It has been several decades since I read any Pern books. This was the first one- handed to me on a birthday in my teen years, and I was enthralled. I realize now on a re-read that back then my mind must have readily filled in gaps with active imagination, as now it seems that the descriptions are scant and the storyline skips through events rather quickly. But I still find the premise of this series really intriguing. You might think because of the dragons this is fantasy but nope, it’s actually sci-fi. There’s no magic. Pern is a planet once colonized by humans and long since abandoned or forgotten by Earth. The early inhabitants- explorers and scientists- genetically engineered an indigenous species to become the huge dragons, capable of breathing fire and forming a telepathic and emotional bond with human riders. Their importance is to save the planet from Threadfall- noxious acid spores that cross the gap of space from a satellite planet with an erratic orbit, when it approaches close enough. Thread destroys nearly everything it touches. Traditions and social rules built up to support the dragonriders who protect the planet, with Holds providing goods and supplies to the dragonmen who live in rocky caves on cliff faces (the Thread spores can’t harm rock).
In the setting of the story, four hundred years have passed since the last Threadfall. Civilization regressed to a medieval state, much technology and knowledge has been lost, and dragonmen are no longer honored, the common people chafe at having to support them. The Weyrs (where dragons and dragonmen live) have dwindled in number to only one. Many believe that Thread will never fall again, and the ancient warnings are just stories. When Thread does threaten there is a sudden desperate scramble for survival. One of the main characters is Lessa, last survivor of her bloodline living disguised as a kitchen drudge in her Hold which was taken over by an usurper. She is waiting for a chance to take revenge, but is suddenly whisked away to the Weyr by dragonmen searching for a strong-willed woman who can bond with the last remaining queen dragon. They need this dragon to repopulate the weyrs so they have enough numbers to fight Thread. Lessa is suddenly in a new environment, and nobody really explains anything to her including that when her dragon is taken in mating flight by F’lar’s dragon, she and F’lar will be compelled to become partners. When I was a teen reading this I breezed past mentions of the uneven relationship Lessa and F’lar have, more interested the details about the dragons and how people live on this alien world. Reading it now I’m discomfited by it- the society on Pern as a whole is very sexist. I had forgotten how much time travel became a crucial part of this story- the dragons can ‘wink between‘ to teleport- and Lessa accidentally discovers that if given the proper references, dragons can also move through time. It takes the characters a while to figure out how this can work to their advantage against Thread, though I saw everything a mile coming. Enjoyable regardless. While some of the writing and characterization feels a bit stiff, and the main romance (you can barely call it that) is objectionable, I remind myself how long ago this book was written.
Younger me read this followed by Dragonquest, The White Dragon, Moreta, Dragonsdawn and Nerilka’s Story. My absolute favorites though were the Harper Hall series: Dragonsong, Dragonsinger and Dragondrums. I really want to re-read that trilogy but felt need to remind myself of the world and its events first. I think l also once tried to read The Dolphins of Pern and All the Weyrs of Pern but never finished- and there’s so many more books now! (the author’s son continued the series). I wonder how far I’ll get into the Pern books this time around, before I feel like moving on to something else.