| Dragonriders Of Pern |
Website Links For Pern |
Information AboutDragonriders Of Pern |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN | |
| dragonriders of pern | |
| science fiction book seriesdragonriders of pern | |
| science fiction book series | |
| novels by anne mccaffrey | |
|
The books written earlier have a fantasy slant to them (low levels of technology, firebreathing telepathic dragons, and a feudal society), however McCaffrey prefers to describe them as science fiction and stresses the scientific rationales behind the world she has created. In later written volumes the series moves towards more overt science fiction as the colonists rediscover their links to the past and develop much higher levels of technology. OVERVIEW Pern is a pre-industrial society with lords, holds, harpers, and dragons, with the occasional appearance of higher technology (for example, flamethrowers, the telegraph, chemical fertilizers, and powerful microscopes and telescopes). Pernese people are separated into four basic groups: Weyrfolk (including Dragonriders) who live in the Weyrs, the Holders who live in the Holds (cities, towns and farms), the crafters who live in Crafthalls (or are assigned to work their crafts in certain Holds), and the Holdless who have no permanent home (including traders, displaced Holders, and brigands). Thread is a mycorrhizoid spore Thread that periodically rain down on the planet due to the orbit of the Red Star. The Red Star is a rogue planet in the Rukbat Solar System . The Red Star, a Sedna -class inner Oort cloud object, has a 200 Turn (Pernese year) Elliptic Orbit around its sun. Thread can reach the planet Pern for about 50 Turns while the Red Star is at Perihelion . The riders have a telepathic bond with their dragons, formed by ''Impression'' at the dragon's hatching. Later books deal with the initial colonization of Pern and the creation of the dragons through genetic manipulation. The lengthy (over two millennia) time period covered by the series as a whole gives room for new stories and characters, as the more recent novels have done. The series has nineteen books and counting, and while characters drop in and out of the stories the major players are repeated in most of them in smaller or lesser roles. This is partly because some of the books feature overlapping timeframes, describing the same events from different viewpoints. Furthermore, McCaffrey has published novels in several different periods of Pern's history, some centuries apart. When reading for the first time it's generally recommended to go in the order the novels were written, as the details change slightly over time. On repeat reads, a chronological order may be preferred. The series of novels (arranged largely in order of publication) is below. Unless otherwise noted, all works follow ''Dragonflight'' chronologically and are written by Anne McCaffrey:
The first appearance of the Dragonriders was in a Novella entitled ''Weyr Search'', published in 1967 . This story later became the first part of ''Dragonflight'', the first novel published. Another novella, ''Dragonrider'' was published later the same year and was also included in ''Dragonflight''. ''Weyr Search'' won a Hugo Award and ''Dragonrider'' won a Nebula Award . ''Dragonquest'',''The White Dragon'', ''Moreta:Dragonlady of Pern'' and ''All the Weyrs of Pern'' were all nominated for Hugos. PERNESE WORLDVIEW AND SOCIETY General In the Pern series McCaffrey attempts to portray a society caught between its attempt to build a Utopian dream and a grim and inescapable reality, which from the start forced exceptionally hard choices. The creation of the Dragons such that they were bound, without true free will, to aid humanity, was certainly morally questionable--but they were also created from non-sentient beings, to preserve the lives of the sentient, and we cannot presume another solution existed. Pragmatism can forgive many things, and this reality is one that we often learn on Pern, where proclaimed utopian traditions fall against the reality of simple day-to-day survival. McCaffrey does allow a more utopian and progressive outlook to win out in the end, though at current the future of this society could be considered somewhat in doubt. Before this occurs, however, Pernese society was largely static and many of its functions and features are open to review as an interesting case of a Utopia trying to survive in conditions where it cannot thrive. Another repeated theme is the preservation of ideas and the generation of myths. Knowledge and cultural practices must persist for 150 year Intervals (see below) -- a length of time 2/3 as long as the United States has existed -- without an external impetus in that time. In that time, facts can become legends and societal practices can appear to be meaningless tradition. As McCaffery herself asks to open the first story 'Weyr Search' (see below): "When is a legend legend? Why is a myth a myth? How old and disused must a fact be for it to be relegated to the category: Fairy tale?" Societal Considerations Pernese society exhibits the usual organizational characteristics of Feudalism , but shows a certain specific leaning towards Utopianism which is worthy of some review to understand the series' context. The social structure on Pern is strictly divided between Hold, Hall and Weyr--broadly comparable to the medieval triune of Nobility, Guild and Church (in that order)--and is considered by the Pernese themselves to be an ideal organization specifically meant to avoid the violence and excess of their Terran ancestors. In this there is perhaps a similar Platonic foundation for both societal influences. One remarkable feature of Pernese society is its stability, having lasted approximately 2,500 years with little change. The agrarian idealism of Pern, however, is marred by the constant reality of the Thread . Fighting the Thread requires a considerable concentration of societal resources. Suspending disbelief and focusing on the necessary supply of material to the Weyrs to sustain the dragons, and the populations (a Weyr, exceeding two thousand persons, compares to some medieval cities) leads one to conclude that a principle part of the available agricultural and industrial productions of the planet would be devoted to this quasi-War Effort during the Pass, and a considerable fraction during the Interval. This has created interesting possibilities in the development of Pernese society, both in how it is developed in the series and how it is popularized in the online Fandom . A constant repetition of Passes and Intervals leads to the tantalizing prospect that Pernese outlook in general may be Cyclical rather than progressive; this similarity with Egypt under the Pharaohs would go some ways to explaining the extreme duration and rigidity of Pernese culture which is seen in the series. However, the end of the Thread and rapid technological progress at the end of the Ninth pass has thus been speculated by some fans to possibly result in severe social disruption. McCaffrey's later novels of Pern tend to explore the growing rift between Traditionalism and Modernism . Societal change is both portrayed as wanted and despised. The ultimate goal of the destruction of Thread, a goal sought after by the Dragonriders and the peoples of Pern, forces a radical rethinking of the role of dragons in a post-Thread world. Religious Considerations Pern created an interesting example in that it is an agrarian society portrayed without a considerable organized ; however, it is also possible that the colonists of Pern, as a growing population, would discourage them as they slow the spread of human life across the planet. Economic Considerations Dragons (Pern) are very large creatures; the largest on record, the gold queen dragon Ramoth , has been measured as at least forty-five meters (much larger than the largest Tyrannosaurus Rex ever found) in length, and possibly considerably larger. She would be the largest flying being, and among the largest predators, ever known. The massive amount of food which must be consumed by several thousand such creatures is staggering, particularly at the height of a Pass, when they fly against thread at close interval. The area of grazing land required to support the dragon and population of Pern each consuming a single cattle (or herdbeast) a week has been compared to the whole Mississippi basin, albeit with a sustainable herd. The economic strain on an agrarian society by the Dragons is thus nearly unsustainable and can only grow worse when the requirements of the sedentary and usually luxuriously sustained Weyrfolk are included. However, Pern has been able to meet this strain during each Pass successfully, though the Ninth Pass saw considerable discontent, and a full record of all passes is not provided. During the Long Interval before the Ninth Pass, however, unpopularity with the only remaining inhabited Weyr, Benden Weyr , had grown to such a point that the Holders were willing to risk combat on highly disadvantageous terms to end the Tithe of materials which traditionally supported the Weyrs. This is a further suggestion of the general strain and potential unpopularity of the severe burden inflicted by the Weyrs--a burden that ultimately remains entirely necessary until the end of the Ninth Pass. The Pernese economy, based upon the Mark, appears to be a Command Economy . The Mark is made of wood, a Fiat currency, and has no inherent value; prices across Pern are fixed by a yearly meeting of Traders, Craftmasters, and Lords Holder, suggesting an attempt to either maximize economic gain with slim margins from the tithe, or direct price-fixing in support of the quasi-War Effort which the Pernese economy might generally be said to resemble during the Pass. Unsurprisingly many Pernese individuals resort to barter in the face of such economic tactics. IMPORTANT CHARACTERS Dragonriders (Rider first, dragon second)
At the time of Impression, male dragonriders' names are shortened with an apostrophe. This follows an old tradition of shortening names, as it's easier for Wingleaders to shout the shortened names of their riders when commanding them as they fly threadfall. As an example, ''Felessan'' became ''F'lessan'' at his impression. Most girls will only Impress gold queens, with the exception of a few female greenriders, such as Mirrim, and queens fly in a wing of their own, with Agenothree tanks to sear Thread from the skies. Thus, female dragonriders do not shorten their names as a rule. When asked why all dragons' names end in ''th'', Anne McCaffrey facetiously replied, "Dragons have forked tongues. They lisp"; Pernese dragons have no vocal cords, and speak only telepathically. Crafts
Holds
Oldtimers This is the term used for those from 400 Turns past called by Lessa and Ramoth into the present Turn. Some of them were exiled to the Southern Continent because they were unable to accept the leadership of the current-day Riders.
FANDOM Text-based online virtual reality games have modeled Pern since the early 1990s . These games, run on MUD chat servers (primarily MUSH and MUCK variants, such as PernMUSH ), allow people to roleplay characters and situations in Pern society, though characters from the books are generally disallowed to avoid copyright issues, and McCaffrey's lawyers have intervened a few times to demand that specific locations from the books not be used either. Open Pern-themed MUSHes and MOOs are listed at The All the Weyrs List , the PernMU Dragon Name Listing , and the PernMU Discussion Forum , which also contains discussion on the same. Pern fandom also takes the form of PBeM games and Fanzines of short stories distributed both by email and in hardcopy. Information on these can be found at Anne McCaffrey's website . In Mid-August 2005, Anne seemed to finally "crack under pressure", as some fans called it, and after 38 years, allowed Pernese fanfiction to be written and posted freely throughout the Internet, although there still are a few restrictions which are still being ironed out. Some fans say that this is due to the fact that Pernese fanfiction has been showing up on the Internet for the past 6 years, and that Anne realized that the fanfiction aspect, especially Fanfiction.net, could help her book sales. However, most fans agree that Anne is not THAT much of a capitalist, and would not do such a thing for such a reason. |
|
|