Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author), Michael Whelan (Illustrator) "SH'GALL IS OUT on other Weyr business," Moreta told Nesso for the third time, beginning to loosen her sweat-and oil-stained tunic as a hint..." (more)
Key Phrases: willow salic, fellis juice, sick riders, Master Capiam, Fort Weyr, Lord Holder (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The future of the planet rests in the hands of Moreta.

From the Publisher

There are dragons all over Anne McCaffrey's house. Some she's bought, but many have been made for her by adoring fans and given to her as gifts. I don't make dragons, of course. But whenever circumstances allow, I do try to bring her American bacon, something she can't get easily in Ireland, and something which she has taught all her friends there to love, as well! I remember the first time I went to visit her, when she was still living in her old, much smaller but very homey, house. My husband and I arrived at the doorstep, and she immediately began bustling about, frying up some of the bacon we'd brought and sharing a lovely late breakfast with us before sending us off to the hotel for a nap. She made us dinner that night, too--the one and only time in my life that I've actually liked shrimp cocktail. Maybe that's because if you squint your eyes and look sideways, shrimp are kind of dragonlike, and I was eating them in the right company!
                        --Shelly Shapiro, Executive Editor

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; First Thus edition (September 12, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034529873X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345298737
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #100,865 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 7 in The Dragonriders of Pern Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Pern's Greatest Heroines!, June 17, 2003

By	Silmarwen (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Moreta is Weyrwoman at Fort Weyr with Sh'gall as Weyrleader. Moreta loves Orlith, her dragon queen, and would do anything for her, but she does wish that someone else had flown her during her mating flight. Sh'gall is a very able weyrleader in the air when fighting thread, but he does not do as well with people. Moreta is sure that they will go together to the Ruatha Gather, after all it is Lord Alessan's first gather as a Lord Holder and everyone will be there. However, Sh'gall decides to go to the Telgar Gather and to see the strange cat that was captured in the ocean and put on display there. Desdra, Moreta's anxious housekeeper insists that Moreta cannot go without Sh'gall and that it is a terrible slight to her mistress, but Moreta wouldn't miss a good gather for the world!

Moreta has a wonderful time at the gather with Lord Alessan. They are both avid racers and enjoy watching the runnerbeasts compete. When one of the runnerbeasts suddenly collapses, no one is sure what is wrong with the beast, but the fun of the gather continues. Moreta lingers at Ruatha Hold, but is finally forced to leave. She is awoken in the early morning hours by a frantic Sh'gall claiming that Masterhealer Capiam has diagnosed a plague that the wild cat brought over with it from the Southern Continent. All of Pern is in a panic as news of the unknown illness spreads.

All too soon there is no hold or weyr that is untouched by the unknown ailment. But Moreta is a healer and she is determined to help in whatever way she can. She continues to urge the dragonriders to take care and helps unite multiple weyrs to fly thread together, as well as help care for the sick and wounded. When Masterhealer Capiam finds a cure, Moreta is thrilled and ready to do whatever is necessary to give the vaccination to everyone on Pern before a second wave of the mutated virus spreads more death. She cannot understand why some weyrleaders simply refuse to see the truth and will not help take the medicine to the far-reaching holds. Moreta cannot bear to see people die unnecessarily so she secretly arranges for dragonriders from all the Weyrs to help. When part of her plan falls through, Moreta has no choice but to go and help deliver the vaccination herself. But she cannot rider her beloved Orlith because she is guarding her clutch. When she borrows her mentor's queen Holth, the tragedy begins...

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. I first heard of Moreta's Ride in Dragonsinger when Menolly leads the ballad with her fire lizards. I knew that this book was going to have a bittersweet ending, but I love the Pern series so I thought that I would give it a try. I thought that Moreta was a great character - strong, but not overpowering. She tried to make the best of her situation and found joy and love in unlikely places. I thoroughly enjoyed the romance between Moreta and Alessan, but I felt so sorry for Alessan for having to deal with so much tragedy and so many bitter disappointments when he was so young. I also enjoyed seeing the inner workings of a Weyr and becoming familiar with a Weyr other than Benden (much as I love it, of course). I thought that all of the secondary characters were wonderful, too. It was interesting to see how quickly knowledge was lost from when the first settlers arrived on Pern to the time of Moreta. I believe that the sickness was something like pneumonia or some other viral disease that few people die of on Earth, but they simply did not know how to combat any unfamiliar disease on Pern. The plot was very interesting and had a nice, smooth flow as always. Another wonderful addition to the Pern series!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Medieval Pern, March 3, 2006

By	Jeanne Tassotto (Trapped in the Midwest) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This entry into the longrunning PERN series is set 1500 years after the events of DRAGON'S DAWN and 900 years before the events of DRAGONFLIGHT, DRAGONQUEST, THE WHITE DRAGON etc. At this time the people of Pern have settled the Northern continent and developed a society very like medieval Europe, Lord holders control (held) large tracts of territory supervising farming, mining or fishing settlements. The skilled crafts are organized into automonous Halls and all of Pern supports the aristocracy of the Weyrs, who, with their dragons protect the planet from the periodic invasion of Thread, an alien lifeform that devours every living thing with which it comes in contact. By this time the Pernese realize that they have lost knowledge and skills that their ancestors possessed and are eagerly planning exploring the mysterious Southern Continent at the end of this current Fall of Thread, inabout 8 years.

As the story opens Moreta, rider of a Queen dragon, is enjoying herself at a Gather (party). Unfortunately a flu virus had been inadvertantly been introduced into the population and quickly spread through out the population, both human and equine. The various segments of Pernese society work together to combat the now dual threat of virus and Thread in order to save the planet with Moreta thrust into a center role.

As always with this series the main interest, at least for me, is the basic premise. Since there are books about a later time obviously disaster was averted, Moreta has become a legend and therefore her ultimate fate is pretty much known to any fan of the series. What is exciting is that McCaffrey has created an entire new world. Each book gives the reader a glimpse into this world from a slightly different viewpoint or time. The characters are all so well written, so consistent within the rules of this new world that the whole thing comes to life. Each character, human or dragon, is an individual complete with virtues and flaws, often with a history that drives their actions. The interactions between the various segments of the society are well thought out and totally consistent - and familiar to anyone who has ever tried to get a large organization to cooperate on an important project!

For fans of the series, this is obviously a must read. For anyone who is new to the series this would be an enjoyable read although it would be easier to 'get into' the series with some of the earlier books - either in the sense of written first (DRAGONFLIGHT) or chronologically to Pern (DRAGONSDAWN).

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anne McCaffery's best Pern book ever!, October 13, 1999

By A Customer

In my opinion, Moreta: Dragonlady Of Pern is AM's best Pern book ever. It's incredibly sad and sweet, and left me sobbing for days afterward. It finally explained the whole Moreta's Ride ballad that I kept reading about in the other books as well, which was very nice. The characters are believeable, the plot is wonderful, and (as far as I could tell) all the loose threads tie together in the end. This is a book that any AM fan will not want to miss!