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Guided by the benevolent artificial intelligence known as Aivas, the inhabitants of Pern irrevocably altered the Red Star's eccentric orbit. Thus, after 2500 years of suffering the onslaught of Thread, the people of Pern can at last look forward to a time when their skies are forever free of the deadly silvery spores. But not yet, as the planet still has to endure this present Pass. But the Pass ends in 16 years, and murmurs have been spreading throughout the planet: What then for the dragonriders and their noble, telepathic dragons? But that's only one of the concerns which trouble the leaders of Pern.
The societies of Pern are in a state of transition. Now with acess to their colonial forefathers' technology, Weyr, Hold, and Craft have had their quality of life improved by leaps and bounds. But not everyone is so accepting of these improvements. The traditionalists form one disgruntled faction, and they resort to terrorist acts in their attempts to stave off the progress introduced by Aivas, whom they call an "Abomination" (in turn, leading to these tradionalists being scornfully dubbed "Abominators.").
But that's only the most extreme reaction. While others acclimate easily enough to all the rapid changes, a sizable portion of the populace is bewildered and shell-shocked. Certain advances are even treated with fear, particularly the invasive surgical methods being studied by the Healer Crafthall. And another question being asked: If the Red Star, which is responsible for Thread falling on Pern, had been diverted, why is Thread still falling?
Nevertheless, these are exciting times, a memorable era for Pern. Into all this flux, F'lessan, the son of Benden Weyrleaders F'lar and Lessa, tries to make his mark. A trusted wingleader and the rider of bronze Golanth, F'lessan is a budding astronomist and the caretaker of Honshu, an Ancestor's hold. For years he's tried to overcome a reputation for womanizing and for flightiness. This rep doesn't hold him in good stead when he meets Tia, the solemn and studious rider of purple Zaranth. Tia is also interested in the stars, yet is wary of F'lessan's attentions.
They very first meet during the Turnover celebration (what passes for New Year's Eve on Pern), but this is a Turnover more portentous for the widespread, coordinated acts of sabotage which are staged later that night in many key sites harboring Aivas technology. But no sooner have these raids been dealt with (temporarily, it turns out) than an even more frightening calamity falls on the folk of Pern. A meteor plummets into the sea and causes a massive tsunami which then devastates the coasts of Pern. And the dragons and their riders are once again pushed to the brink...
THE SKIES OF PERN is a sprawling tale. It builds on previous Pern novels (and especially All the Weyrs of Pern (Dragonriders of Pern Series) and The Dolphins of Pern), and one can't really pick up this book without having some knowledge of what went on in those other novels. Longtime readers of Anne McCaffrey's great Pern series will appreciate this book. THE SKIES OF PERN catches us up with our favorite characters of the present and ninth Pass. I like that McCaffrey realistically ages her cast, although it's a bit saddening to realize that F'lar is now 63 years old, albeit an energetic one. Lessa is here, and, in more or less cameo roles, Jaxom, Sharra, Mirrim, Lytol, D'ram, and so on...the cast really is huge.
But the main protagonists are F'lessan and Tia, and their dragons Golanth and Zaranth. All are very likable, so the time spent reading about their exploits blurred for me. For once, a purple dragon and her rider get a lion's share of the attention (and, thankfully, it's not Mirrim or Path, no offense to Path). If you've read ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN, you'll perhaps recall that there was one aspect of the dragons' ability (or inability) which greatly puzzled Aivas. This book (and Zaranth) addresses that. McCaffrey also unveils what the future holds in store for Pern's dragons and their riders.
Admittedly, though, whenever McCaffrey focused on the Abominators, I wasn't as engaged, especially as the story went on. For me, it's probably because this arc barely involved anyone I was interested in. There are intriguing early segments featuring Sharra and Jaxom, but after that, I yawned thru the rest. It doesn't help that there's an open-ended resolution to this arc, as the story ends with one major Abominator still on the loose. On an interesting note, McCaffrey continues to expand this universe by investing pages on the Runners (messengers) and the Printer Halls of Pern. Meanwhile, Lord Toric once again gets his greed on. Dude never learns.
But, mostly, I was caught up with F'lessan and Tia's blossoming relationship and with the unfolding of the dragons' new talent (In the last quarter of the novel, something happens which forces the dragons to summon this new talent.). In the aftermath of the catastrophic meteor, the people of Pern (perhaps hysterically) call on dragonriders to from now on ensure that things not fall from the skies. Luckily for them, a way to do this just may have been found.
This is mostly an entertaining read, another one of Anne McCaffrey's wonderful blurrings of fantasy and science-fiction. In this one, she also adds in a disaster film flavor. THE SKIES OF PERN isn't as good as the classic Pern stories. But, as a fix for the Pern junkies, it admirably does the job. I believe all the Pern novels after THE SKIES OF PERN have been written by Anne McCaffrey in collaboration with her son. I've read some of these, and they're okay but nothing special. I'm always wary of other authors infringing on the original's works as I feel that something, a flavor, is always in peril of being lost. I think this bears out in Todd McCaffrey's Pern follow-ups, even the ones co-written by his mother. Frankly, until Anne McCaffrey writes a new solo novel (it's been a while now) or Todd improves as a storyteller I tend to think of THE SKIES OF PERN as the closing chapter to the Chronicles of Pern. I hope I'm wrong.
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"The Skies of Pern" is a continuation of all the other "Pern" stories. They all provide me with a society I am able to relate to. Excellent!!!
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If you're a Pern fan, this one is a must! You might want to dust off your copy of "All the Weyrs" and "Dolphins" just to refresh your memory and wet your appetite.
This book is much longer than the very first Pern books, 450 pages! I love the extra and the way she weaves all the numerous books together. I won't waste time going over what other's have already stated. I haven't yet read the other newer Pern books, but I'm looking forward to getting to them.
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Another fantastic book by Anne McCaffrey. This book brings new life to the Dragons and Dragon riders of Pern as they are needed again to protect Pern against a new and bigger threat than Thread. Thread - the deadly, silvery rain is not the only threat in the skies of Pern, and Dragon Riders are faced with defending Hall and Hold against something that cannot be flamed out of the skies by their fire breathing Dragons, and threatens thousands of lives on both continents in a very short space of time.
This book gives the answers to what we asked after 'All the Weyrs of Pern' "What are Dragon riders going to do after the last Pass of Thread?"
I absolutely enjoyed every word of this novel, and was delightfully surprised at the depths of Anne McCaffreys imagination, as she brings to life once more, the beloved characters of Pern. Carol RaethelThe Skies of Pern (The Dragons of Pern)
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The Pern series of books from Anne McCaffery are great. Better if you read them in order, (look online at her website for recommendations). This is futuristic science fiction, but if you liked Aregon, you would probably like this series too