Dragonsdawn (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Pern) [School & Library Binding]

Anne McCaffrey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1989 | Series: Pern

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Deadly spores threaten the human colony of Pern unless the colonists, with help from geneticist Kitti Ping, can develop fire-breathing dragons to combat the menace.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers who for two decades have been following the fortunes of the dragonriders and other inhabitants of the planet Pern will welcome the latest volume, chronicling the early years. It stands very much on its own, however; knowing about the later history of the planet only adds enjoyment. After 15 years of cold sleep, 6000 colonists land on Pern, seeking a simpler existence, escaping the aftermath of interstellar war and an overly technical society. The colony prospers until the consuming Threada force that destroys all life it comes in contact withmakes its first appearance. A brilliant bio-engineer attempts to develop a biological weapon to save them, a much larger version of a native life form many of the colonists have adopted as pets: dragonets with the ability to teleport and breathe flame after eating phosphoric rock. The book ends with the first successful result of that experiment. Many richly developed characters people the novel, among them two youngsters, Sorka Hanrahan and Sean Connell, who grow up to become two of the first dragonriders. One hopes McCaffrey, who most recently has been writing in the mainstream ( The Lady ), is beginning a new Pern cycle in which she will tell, in answer to many other questions, whatever happened to the intelligent dolphins that came with the humans to Pern. Major ad/promo; author tour
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Have you ever wondered how life on Pern started and where the dragons came from? McCaffrey presents the birth of civilization on Pern in Dragonsdawn , the "prequel" to her earlier novels about this strange planet (e.g., Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern , Audio Reviews, LJ 9/15/93). Listen to the adventures of the first colonists on this beautiful planet and learn where all the names, customs, and legends come from. Reader Dick Hill provides excellent characterizations for each role and conveys much emotion. Even listeners unfamiliar with McCaffrey's other installments in the Dragon series will delight in this audiobook. Suitable for broad fiction collections.
- Miriam Kahn, Columbus, Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• School & Library Binding: 384 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback (August 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613626117
• ISBN-13: 978-0613626118
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,729,420 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anne McCaffrey, the Hugo Award-winning author of the bestselling Dragonriders of Pern® novels, is one of science fiction's most popular authors. With Elizabeth Ann Scarborough she co-authored Changelings and Maelstrom, Books One and Two of The Twins of Petaybee. McCaffrey lives in a house of her own design, Dragonhold-Underhill, in County Wicklow, Ireland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dawn of an Era, the Birth of a World..., July 24, 2000

By 

Rita - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragonsdawn (Dragonriders of Pern Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

When one goes through countless reviews, some good, others bad, you stop to think if anyone ever reads these and if you are just saying what others have said. You know what I have come to think? I don't care. I just have to write something to praise the books I am reviewing... like this one.

I read this book after I read Dragonflight. I know it is not how the series should be read but I could not find Dragonquest and I needed, urged for a Pern book. So I decided to read Dragonsdawn. And I made no mistake. I loved this book. It has so much in such a wonderful way. You can actually believe that this may happen... fiction is no longer fiction. It all seems to plausible. And it's wonderful.

You are faced with the Coloners from Earth in search of a world to colonize. They have come to the Rukbat System and found the third planet to be ihabitable. They named it Pern. And so it all begins. What they did not know was that Pern, for calmer and more beautiful it may seem, hides a dangerous and deadly secret. The threat of the Threads, brought by the Red Star, catches the coloners unware, unexpectedly. And from then on it is a race to protect the survivor's lives from certain death. You witness in this book the birth of the Dragonriders, and the beginning of the amazing relationship with the dragons. From the delicate fire-lizards there comes the dragons of Pern... to fight Thread, to breathe fire, to protect humans. And you can't keep yourself from suffering in the harsh times, bellowing in joy with the fight of this danger, and shedding a tear when the multi-faceted eye of a dragon crosses your own eyes...

If you love Dragonriders of Pern... Dragonsdawn will surely amaze you. Though if you want to keep the many mysteries of your world away from your knowledge, then you should not read this book. But then you'd miss a great book.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My First Love, April 22, 2000

By 

ALD (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragonsdawn (Dragonriders of Pern Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is excellent! I absolutely fell in love with Dragonsdawn. I had not heard of Anne McCaffery until a few years ago when I randomly picked up her book. I am obessed with imagination, but always disapointed when I realize that it can NEVER be real. Yet, when I read Dragonsdawn, it let an "impossible" myth that dominated my fantasy become a reality. Not by some magic or undefinable subtance, but by a "logic" by science that doesn't seem incrediable. As for the charaters, I was enchanted by the young, red-headed Sorka and the free spirited, son of the Roaming folk Sean. And I fell in love with the loyal dragonet/firelizards. To me the greatest test of a book is weather I want to read another book about the same place and people. I loved this beginning hope of Pern, trashed by disater and conspiracy only to find another way to hope again, so much that it took me a whole year to read anymore about Pern. Afraid that the sequels whould distroy the greatness built by the one book. I highly recommend this book, an ultimate beginning.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Pern Storyline, June 22, 2000

By 

Mike "dragonhound" (MO, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragonsdawn (Dragonriders of Pern Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

Dragonsdawn is one of a line of books centered around the original trilogy based on Pern. Anne McCaffrey does a good job explaining the origins of humans on Pern, and what many of the "missing" capabilities that their ancestors miss so much actually are. Although this is the most science-fictiony of her Pern books, it by no means gets mired in the details. The book is much more character and plot oriented than technology oriented. Although many things are explained in this book, there are still some mysteries to keep the readers guessing.