The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey

Some of the books in McCaffrey’s Pern novels are hit or miss. I absolutely love the second and third in the series, Dragonquest and The White Dragon.  Let me give you a warning up front.  DO NOT START WITH THE PROLOGUE.  Yes, it’s at the front of the book, but quite frankly, it’s boring and unnecessary and enough to drive a reader far far from the books.  Just read the whole series and skip to the first chapter of each book when you see the words “Prologue”.  And if you’re browsing the “Look inside This Book” part of Amazon, let me tell you, the first chapter is MUCH better than the summary, so just go there to get a sample.

The Dragon books (and there are a lot) are centered around a planet called Pern where parasitic thread falls from the sky and where it touches, it burrows into the ground destroying everything in its path.  The dragons chew firestone and destroy the thread with flame. They are telepathically bonded to their riders and if a rider loses a dragon, it’s like losing a part of himself.

The premise is interesting and the story-telling exquisite.  My favorite characters, Jaxom and Ruth, start a very interesting storyline in Dragonquest, when Jaxom is on the hatching grounds and sees an egg that isn’t cracking.  Everyone else is leaving and ignoring the hatchling as a lost cause. Against all rules of conduct and expectation, Jaxom jumps into the pit and breaks the egg so the little dragon can come out.

Ruth, a male dragon, becomes bonded to Jaxom, but he is unique, half the size of a normal dragon and white. The dragon is not expected to survive.  The plot is complex enough that this telling is just one tiny piece of the book.  I also love the character Brekke and her part in Dragonquest.  

If you’re looking for a master of fantasy and somehow missed the Pern series, The Dragonriders of Pern are a great read!