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In the Dragonriders series, Pern is subject to periodic incursions of Thread, a voracious and deadly space-borne organism that devours any organic matter it touches. Defending the population from Threadfall are dragons who can breathe fire to singe the Thread from the sky.
In McCaffrey's first Pern novel, Dragonflight, the dragonriders of Pern are concerned that they are not sufficiently numerous to fight the imminently arriving Thread. In the novel's climax, WeyrwomanLessa brings 1,800 dragons and their riders—plus support staff and equipment—forward in time 400 Turns (years), thereby ensuring a sufficiently large force to fight Thread.
In later books of the series, the appellation "Oldtimers" is given to those who came forward from the past.
Rebellion and Exile
When the Oldtimers were brought forward, they were used to matchless respect from Holders and Craftsmen. After their arrival in the present, this led to dissent among the common folk of Pern who respected the dragonmen, but no longer believed them entitled to every woman and craft that they desired.
The Oldtime Weyrleaders considered themselves to be superior to the other Pernese, and would not listen to reason. Eventually, in the novel Dragonquest, F'lar fought a duel with one of the Oldtimer leaders. Upon his victory, any Oldtimers who would not accept F'lar's leadership of Pern were exiled to the Southern Continent. The consequent use of the phrase Oldtimer referred only to those who had been exiled.
McCaffrey's The White Dragon recounts other efforts of the Oldtimers to reassert themselves on Pern, the most important of which is the foiled theft of a Queen dragon's egg. In later novels the Oldtimers become less important as their numbers diminished through attrition.
Related Research Articles
Dragonflight is a science fiction novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. It is the first book in the Dragonriders of Pern series. Dragonflight was first published by Ballantine Books in July 1968. It is a fix-up of novellas, including two which made McCaffrey the first woman writer to win a Hugo and Nebula Award.
Anne Inez McCaffrey was an American-born writer who emigrated to Ireland and was best known for the Dragonriders of Pern science fiction series. Early in McCaffrey's 46-year career as a writer, she became the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction and the first to win a Nebula Award. Her 1978 novel The White Dragon became one of the first science-fiction books to appear on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Pern is a fictional planet created by Anne McCaffrey beginning in the 1960s, the setting for the Dragonriders of Pern series of science fiction books. In the story it is "Rukbat 3", the third planet in orbit around the star Rukbat, counting outward.
Dragonriders of Pern is a sci-fi science fantasy series written primarily by American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey, who initiated it in 1967. Beginning in 2003, her middle child Todd McCaffrey has written Pern novels, both solo and jointly with Anne. The series comprises 23 novels and several short stories. Most of the short fiction has been collected in two volumes or incorporated in one of the novels, so Dragonriders of Pern is sometimes identified with the 24 books. Two of the novellas included in the first novel, Dragonflight, made McCaffrey the first woman to win a Hugo or Nebula Award.
Dragonsong is a science fantasy novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. Released by Atheneum Books in March 1976, it was the third to appear set on the world Pern of the Dragonriders of Pern. In its time, however, Dragonsong brought the fictional planet Pern to a new publisher, editor, and target audience of young adults, and soon became the first book in the Harper Hall of Pern trilogy. The original Dragonriders of Pern trilogy with Ballantine Books was not completed until after the publication of Dragonsong and its sequel.
The Dragons of Pern are a fictional race created by Anne McCaffrey as an integral part of the science fiction world depicted in her Dragonriders of Pern novels.
The White Dragon is a science fantasy novel by American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. It completes the original Dragonriders trilogy in the Dragonriders of Pern series, seven years after the second book. It was first published by Del Rey Books in June 1978, one year before the young adult Harper Hall trilogy.
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Characters in the Dragonriders of Pern series of science fiction novels by Anne McCaffrey.
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Dragonriders of Pern is a 1983 video game published by Epyx that is based on Anne McCaffrey's book series of the same name. The game was released for the Atari 8-bit family and Commodore 64.
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