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NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:00:14 -0500
From: [email protected] (Taki Kogoma)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pern,news.answers,alt.answers
Subject: Welcome to alt.fan.pern (Monthly posting) (Part 1 of 2)
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
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Summary: Introductory material for the alt.fan.pern newsgroup
Keywords: Pern, FAQ, Intro
Originator: [email protected] (Taki Kogoma)
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Posted-By: auto-faq 3.1.1.2q
Archive-name: pern-intro/part1
Posting-Frequency:: Monthly
URL: http://kumo.swcp.com/~quirk/afp-index.shtml

Version: 4.1

This document is now being prepared from the HTML sources used by the
WWW version. The WWW version is available at:

http://kumo.swcp.com/~quirk/afp-index.shtml

"The Dragonriders of Pern(R)" is a Registered Trademark of Anne McCaffrey,
etc.

WELCOME TO ALT.FAN.PERN!

Contents of Part 1:

(Dates indicate last time the file corresponding to that section was modified)

1. Introductory Material (9 Sep 03)
1a. About this newsgroup
1b. Introduction to Pern
1c. Appropriate subject matter
1d. Why 'alt.fan.pern' and not 'alt.fan.mccaffrey'?
1e. Spoiler ettiquette
1f. Other newsgroups of interest
1g. Common abbreviations
1h. Fan Fiction
1i. Anne McCaffrey on the net
1j. Just who is this Quirk joker anyway?
2. Pern in Print (21 Nov 08)
2a. Book List (McCaffrey-written)
2b. Latest Pern book news
2c. Suggested reading order
2d. Chronological order of books/stories
2e. Pern books on tape
2f. Other Pern materials
2g. Obtaining hard-to-find books

CONTENTS OF PART 2:
3. Frequently Asked Questions about Pern (26 May 06)
3a. Pronunciation of various words/names
3b. Rider behavior during Mating flights
3c. Queen dragons and firestone
3d. Where to dragons/firelizards deficate?
3e. Who/What does Aramina hear in The Renegades of Pern?
3f. What's this I hear about a Pern Movie/TV Show?
3g. Is Rukbat (Pern's sun) a real star?
3h. Robinton, Silvina, and Camo
4. On-line Simulations of Pern (4 Oct 04)
4a. Accessing Pern-type MU*s
4b. (Insert your favorite MU* here) is down!!!
4c. List of Pern-type MU*s
5. "Real Life" Fan Organization and related info (25 Jan 05)
6. Non-Pern McCaffrey materials (6 Dec 96)
6a. Booklist
6b. Booktapes

Note: These articles are being cross-posted to the news.answers and
alt.answers newsgroups for extended expire times and archival on
rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/alt.fan.pern
or /pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/alt/fan/pern
or /pub/usenet/news.answers/pern-intro
or /pub/usenet/alt.answers/pern-intro

To obtain these files (assumes UN*X environment with FTP capability):
---
%ftp rtfm.mit.edu
Connected to <etc.>
Name (rtfm.mit.edu:<foo>): [anonymous]
331 Guest login ok, send ident as password.
Password: [your e-mail address]
230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.
ftp> [cd pub/usenet/alt.fan.pern
(or) pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/alt/fan/pern
(or) pub/usenet/news.answers/pern-intro
(or) pub/usenet/alt.answers/pern-intro]
(or) pub/faqs/pern-intro]
250 CWD command successful.
ftp> [get
Welcome_to_alt.fan.pern_(Semi-monthly_posting)_(Part_<X>_of_2)]

(Where <X> is the part number. If you have chosen the
pub/usenet/news.answers/pern-intro or
pub/usenet/alt.answers/pern-intro or
pub/faqs/pern-intro path, then just get part<X>.)

200 PORT command successful.
[Some stuff]
ftp> (get any other parts you may want)
ftp> [quit]
%
---

1. Introductory Material

1a. About this newsgroup.

The newsgroup alt.fan.pern is dedicated to discussion of the fictional
world of Pern as described in the various novels and short stories by
Anne McCaffrey. Related topics include Ms. McCaffrey's other works,
and several of the on-line 'virtual realities' depicting Pern (see
below).

1b. Introduction to Pern

Pern is the third planet of the Rukbat system in the Sagittarius
sector. It is a colony world which has lost contact with 'Mother
Earth' due to periodic attacks from an organism called 'thread' which
devours all organic material it comes into contact with. To counter
Thread, the original Pernese colonists -- back when they still had the
skills -- modified an indigenous life-form to create Dragons -- so
named for the mythical beasts they resemble.

'Modern day' (as depicted in most of the books) Pern has lost many of
the skills originally brought with the colonists and can probably be
best described as a 'pre-industrial' society. Toward the end of the
series, much of the original colonists' technology is rediscovered.

Alternatively, Pern is the home of Dragons, their riders, and various
other people as depicted in Anne McCaffrey's _Dragonriders of Pern_
series and related books.

1c. Appropriate subject matter

As stated above, this group is primarily for the discussion of the
world of Pern -- discussion of Ms. McCaffrey's other works is not
unwelcome, but the emphasis is on Pern. (See section 1d: "Why
'alt.fan.pern' and not 'alt.fan.mccaffrey'?" for more on this.) A
component of this discussion revolves around the various multi-user
programs that have been set up attempting to simulate Pern. One of The
more frequntly discussed is 'PernMUSH', although there are many others
in existence. Articles about PernMUSH or the other Pern-related
simulations should have 'PernMUSH' or 'MUSH' or something similar in
the subject line so that those who are not interested can filter them
out via KILLfile.

Note, however, that questions pertaining to the mechanics of MU*s
(clients, code questions, etc.) are better asked in the
rec.games.mud.* hierarchy rather than here.

Occasionally, the traffic about PernMUSH seems to dominate this
newsgroup. Generally, complaining about it is counterproductive and a
good way to spark a flame-war. If you, the reader, wish to discuss
something that is not presently being addressed in the group, by all
means start the discussion yourself. If others find the topic
interesting they'll respond.

A note on announcements: Due to the nature of Usenet, it can take
several days for an article to propogate to the various news servers
across the net. A lead time of at least 3 days is strongly recommended
for time-critical announcements.

Also, posting binary files -- i.e. uuencoded or MIME-encoded .gifs,
executables, etc. -- is strongly discouraged. Many people must pay by
the byte (or for connect time which translates to the same thing) to
download newsgroup articles sight-unseen -- this means that by the
time they've determined that the file they just spent 30 minutes
downloading is an unwanted binary, they've already paid for it.
Therefore, if you have a neat-o image or program you wish to
distribute, the preferred method is to place it on a web or FTP site,
or post to one of the appropriate *.binaries.* newsgroups, and then
post a pointer to this newsgroup telling where to find it.

Finally, inconsiderate fools have, from time to time, taken to posting
entirely inappropriate articles to the newsgroup; often cross-posted
to many others. PLEASE do not post follow-up complaints to
alt.fan.pern. Doing so, particularly with cross-posted articles only
serves to increase the overal newsgroup clutter. If you feel you must
complain, please do so to the article author in question via email.

1d. Why 'alt.fan.pern' and not 'alt.fan.mccaffrey'?

alt.fan.pern was first proposed (in '91, if memory serves) as a forum
for the discussion of PernMUSH (i.e. alt.mud.pernmush). However, it
was agreed that this would be too narrow a topic to warrant a
newsgroup, so the charter was expanded to general discussion of Pern
and Pern fandom, discussion carried out on alt.config and the newgroup
message was sent out. (This is based on a history of this newsgroup
that Amberyl sent me back in '94; I am not a founding member, I'm just
this guy who pulled together the material to create this document, and
is now stuck maintaining it.) Since then, the charter has expanded
somewhat to acceptance of discussion of Ms. McCaffrey's other works.

If one so wishes, rec.arts.sf.written (see section 1f Other newsgroups
of interest) does exist for non-Pern discussion, and overall traffic
on alt.fan.pern really isn't high enough to warrant a newsgroup split.

As for renaming the newsgroup, this is effectively impossible: alt.*
newsgroups never die. There will be an alt.fan.pern newsgroup for as
long as newsservers continue to exist, so any attempt at renaming the
newsgroup will, in practice, just end up creating a new, redundant
newsgroup with lower propogation -- Based on several factors, alt.*
newsgroups created after 1993 or thereabouts have considerably lower
propogation (i.e. can be found on fewer sites) than those created
earlier.

1e. Spoiler etiquette

Whenever new books or other material are published, it is advisable
that any discussion that may give away the story or otherwise 'spoil'
the book for others should be 'protected'. The techniques used to do
this are known as 'spoiler protection'. (Whodathunkit?)

Placing "Spoiler!" in the subject is a start, but is not enough as
many newsreaders display the first 12-20 lines of article text when an
article is presented for reading. The following steps are suggested:
1. Insert 12-20 blank lines before the sensitive material.
2. Place a ^L (Control-L) character at the *beginning* of one of the
lines; this will cause some newsreaders to treat it as a
top-of-page marker. (Note: This doesn't always work, and some
editors do not allow control characters to be embedded, so the '20
blank lines' measure should be used in all cases; the ^L serving
as an additional layer of defense.)

How long should spoiler protection be kept in place? My feeling is
that spoilers should be kept in place until one or two months after
the release of the paperback edition of a book (assuming it was first
released in hardcover). However, practice has shown that 3-6 months
after initial publication is usually sufficient.

1f. Other newsgroups of interest

rec.arts.sf.*: The primary hierarchy for discussion of Speculative
Fiction (Science Fiction + Fantasy). The subgroups are:
* rec.arts.sf.written: Books, Short Stories, etc.
* rec.arts.sf.movies: Big screen.
* rec.arts.sf.tv: Not-so-big screen.
* rec.arts.sf.science: "How the heck does this thing work?"
* rec.arts.sf.fandom: Fannish activities, cons, et al.
* rec.arts.sf.misc: Catch-all.
* Plus several others.

When posting to these newsgroups, please remember to use appropriate
subject headers; including the author or title in the subject would be
a good idea.
* alt.fan.dragons: Discussion of dragons of all types -
mythological, fictional, etc.

Those interested in the various MUSHes, MOOs, et al. may find
* rec.games.mud.tiny
* rec.games.mud.admin
* rec.games.mud.misc

of some interest. Keep in mind that these are general MUD newsgroups,
and the latter two carry considerable traffic on many different MUD
types that historically have not been used for Pern simulations.

1g. Common abbreviations

For those of you new to the net, there are quite a few abbreviations
in use here on Usenet that may be unfamiliar. Here is a short list of
the more frequently encountered.

;-), :-), :), etc.
A 'smiley' face -- look at it sideways. Used to indicate humor
and/or sarcasm.

AFAIK
"As Far As I Know"

AIUI
"As I Understand It"

BTDT
"Been There. Done That."

BTW
"By The Way"

FWIW
"For What It's Worth"

HAND
"Have A Nice Day."

HTH
"Hope This Helps."/"Happy To Help."

IANAL
"I Am Not A Lawyer (but)..."

IIRC
"If I Recall Correctly"

IMHO
"In My Humble/Honest Opinion"

IMO
"In My Opinion"

IOW
"In Other Words"

ISTM
"It Seems To Me"

ISTR
"I Seem To Recall"

ITYM
"I Think You Mean"

OTOH
"On The Other Hand"

ROTFL
"Rolling On The Floor, Laughing". (There are several variants
on this.)

RSN
"Real Soon, Now" (usually translates to "At some point in the
nebulous future".)

TIA
"Thanks In Advance"

TTBOMK
"To The Best Of My Knowledge"

WADR
"With All Due Respect..."

YMMV
"Your Mileage May Varry" (i.e. others may not have the exact
same experience.)

And now some specific to alt.fan.pern:

MU*, M*
Indicative of any of the family of MUD/MUSH/MOO/etc.

NC
PernMUSH (Which covers the Northern Continent during the 10th
pass)

SC
SouConMUSH (Which contains the complementary Southern Continent
for the same time period as NC)

IC
MU*-speak for 'In Character' - meaning behavior that the MU*
characters would engage in.

OOC
MU*-speak for 'Out of Character' - Usually applying to
information/behavior that the *player* of a MU* character
knows/performs that the character would not, logically, be able
to take advantage of.

Book references:

DLG
_The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern_; see 'Pern in Print' below.
(Also, the 2nd edition of the DLG is often referred to as
'DLG2', 'DLG 2.0', etc.)

D1, D2, D3
The three books comprising the _Dragonriders of Pern _ trilogy.
(_Dragonflight_, _Dragonquest_, and _The White Dragon_
respectively)

H1, H2, H3
The three books comprising the _Harper Hall of Pern_ trilogy.
(_Dragonsong_, _Dragonsinger_, and _Dragondrums_ respectively)

[The above two sets are my personal shorthand, but I'm not the only
one using them -- Quirk]

HHT
The above-mentioned Harper Hall trilogy.

AtWoP, ATWOP, etc.
_All the Weyrs of Pern_

CoP
_The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall_

MoP, MHoP
_The Masterharper of Pern_

Discussion of Pern in general:

HAD
"Hears All Dragons": Referrs to a character with the ability to
hear/understand all dragons (e.g. Lessa, Brekke, Aramina.)

Shiny
Dragon/firelizard of metalic (bronze or gold) hue.

1h. Fan fiction

NOTE: The following applies to fan fiction posted to the net. I do not
have (nor do I desire) the authority to prevent any quasi/illegal acts
on this newsgroup. The following is presented for informational
purposes. You may heed or ignore as you wish, but I deny all
responsibility for any legal problems you may encounter.

(Those MU*s that have verifiable permission to exist are so indicated
in section 4c. List of Pern-type MU*s. The other MU*s either did not
have such permission listed online, or were not reachable at the time
they were last visited.)

Also, since Grolier UK purchased the computer game rights to Pern
(which have since been transferred to UbiSoft), no further permission
for new Pern-themed MU*s are being granted at this time. This also
applies to attempts at resurrecting MU*s that were defunct at the time
these rights were transferred.

[Thanks to "Chris Croughton" ([email protected]) for relaying
the following.]
----------
08-Oct-92 11:39 BST
Sb: InterNet Pern rules
Fm: Anne McCaffrey

The rules are that my characters may be referred to but not used. BUT
there can be no adventure/stories set on Pern at all!!!!! That's
infringing on my copyright and can bear heavy penalities - particularly
right now when there's a film deal (yet another) which has bought and paid
for the right to use the material - which, I fear, e-mail users have not.

On CIS, I have asked people to limit Pern material to a discussion of
their persona and dragons, fire-lizards, etc., in a diarist form.
Fanzines have slightly more latitude as the zine is usually mailed only to
members so that's limited publication, and a due copyright notice is
included. As there is no such protection on electronic mail, we authors
have to be insistent on these safeguards.

I know this can be confusing since Paramount and Star Trek are handled
differently, but that's the point: they are, and have been. Individual
themes and characters of s-f/fantasy novels are not. And such
indiscriminate usage of our characters, worlds, and concepts on a *public*
media like electronic mail constitute copyright infringement AND, which
many fans disregard, is ACTIONABLE! Both the e-mail company AND the
person. My publishers are most insistent on that point! So it's to
safeguard the interested e-mail user that I make these very strong, and
perhaps unpalatable points.
----------

[Chris' commentary:]
To repeat - it's not Anne who forbids this: it's her publishers - and
they are NOT required to tell her of any such actions which they may
be undertaking. The first she will probably know of it is when someone
tells her, having heard over the net...
[End commentary.]

To expand on this a bit, this prohibition is meant to protect Ms.
McCaffrey from legal problems along the lines that have prevented
Marion Zimmer Bradley from publishing one of her books. (I'm not
completely familiar with the specifics of this case; inquiries to
rec.arts.sf.written will probably result in more information than you
ever wanted to know. ;-)

1i. Anne McCaffrey on the net

It is the understanding of the author of this document that, due to
some of the concerns raised in the previous section, Ms. McCaffrey's
lawyers have advised her not to read this newsgroup. Evidence to the
contrary has also surfaced, so it is uncertain whether or not she
actually reads alt.fan.pern, or has articles of interest forwarded to
her by other parties.

The URL of Ms. McCaffrey's "official" webpage is:

http://www.annemccaffrey.org

An older site may be found at:

http://members.aol.com/dragnhld/index.html

The personal email address associated with both pages is:

[email protected]

Another way to get in touch with Ms. McCaffrey is to write an actual
(i.e. pen and paper) letter via one of her publishers. If you plan to
do this and expect a reply, including a self-addressed envelope with
return postage -- Note: Since she lives in Ireland, you will probably
have to make use of International Reply Cupons -- would probably be
appreciated.

1j. Just who is this Quirk joker anyway?

I am NOT...
* ...Especially involved in Pern Fandom. (I collect the books, read
this newsgroup, and play on PernMUSH between increasingly frequent
and prolonged episodes of burnout during which I just kibitz.
That's about it.)
* ...A general McCaffrey fan. (Pern and Doona are the only McCaffrey
worlds that I have found particularly engaging.)
* ...A posting service. (Please do not send me email asking to post
things for you.)
* ...Free Tech Support. (If you have questions about contributing to
the newsgroup, joining a MU*, etc., your best bet is to talk to
your own admin/tech support people; since they, unlike I, ought to
have some idea of how your system is set up.)
* ...The "owner" of this newsgroup. (Despite my frequent gripes and
occasional proprietary feelings to the contrary.)

I'm just the poor slob who's volunteered to maintain this FAQ --
updating when I find the time and/or inclination -- and keep a cron
table entry to post it once a month (and two reminders/pointers to the
WWW version). Every once in a blue moon, I'll even post some articles
of mild interest or complain about how people don't bother to read
this document before asking questions already answered herein.
_________________________________________________________________

2. Pern in Print

Since Pern is a fictional world, a complete listing of all related
books would probably be a good idea.

2a. Book list (written by McCaffrey)

[Date is of 1st printing. ISBNs are from the paperback editions in my
personal library, obtained from copies in local bookstores or webstore
inquiries. US Publisher is Del Rey books unless otherwise noted. UK
edition publisher is Corgi Books unless otherwise noted. Random
House/Del Rey eBook formats include Adobe eBook, Microsoft Reader,
Palm, and Gemstar]

[ISBN will transition to ISBN-13 format as data becomes available.]

The _Dragonriders of Pern_ trilogy (Also available in a single
hardcover volume through the SF book club, and trade paperback in a
few bookstores).

_Dragonflight_ (Jul 1968)
978-0-345-33546-3
978-0-345-48426-0 (Trade P-back)
978-0-345-45395-2 (eBook)
978-0-552-08453-6 (UK Edition)

_Dragonquest_ (May 1971)
978-0-345-33508-1
0-345-41937-5 (Trade P-back)
978-0-345-45396-9 (eBook)
978-0-552-11635-0 (UK Edition)

_Dragonflight/Quest_
978-0-345-45615-1 (eBook - combo)

_The White Dragon_ (Jun 1978)
978-0-345-34167-9
0-345-41940-5 (Trade P-back)
978-0-345-45397-6 (eBook)
978-0-552-11313-7 (UK Edition)

_The Dragonriders of Pern_
978-0-345-34024-5 (Trade P-back)
978-0-345-45739-4 (eBook)

The _Harper Hall of Pern_ trilogy (Available as a single hardbound
edition through the SF book club).

_Dragonsong_ (Mar 1976)
978-0-689-86023-2 Simon Pulse
978-0-689-86008-9 Aladdin Trade p-back
978-0-552-10661-0 (UK edition)

_Dragonsinger_ (Feb 1977)
978-0-689-86024-9 Simon Pulse
978-0-689-86007-2 Aladdin Trade p-back
978-0-552-10881-2 (UK Edition)

_Dragondrums_ (Mar 1979)
978-0-689-86025-6 Simon Pulse
978-0-689-86006-5 Aladdin Trade p-back
978-0-552-11804-0 (UK Edition)

Others:

_A Time When_ (1975) [1]
0-915568-07-2 NESFA Press

_Get Off the Unicorn_ (Jun 1977) [2]
978-0-345-34935-4
978-0-345-45747-9 (eBook)
978-0-552-10965-9 (UK Edition)

_Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern_ (Nov 1983)
978-0-345-29873-7
0-345-41957-X (Trade P-back)
978-0-345-45401-0 (eBook)
978-0-552-12499-7 (UK Edition)

_Nerilka's Story: A Pern Adventure_ (Mar 1986)
978-0-345-33949-2
978-0-345-45402-7 (eBook)
0-345-41958-8 (Trade P-back)

_Moreta's Ride_
Science Fiction Book Club Omnibus edition of _Moreta:
Dragonlady of Pern_ and _Nerilka's Story: A Pern Adventure_.

_Nerilka's Story & The Coelura_ (1987) [3]
978-0-552-12817-9 (Corgi UK)

_Dragonsdawn_ (Nov 1988)
978-0-345-36286-5
0-345-41956-1 (Trade P-back)
978-0-345-45398-3 (eBook)
978-0-552-13098-1 (UK edition)

_The Renegades of Pern_ (Nov 1990>
978-0-345-36933-8
0-345-41939-1 (Trade P-back)
978-0-345-45404-1 (eBook)
978-0-552-13099-8 (UK Edition)

_All the Weyrs of Pern_ (Dec 1991)
978-0-345-36893-5
0-345-41935-9 (Trade P-back)
978-0-345-45405-8 (eBook)
978-0-552-13729-4 (UK Edition)

_Rescue Run_ [4]
(Science Fiction Book Club Hardcover)

_The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall_ (Oct 1993) [5]
978-0-345-36899-7
0-345-41959-6 (Trade P-back)
978-0-345-45399-0 (eBook)
978-0-552-13913-7 (UK Edition)

_Dragonrider's Dawn_
Science Fiction Book Club Omnibus edition of _Dragonsdawn_ and
_The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall_

_The Dolphins' Bell_ [7]
(Science Fiction Book Club Hardcover)

_The Girl Who Heard Dragons_ (May 1994) [8]
0-812-51099-2 TOR Books
978-0-552-14436-0 (UK Edition)

_The Dolphins of Pern_ (Oct 1994)
978-0-345-36895-9
0-345-45406-5 (eBook)
978-0-552-14270-0 (UK Edition)

_Red Star Rising (The Second Chronicles of Pern)_ (Aug 1996) [9]
978-0-552-14272-4

_Dragonseye_ (Feb 1997) [9]
978-0-345-41879-1
978-0-345-45400-3 (eBook)

_The Masterharper of Pern (Jan 1998)
978-0-345-42460-0
978-0-345-45406-5 (eBook)
978-0-552-14274-8 (UK Edition)

_Legends_ [Ed: Robert Silverberg] (Oct 1998) [10]
0-312-86787-5 TOR Books (Hardcover)
0-312-86863-4 TOR Books (Ltd. ed. Hardcover)
0-002-25667-3 Voyager (UK Edition -- Paperback)
(The US Paperback edition has been split into 3 smaller
volumes: Volume 2 contains the Pern sttory.)
0-812-57523-7 TOR Books (_Legends: Vol. 2_)

_The Skies of Pern_ (Feb 2001)
978-0-345-43469-2
978-0-345-44713-5 (eBook)
978-0-552-14631-9 (UK edition)
978-0-593-04337-0 (Bantam UK Trade P-back)

_A Gift of Dragons_ (Oct 2002) [11]
978-0-345-45635-9 (Hardcover)
978-0-345-45860-5 (eBook)
0-593-05151-3 (Bantam UK Hardcover)

_On Dragonwings_ (Oct 2003) [12]
978-0-345-46565-8 (Trade paperack)

_Dragon's Kin_ [w/ Todd McCaffrey] (Nov 2003)
978-0-345-46200-8
978-0-345-46199-5 (eBook)
978-0-552-15150-4 (UK edition)

_Legends II_ [Ed: Robert Silverberg] (Dec 2003) [13]
0-345-45644-0 (Hardcover)
978-0-345-47109-3 (eBook)
0-00715434-8 (Voyager UK Hardcover)

_Legends II: Shadows, Gods, and Demons_
[Ed: Robert Silverberg] (Oct 2004)
978-0-345-47577-0
(The hardcover was split into two paperbacks. This is the
volume with the Pern story.)

_Dragonsblood_ [by Todd McCaffrey] (Jan 2005)
978-0-345-44125-6
978-0-345-48193-1 (eBook)
978-0-552-15208-2 (UK edition)

_Dragon's Fire_ [w/ Todd McCaffrey] (Jul 2006)
978-0-345-48029-3
978-0-345-49382-8 (eBook)
978-0-552-15348-5 (UK edition)

_Dragon Harper_ [w/ Todd McCaffrey] (Dec 2007)
978-0-345-48031-6
978-0-345-50252-0 (eBook)
978-0-593-05528-1 (UK Hardcover)

_Dragonheart_ [by Todd McCaffrey] (Nov 2008)
978-0-345-49114-5 (Hardcover)
978-0-345-50973-4 (eBook)
978-0-593-05867-1 (UK Hardcover)

Footnotes:

[1] Details courtesy of: Robert A. Woodward ([email protected])
---
>Contains early versions of several chapters of _The White Dragon_.
>Scenes are: Jaxom blowing up at the breakfast table, Jaxom at
>Smithcrafthall school, Jaxom and Corana, Jaxom and the entire theft &
>recovery of the Queen egg at Benden Weyr.
---

[2] Collection of McCaffrey short fiction; contains "The Smallest
Dragonboy" (Originally published 1973 for_Science Fiction Tales
). Reportedly, the short story can also be found in_Visions of
Fantasy: Tales From the Masters_(1989 Doubleday: ISBN 0-385-26359-7).

[3] Also includes non-Pern novel.

[4] Originally published in_Analog
(Aug. 1991) and included in [5] below.

[5] Contains short stories: "Survey: P.E.R.N." [6], "The Dolphins'
Bell", "The Ford of Red Hanrahan", "The Second Weyr", and "Rescue Run"
(ibid [4] above).

[6] Previously published as "The P.E.R.N. Survey" in_Amazing
Stories_(Sep. 1993).

[7] Included in [5] ibid.

[8] Collection of McCaffrey short fiction. Includes novella of same
title originally published (limited edition - 100 signed copies) in
1985.

[9] These are the same book under different titles. The UK edition was
released first; Del Rey delayed their edition for supposedly editorial
reasons. The change in title was allegedly due to concerns that the
American audience wouldn't recognize a Pern book without a "Dragon"
title. Thanks to Mark Haas ([email protected]) for UK publisher data.

[10] Anthology of short novels/novellas, containing "Runner of Pern"
by McCaffrey. Other authors include Terry Pratchett (Discworld),
Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea), Raymond Feist (Riftwar), etc.

[11] Anthology of previously published "The Smallest Dragonboy", "The
Girl Who Heard Dragons", "Runner of Pern", and the new "Ever the
Twain".

[12] Omnibus collection of_Dragonsdawn
, Dragonseye, and_Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern.

[13] Anthology of short novels/novellas, conaining "Beyond Between" by
McCaffrey.

Finally, the_Dragonlover's Guide to Pern_(see below) contains a short
story, "The Impression" depicting F'lessan's impression of Golanth
from a first-person POV.

It should also be noted that this all started with the Hugo-winning
novella "Weyr Search" published in October 1967 in_Analog
. This story (after some rewriting) now forms the first quarter of
Dragonflight.

The Nebula-winning (1968) novella "Dragonrider" [serialized in
Analog_in '67-68(?)] makes up the second half of Dragonflight.

2b. Latest Pern book news.

The paperback edition of latest Todd/Anne collaboration,_Dragon
Harper_(not to be confused with the Crossroads Choose-Your-Path book
by Jody Lyn Nye), was published in September 2008 and continues the
pre-3rd Pass storyline that was started in_Dragon's Kin
.

Todd's latest solo book,_Dragonheart_was published in hardcover in
November 2008. He's reportedly working on two more books to continue
this story.

Anne has also apperantly been working on a new Pern book,_After the
Fall is Over_(working title). Rumors are that a late 2008 release is
planned.

2c. Suggested reading order for newcomers.

Ms. McCaffrey suggests that the books be read in order of publication
(i.e. start with_Dragonflight_and go in published order).
Alternatively, she suggests starting with_Dragonsong_as a 'gentler'
introduction, completing the Harper Hall trilogy, and then going back
to_Dragonflight
,_Dragonquest, et. al.

2d. Chronological order of books/stories

This is kind of tricky, as some books depict the same events from
different points of view. Here's what the consensus seems to be:

+--------------------+ Backwards
| "Survey: P.E.R.N." | ^
+--------------------+ |
+-------------+ Time
1st Pass-> |_Dragonsdawn_+----------------------+ |
+-------------+ "The Dolphins' Bell" | v
+----------------------+ Forwards
+----------------------------+
| "The Ford of Red Hanrahan" |
+----------------------------+
+-------------------+
| "The Second Weyr" |
+-------------------+
+--------------+
1st Int.-> |_Dragonsblood_|
+------+-------+
+--------------+ |
| "Rescue Run" | |
+--------------+ |
|
+-------------------+ |
| _Red Star Rising_ | |
2nd Pass-> +-------------------+ |
|
+------------------+ |
| "Ever the Twain" | |
+------------------+ |
|
2nd Int.-> +------------+ |
+------------+ | |
| _Dragon's | _Dragon's | |
| Kin_ | Fire_ | |
+------------+ | |
+------------+ |
+--------+ |
|_Dragon | |
| Harper_| |
+--------+ |
+------+-------+
3rd Pass-> |_Dragonsblood_|
+--------------+

[...]
6th Pass->
+-----------+
+------------+ |
| | |
| _Moreta: | |
+----------+ Dragonlady |_Nerilka's |
| "Beyond | of Pern_ | Story_ |
| Between" | | |
+----------+------------+ |
6th Int.-> | |
+-----------+

[...]
8th Int->
+--------------+
| _The |
+-----------+ | Masterharper_|
| | +--------------+ of Pern_ |
+----------------+ | | | +--------------+
|"Runner of Pern"| | | |_Dragonflight_|
+----------------+ | | | |
9th Pass-> | | | |
| | +--------------+
| | +--------------+
| | +-------------+ _Dragonsong_ |
| | | +--------------+
| | |_Dragonquest_|_Dragonsinger_|
| | | +--------------+
| | +-------------+
| +-------------+
| _The | +------------------+
| Renegades |_Dragondrums_| "The Impression" |
| of Pern_ | +------------------+
| +-------------+
| | +---------------+
| | | "The Smallest |
| | | Dragonboy" |
| | +---------------+
+-----------+ |
| | +----------------+
|_The White | | "The Girl Who |
| Dragon_ | | Heard Dragons" |
| | +----------------+
+-----------+ |
| |
+-----------+
| _All the |
+-----------+ Weyrs |
| _The | of Pern_ |
| Dolphins +-----------+
| of Pern_ |
+-----------+

+-----------+
|_The Skies |
| of Pern_ |
+-----------+

Notes:

Horizontally connected 'boxes' indicate closely connected (i.e. same
events from different points of view) stories. Boxes connected
vertically indicate that the following story takes place immediately
after the previous one.

The two plotlines of_Dragonsblood_are evenly split between the end of
the 1st pass and tne start of the 3rd Pass, and is thus shown (with
tenuous connection) in both times.

"Ever the Twain" does not have explicit indications of time-period,
but the evidence suggests mid-to-late 2nd Pass or so.

Nerilka's Story_starts 4 days before_Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern.

"Runner of Pern" takes place in the spring just before the first
Threadfall of the 9th Pass.

Dragonsong_is shown to start previous to_Dragonquest based on the
timelines provided in Karen Fonstead's_Atlas of Pern
.

Dragonquest_is shown to continue beyond the end of Dragonsinger_based
on the reports on Canth's healing which suggest that considerable time
has elapsed since Canth's jump to the Red Star.

The White Dragon_is shown to start before "The Girl Who Heard Dragons"
since_The Renegades of Pern_indicates that the latter takes place in
late autumn, while the former tends to suggest that the weather is
just starting to turn cool.

2e. Pern Audiobooks

There are several audio adaptations of the assorted Pern books out in
both abridged and unabridged forms. The performer, if known, is
listed.

[Many thanks to [email protected] and [email protected] for doing the
legwork to obtain much of this information. Publisher is indicated by
bracketed numbers; Publisher key follows the list.]

Dragonflight
1590862880 (Unabridged - Performer: Dick Hill) [1]
0787100722 (Abridged) [2]
1574535323 (Abridged - Performer: Adrienne Barbeau) [4]

Dragonquest_Performer: Dick Hill [1]
1561001457 (Unabridged Cassette)>
1596009829 (Unabridged CD)
1596009845 (Unabridged MP3-CD)
0787101117 (Abridged) [2]

The White Dragon_Performer: Dick Hill [1]
1561001465 (Unabridged Cassette)
1596009942 (Unabridged CD)
1596009969 (Unabridged MP3-CD)
1574534890 (Abridged Cassette - Performer: Constance Towers)

Dragonsong
0787100757 (Abridged Cass. - Performer: Adrienne Barbeau) [2]
1556905882 (Unabridged Cass. - Performer: Sally Darling) [4]
0788795155 (Unabridged CD - Perfomer: Sally Darling) [4]

Dragonsinger
0787100803 (Abridged - Performer: Adrienne Barbeau) [2]
155690617X (Unabridged Cass. - Performer: Sally Darling) [4]
1402514913 (Unabridged CD - Performer: Sally Darling) [4]

Dragondrums
0787100676 (Abridged - Performer: Adrienne Barbeau) [2]
1558006400 (No additional data) [2]
1556906188 (Unabridged Cass. - Performer: Sally Darling) [4]
1402504624 (Unabridged CD - Performer: Sally Darling) [4]

Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern_Performer: Sheila Hart [1]
1561004928 (Unabridged Cassette)
1597370223 (Unabridged CD)
1597370231 (Unabridged MP3-CD)

Nerlika's Story
0394558170 (Abridged - Performer: Anne McCaffrey [5]

Dragonsdawn_Performer: Dick Hill [1]
1561004898 (Unabridged Cassette)
1596009888 (Unabridged CD)
159600990X (Unabrdiged MP3-CD)

The Renegades of Pern_Performer: Dick Hill [1]
1561004936 (Unabridged Cassette)
1597370274 (Unabridged CD)
1597370290 (Unabridged MP3-CD)
0787100811 (Abridged Cassette - Unknown performer) [2]

All the Weyrs of Pern
1879371111 (Abridged - Performer: Anne McCaffrey) [3]
1879371928 (Unabridged - Performer: Mark Rolston) [3]

The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
1558008675 (Unabridged - Performer: Meredith MacRae) [2]

The Dolphins of Pern
1590073533 (Unabrdiged)

The Girl Who Heard Dragons
078710258X (No additional data) [2]

Dragonseye_Performer: Dick Hill [1]
1561008087 (Unabridged Cassette)
1593350775 (Unabrdiged MP3-CD)
1567402305 (Abridged Cassette)

The Masterharper of Pern_Performed by Dick Hill [1]
1561007870 (Unabridged Cassette)
1597370150 (Unabridged CD)
1597370177 (Unabridged MP3-CD)
1567402755 (Abridged Cassette)

The Skies of Pern_Performed by Dick Hill [1]
1587880652 (Unabridged Cassette)
1593351658 (Unabridged MP3-CD)
1587880679 (Abridged Cassette)

A Gift of Dragons
0739301845 (Perfomer: Lee Meriwether) [5]

Dragon's Kin_Performed by Dick Hill [1]
1593551800 (Unabridged Cassette)
159355480X (Unabridged CD)
1593352557 (Unabridged MP3-CD)
1593551827 (Abridged Cassette)

Dragonslbood_Performed by Dick Hill [1]
1596001143 (Unabridged Cassette)
159600116X (Unabridged CD)
1593359365 (Unabridged MP3-CD) 1596008903 (Abridged CD)

Dragon's Fire_Performed by Dick Hill [1]
1423314557 (Unabridged Cassette)
1423314565 (Unabridged CD)
1423314581 (unabridged MP3-CD)
142331462X (Abridged CD)

Dragon Harper_Performed by Susan Ericksen [1]
978-1-4233-1465-3 (Unabridged Cassette)
978-1-4233-1467-7 (Unabridged CD)
978-1-4233-1468-4 (Unabridged MP3-CD)
978-1-4233-1472-1 (Abridged CD)

Dragonheart_Performed by Emily Durante [1]
978-1-4233-7326-1 (unabridged CD)
978-1-4233-7329-2 (unabridged MP3-CD)

Legends II, Vol. 1_Perf. by Graeme Malcolm & Alyssa Bresnahan [5]
0739310828 (Unabridged Cassette)
0739310836 (Audio download)

Dragonflight_and_Dragonquest
1558006370 (combo - Abridged) [2]

Dragonsong_and_Dragonsinger
1558006389 (combo - Abridged) [2]

Dragonsdawn_and_The Renegades of Pern
1558006419 (combo - Abridged) [2]
1574535331 (combo - Abridged - Performer: Adrienne Barbeau) [4]

Anne McCaffrey Pern Collection:
Dragonseye, The Masterharper of Pern, The Skies of Pern
1590865359 (combo - Abridged - Performer: Dick Hill) [1]

Publisher info:
1. Brilliance Corp.
1810-B Industrial Drive
P.O.Box 887
Grand Haven, Michigan 49417
1-800-222-3225
http://www.brillianceaudio.com
2. Dove Audio
301 N. Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
1-800-328-DOVE or 1-800-DOVE007
http://www.doveaudio.com
3. The Publishing Mills
P.O.Box 481006
Los Angeles, CA 90048
1-800-72-AUDIO
http://www.pubmills.com/home2.html
4. Recorded Books Inc
270 Skipjack Rd.
Prince Frederick, MD 20678
1-800-638-1304
http://www.recordedbooks.com
5. Random House Audiobooks
http://www.randomhouse.com/audio

2f. Other Pern materials

Comic books/Graphic Novels

Eclipse Comics published a 3-issue graphical adaptation of
Dragonflight_which was later collected into a single volume graphic
novel. Drawings appear to be based on the artwork in_The People of
Pern_(see below). Publishing data for the single-volume edition:

_Anne McCaffrey: Dragonflight
Published by Eclipse Graphic Novels, March 1993.
ISBN: 0-06-105003-2

Reference books

Several Pern-related "Reference Books" have been published. The most
frequently mentioned on this newsgroup are:

The Atlas of Pern_by Karen Fonstead -- Del Rey Books
[ISBN: 0-345-31432-8 (HB) / 0-345-31434-4 (SB)]
(Out of print, but still available if you look around for it.
The Science Fiction Book Club apparently still has copies in
stock.)

The People of Pern sketches/paintings by Robin Wood, text by McCaffrey
1988, Donning Publishing -- ISBN: 0-89865-635-4 (HB) /
0-89865-751-2 (SB)
[Out of print]
(Actually, more of a 'photo album' for the major characters.)

[Additional note from: "Michael Short"
([email protected]) -- Robin's husband.]
------
Photoprints of F'lar, Lessa, Menolly and Sebell are available.
11"x14" prints go for $35 + S&H. Large-fomat (18"x24") run $150
+ S&H.

Robin's address is:

Robin Wood
3319 Greenfield Road #102
Dearborn, MI 48120
877-ROBINWOod (877-762-6494) [*]
- or -
(734) 729-4281
http://www.robinwood.com/

[*] Personal Toll-free number: Please let Michael or Robin know
that it was used when calling.
------

The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern
by Jody Lynn Nye with Anne McCaffrey
1st ed.: Nov 1989, Del Rey Books
0-345-35424-9 (Hardcover)
0-345-37946-2 (Softcover)

2nd ed.: Mar 1997, Del Rey Books
0-345-41274-5 (Softcover)

Considered by many to be the reference work on Pern...aside
from the books themselves. Others have noted internal
contradictions as well as conflicts with other published
material and therefore do not consider it particularly
authoritative. The 2nd edition adds material from books
published since the 1st edition.

Dragonholder
by Todd McCaffrey
Nov. 1999, Del Rey Books
0-345-42217-1 (Hardcover)
Todd McCaffrey's biography of his mother.

Pern from other Authors

Jody Lynn Nye has also written two 'Choose your path' books set on
Pern under the (now defunct) 'Crossroads' line from TOR books.

Dragonharper_(ISBN: 0-812-56404-9)
Journeyman Robinton's adventures as he travels to his first
posting at Benden Hold.

Dragonfire_(ISBN: 0-812-56423-5)
Mirrim and Path look into strange happenings on the Southern
Continent shortly after the events of_The White Dragon.

Games

There have also been two games published:

The Dragonriders of Pern_(boardgame) from Mayfair Games. 1983
0-425-06624-X.
This is set roughly during the time frame of_Dragonquest.
Players represent the 6 Weyrleaders (and the Masterharper in
the 7-player game) attempting to gain prestiege and power in an
attempt at becomming the overal leader of the planet. There is
also a solitaire variant, and an article about threadfighting
and Weyr organization by Todd Johnson (Anne McCaffrey's son).

Mayfair games has since gone out of business.

Dragonriders of Pern: The Book Game_by Nova Games Designs. 1984
0-917037-05-7.
Two riders on patrol try to outdo one another when they
encounter threadfall -- but don't get scorred, and definitely
don't let any of the thread reach the ground!

The game mechanics involve two books which show pictures from
the POV of each rider. Each player selects a maneuver and goes
to a look-up page where the combination of that maneuver and
the other player's choice determines the next view. (Very
similar to the "Ace of Aces" WW I dogfighting game also from
Nova.)

Contact address is:
Nova Games Designs, Inc.
P.O. box 1178
Manchester, CT 06040

Computer games

In August 2001, UbiSoft released the Pern PC game that Grolier
Interactive (UK) had been developing. It appears to be more an
adventure game/interactive story than a traditional Computer
Role-Playing game as initially reported. It is sent toward the end of
the 7th Pass.

Epyx released a "Dragonriders of Pern" game for the C-64, Atari 8-bit,
and Apple ][ around 1984. Second-hand reports inidcate that it was
generally similar to the above-listed board game, but with occasional
arcade-style threadfighting sequences. Inquiries to the appropriate
comp.*.games newsgroup may prove useful to those looking for used
copies of it.

NOTE: There is a IBM-PC Dragonriders game floating around on BBSs and
the net. Regarding this item, Justin Bradford [email protected]
informed this newsgroup:
>The computer game "The Dragonriders of Pern" by Everlasting Software is
>not authorized by Anne McCaffrey and should not be player, uploaded,
>downloaded, or distributed. We uploaded this game to an Internet FTP
>site without understanding that it was a copyright and trademark
>infringement and were contacted by her attorneys. We want
>to apologize to Anne McCaffrey, and to urge all of her fans
>to help eliminate this game from the Internet.

Cover art

Michael Whelan (cover artist for most of the Del Rey Pern books) has a
web page located at:
http://www.glassonion.com

In addition to his Pern cover art, Whelan has done sevreal other
McCaffrey covers, not to mention work for many other authors.

Pern CD

In conjunction with the publication of _Masterharper of Pern_, Ms.
McCaffrey asked Tania Opland and Mike Freeman to produce music based
on her Pernese verses.

The project grew to something rather larger than anticipated, and the
result is a 50-minute CD. A brief description and ordering infomration
may be found at:

http://members.aol.com/Opland/perncd.htm

2g. Obtaining hard-to-find books.

As noted above, several books are available only through the Science
Fiction Book Club. This book club provides a good selection of recent
releases (albeit somewhat delayed) and classic SF in 'special edition'
hardcovers and trade-paperbacks. The membership deal is something
along the lines of "Must buy 4 books in the first year". Almost all of
Ms. McCaffrey's SF works can be ordered in one form or another.

Advertisments can be found in most of the usual Science Fiction and
Gaming magazines (e.g. _Analog_, _Dragon_, etc.) or they can be
contacted at:

The Science Fiction Book Club
6550 East 30th Street
PO Box 6369
Indianapolis, IN 46209-9492

They also have a webpage (as of 7 Sep 96, still a little buggy here
and there.) located at:

http://www.sfbc.com/

This page is the on-line equivalent of their introductory
advertisment; the on-line catalog does not include very many McCaffrey
titles. However, members should be able to use the page to order any
book from the _SF Universe_ catalog that is sent out annually.

Note to non-US readers: I am informed that the club also extends to
Canada, but it is doubtful that it goes anywhere else. Readers in
Europe, Asia, etc. will most likely have to arrange a special order
with your local booksellers.