Anne McCaffrey

Five episodes in the history of Pern, from the very first space survey recommending colonization, to the last, where the early world, its young dragon culture undetected, is condemned to be isolated in space. Anne McCaffrey has won both the Hugo and Nebula awards.

Travel back to the earliest days of Pernese history in this first-ever Dragonriders of Pern short-story collection Join the original survey team as they explore Pern and decide to recommend it for colonization. Share the terror of the evacuation from the Southern Continent as a flotilla of ships, aided by intelligent, talking dolphins, braves the dreadful currents of the Pernest ocean. Learn how the famous Ruatha Hold was founded, and thrill with the dragonriders as they expand into a second, then a third Weyr. And discover a secret lost in time: the rescue of some of the original colonists before the planet was cut off forever Building a new life on a distant world, braving the dreaded Thread that falls like silver rain from the sky only to destroy every living thing it touches, flying heroically on the wondrous dragons: The Dragonriders of Pern

A tale of courage and adventure, set in the same universe as The Ship Who Sang . A precocious seven-year-old girl has been afflicted by a paralyzing alien virus, and cannot survive outside a mechanical support system. She straps on a spaceship and sets out to find what it was that laid her low.

From the Hugo and Nebula award-winning authors comes the Petaybee series, full of gripping fantasy and daring adventure. Strange things are happening on the icy planet of Petaybee: Unauthorized genetically engineered species have been spotted; geologic survey teams sent to locate newly detected mineral deposits are either coming up empty or disappearing altogether. And the locals aren't talking--especially not to the company bent on exploiting the planet. Disabled combat veteran Yanaba Maddock seems to be the perfect spy for the company. The frailty that was a liability in the military allows her to gain the trust of the Petaybean natives. But miraculously, with Yana's relocation to the arctic planet comes the return of her health and strength. And the closer she gets to the people of Petaybee, the more determined she is to protect her new home. For something unusual and wonderful is happening on Petaybee. Something worth fighting for, even dying for--but especially, something worth living for. . . .

The third novel in the "Crystal Singer" sequence. Killashandra was the most experienced and gifted crystal singer on Ballybran. So naturally she and her partner Lars Dahl were asked to explore the jewel junk of the planet Opal. Unfortunately all those who had previously encountered it had died.

Crystal had destroyed Killashandra's memory, and only crystal could restore it--if she dared When Killashandra Ree joined the mysterious Heptite Guild, she knew that she would be forever changed. Crystal singing brought ecstasy and pain, near-eternal life . . . and gradual loss of memory. What she hadn't counted on was the loneliness she felt when her heart still remembered what her mind had forgotten. Fortunately, someone still cared enough to try to salvage what was left of Killashandra's mind. But she would have to learn to open herself--to another person, and to all her unpleasant memories. "A treat for long-time McCaffrey fans, a good read and a satisfying look at one of the most haunting facets of the crystal singers' profession."--Locus

"When McCaffrey's beloved dragons roar and their riders soar on the beasts' mighty backs . . . fans of Pern will likely be enthralled."--Publishers Weekly For generations, the dragonriders had dedicated their lives to fighting Thread, the dreaded spores that periodically rained from the sky to ravage the land. On the backs of their magnificent telepathic dragons they flew to flame the deadly stuff out of the air before it could reach the planet's surface. But the greatest dream of the dragonriders was to find a way to eradicate Thread completely, so that never again would their beloved Pern be threatened with destruction. Now, for the first time, it looks as if that dream can come true. For when the people of Pern, led by Masterharper Robinton and F'lar and Lessa, Weyrleader and Weyrwoman of Bendon Weyr, excavate the ancient remains of the planet's original settlement, they uncover the colonists' voice-activated artificial intelligence system--which still functions. And the computer has incredible news for them: There is a chance--a good chance--that they can, at long last, annihilate Thread once and for all.

Let Anne McCaffrey, storyteller extraordinare and New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author, take you on a journey to a whole new world: Pern and discover not only its flora, fauna, population and cultural hierarchy, but the history of an entire civilization. If you like David Eddings, David Gemmell and Douglas Adams, you will love this.**Finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novel**** Winner of the HOMer Award for Science Fiction****Finalist for the Locus Award for Best Novel**'Anne McCaffrey, one of the queens of science fiction, knows exactly how to give her public what it wants' - THE TIMES'You have many hours of happy reading ahead.' - ***** Reader Review'Would certainly recommend to anyone looking for a story to lose yourself in and come out the other end replete.' - ***** Reader Review********************************************************************A science fiction classic from a master of the genre.When AIVAS -- the Artificial Intelligence Voice Address System -- was first discovered at Landing, the entire planet of Pern was awed at the knowledge it divulged.All the history of the people of Pern was there. Dragonholders, Lord Holders and Craftmasters crowded into the tiny inner room to learn the secrets of their beginnings. Ana AIVAS had other gifts to offer -- stored information of old crafts that had been forgotten, of medicine, music and technology.But the greatest promise AIVAS offered was the chance to rid Pern of Thread forever. All the great ones of Pern began the long and arduous task of learning just how to operate the incredible plan.This was a plan of such daring and epic proportions that both dragons and riders would be put at risk...

" Anne] McCaffrey's world of the Talented is as vivid as that of Pern and its dragons."--Publishers Weekly Earth has reached its darkest moment. In subterranean warrens, the poor eke out precarious lives where jobs are scarce and children are sold for labor--while on the surface, a privileged few enjoy lives of luxury. As the population surges and unrest spreads, a disaster of epic proportions seems inescapable. The only hope: a platform under construction in space from which starships will be launched to colonize distant planets. But the project is critically behind schedule. In the midst of the chaos, Rhyssa Owen and her fellow Talents--telepaths who read minds, kinetics who manipulate matter, and precogs to whom the future is an open book--struggle to survive. Then two children are discovered whose extraordinary psychic gifts have the potential to avert the looming catastrophe--or hasten its ominous arrival. . . .

The renegades were the misfits, the outcasts and the murderers united by Thella, Lady Holder of Telgar. They began a reign of terror as they moved from theft and murder to vicious and insane revenge.

In the beginning, before Thread, before the Dragons, before the Holds and the Weyrs and the elite Dragonriders of Pern, was just the great ships gliding through space with nearly six thousand colonists prepared to tackle the mighty task of beginning a new world on a strange planet.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Together in one volume--the first three books in the world's most beloved science-fiction series DRAGONFLIGHT On a beautiful world called Pern, an ancient way of life is about to come under attack. Lessa is an outcast survivor--her parents murdered, her birthright stolen--a strong young woman who has never stopped dreaming of revenge. But when an ancient threat reemerges, Lessa will rise--upon the back of a great dragon with whom she shares a telepathic bond more intimate than any human connection. Together, dragon and rider will fly, and Pern will be changed forever. DRAGONQUEST Since Lessa and Ramoth, her golden queen dragon, traveled into the past to bring forward a small army of dragons and riders to save their world from deadly alien spores, fear and desperation have spread across the land. But while the dragonriders struggle with threats both human and otherworldly, a young rider named F'nor and his brown dragon, Canth, hatch a bold plan to destroy the alien scourge at its source--the baleful Red Star that fills the heavens and promises doom to all. THE WHITE DRAGON Never in the history of Pern has there been a dragon like Ruth. Mocked by other dragons for his small size and pure white color, Ruth is smart, brave, and loyal--qualities that he shares with his rider, the young Lord Jaxom. Unfortunately, Jaxom is also looked down upon by his fellow lords, and by other riders as well. His dreams of joining the dragonriders in defending Pern are dismissed. What else can Jaxom and Ruth do but strike out on their own, pursuing in secret all they are denied? But in doing so, the two friends will find themselves facing a desperate choice--one that will push their bond to the breaking point . . . and threaten the future of Pern itself.

Amidst the grandeur of the emerald countryside, a magnificent story unfolds. . . . They are the Carradynes, who for more than 200 years have bred and trained horses of the finest caliber on Cornanagh--a land so beautiful it inspires the soul. But all is not idyllic at hearth and home. At the center of the conflict is Catriona, the youngest child, a girl who dreams of riding her family's big jumpers and show horses. Her father, Michael, is keenly aware of her immense talent, and he urges her on--only to lock wills with his insufferably pious and overbearing wife, Isabel, a woman who cannot bear horses, who cannot bear his touch. Her goal is to put stiff dresses, tight shoes, and perfect manners on Catriona. It is a stalemate of pride and passion--until the day Lady Selina Healy enters their lives. Poised, beautiful, and warm, she too knows imprisonment in a loveless marriage, she too admires good horses, she too finds enchantment in Cornanagh. She falls in love . . . with Catriona, who becomes the child she never had; with the splendid lush land; and with Michael, the consummate horseman and gentleman.

Let Anne McCaffrey, storyteller extraordinare and New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author, take you on a journey to a whole new world: Pern. A world of dragons and other worldly forces; a world of mighty power and ominous threat. If you like David Eddings, Brandon Sanderson and Douglas Adams, you will love this.'Anne McCaffrey, one of the queens of science fiction, knows exactly how to give her public what it wants' - THE TIMES'A delight' -- ***** Reader review'Enchanting' -- ***** Reader review'Fantastic' -- ***** Reader review'I love this book, and read it probably once a year' -- ***** Reader review'Anne McCaffrey at her best' -- ***** Reader review***********************************************************************************Nerilka's Story: we meet Lady Nerilka of Fort Hold in Moreta's time -- a time of legend, of heroic valour, of terrible Threadfall and the Great Plague that devastates both Holders and Dragonfolk. For Lady Nerilka, the tragedy is twofold, for with the death of her mother and her sister, her father's mistress takes possession of the Hold. Angry and betrayed, Nerilka decides to escape and, as Pern seethes in turmoil, she begins her perilous journey to Ruatha, Lord Alessan and an unknown destiny...The Coelura: When the Lady Caissa is told by her father to enter into an heir-contract with Cavernus Gustin, she is appalled. For although Gustin is genetically sound he is vain, pompous and intellectually inept. But Caissa's father is determined there should be a union - and Caissa cannot work out what his plans in this respect are. The, on a private flight over the forbidden areas of the North, she discovers a stranger who says his name is Murell -- a man surrounded by coelura, the incredible rainbow creatures whose very brilliance threatens their extinction. She learns her father's plans somehow relate to these beasts...and Murell is determined to save them.

A fateful encounter between star-roving races by the author of the bestselling Dragonriders of Pern series After the first human contact with the Siwannese, that entire race committed mass suicide. So the Terran government made a law--no further contact would be allowed with sentient creatures anywhere in the galaxy. Therefore Doona could be colonized only if an official survey established that the planet was both habitable and uninhabited. But Spaceship had made a mistake--Doona was inhabited. Now the colonists' choice was limited. Leave Doona and return to the teeming hell of an overpopulated Terra. Or kill the catlike Hrrubans. Or learn, for the first time in history, how to coexist with an alien race.

A splendid selection of stories from the lady who taught dragons to fly and rockets to sing . . . Lady in the TowerThe Rowan was one of a select group of telepaths--a complete Prime, one of only five. Then one day, another Prime appeared mysteriously from the outer boundaries of space, asking for help in a savage battle against evil Finder's KeepersYoung Peter had a unique gift which earned him and his mother a little money and gave pleasure to others. Then, one day, an unscrupulous man forced Peter to use his precious gift in a crooked scheme--and Peter grew up fast HoneymoonHelva and her new brawn were sent on an especially urgent mission . . . a mission that not only put them both in great danger, but a mission that also caused them to break the ultimate taboo The Smallest Dragon BoyThe only thing Keevan wanted in life was to be a dragonrider, just like his father . . . but everything seemed to stand in his way

"An excellent book about life, love, loyalty and the balance many women must strike between home and work".--Pittsburgh Press.