I knew the series was hugely popular, but not that it had such an ardent following. I don’t know why I didn’t think it might – but I didn’t, despite having been a fan myself, working through the first eleven books, with a couple more on the list familiar enough to me to think I might have read them. I think I stopped after the collaboration that Anne McCaffrey made with her son Todd, to continue the series.
One look at the wikipedia entry (linked below) tells you all you need to know about the degree of world-building that derived Pern – and snippets you might not realise or remember, such as Pern itself originating as an acronym for Parallel Earth, Resources Negligable, ascribed by those original settlers whom we discover more about in the ‘later’ books; many of Todd’s works written later are set earlier in Pern’s history.
As might be expected for a world that runs to over twenty books now, it is thoroughly well-built – even if there is criticism that some stories may not entirely fit with one written earlier. I would describe it as a feudal world with a symbiotic relationship with an indigenous species (the dragons) by descendants of settlers, and remnants of their advanced technology. And then I wonder how much influence I took from Pern when I developed my own world of the Princelings! Or maybe both of us separately were influenced by mediaeval networks of castles, strongholds, fortresses and the excitement of fairs and markets to bring people together, with an independent guild network to share essential skills and knowledge across the ties to land and liege. Maybe it’s just a sensible arrangement.
Whatever the similarities, Pern has a rich and throughly formed social, cultural and geographical base. I love the maps. I love the structure provided by the Harper Halls and the Weyrs, and of course, I love the dragons. The science-base for threadfall is extremely good although I’ve never been sure of thread itself. Although in space, anything is possible.
I really, really wanted to be a dragon rider like Lessa. Or maybe a harper like Menolly. And when it got to dolphins, I was ecstatic. But it was soon after that I stopped reading them, moving on to other things. I’ve got some catching up to do.
What about you – have you read the Pern books, starting with Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey?
If you’d like a thorough overview, try this article, or go to the wikipedia article, which is more a summary of canon.
Pern Worldmap from “Renegades of Pern”, copyright Anne McCaffrey, et al, via dailykos.com
I’ve heard of Anne McCaffrey but have not read any of her books. This series sounds interesting though. Thanks for a great post. If only the day had more hours for reading. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
I’ve listed quite a few of her series in the B for Ballybran post – there’s sure to be something that appeals to you!
Thanks for visiting me, too 🙂
I’ve been to Pern many times. I think my son and I have read all of her books together.
You’re ahead of me then, Lee!
Hi Jemima! Thanks for visiting my blog earlier as part of the A to Z Challenge! I haven’t read books by Anne McCaffrey but my sister has so I’ve heard of Pern!
I can recommend them, Sukanya. Thanks for visiting 🙂
I think I have read all the Pern books, even the later ones with and then by Todd, though I don’t care as much for them. Pern was one of my earliest fantasy-world discoveries, after Narnia and Middle Earth (and Earthsea). I definitely preferred the earliest books, which were solidly in the fantasy genre, rather than the later infusion of science and connection to the Earthly past, though I certainly understand how adding all that technology in a hurry created the sort of change (and social unrest) that makes room for good stories!
🙂
I have read every one of the Dragonriders books….and still have a few newer ones yet to read. Great P topic — I always wished I could live on Pern!
Me too, Julie! Thanks for visiting 🙂
Wow — 20 books set in the same world is inspiring!
Indeed!
The Dragonriders Of Pern is why I started reading fantasy so many years ago. Still my favorite series ever, and my copies are so battered from being read over and over!
I don’t think they were my first fantasy books. I read most of them from the library, but I still have some of my own – battered, as you say!
I adored Pern for years; still pick one up every now and then for a feel good read. So many to choose from. Thank you for sharing the love.