i was never into fantasy\scifi until this book . it's a way for anyone to feel good about the underdog and to appeciate the struggle and the just rewards for not giving up on loyalty and love. do yourself a favor sit down in your favorite chair and experience a truly moving tale. luv it forever!!! gsg dragon.

As the Dragonriders of Pern, astride their flying, fire-breathing Dragons, battle the voracious rain of Thread which threatens all life on Pern, a unique white dragon hatchling is bonded to the boy Jaxom, future Lord of Ruatha. Forbidden to fly against Thread because the pair is deemed too valuable, Jaxom and Ruth are nevertheless determined to take their place as defenders of Pern. Their destiny will be to discover the ancient secret of the People of Pern, and to change forever the lives of everyone on the planet.
This was my first Anne McCaffrey book, and I've never stopped reading her since. My copy of The White Dragon has been replaced three times-from wearing it out. The best of the Dragon series.

"The Year of the Lucy" is one of the best McCaffrey books I have read. It is not like the Pern series, but is a real life story of a woman trying to find herself. It is excellent.

Ever since I first picked up this book, Anne McCaffrey has been my favorite author. The Pern series is the most incredible I have ever read, from the majestic, yet empathetic dragons to the likable and unique characters who ride them. I cannot begin to calculate the number of times I have read and re-read the Pern series, especially these first three books. Anne McCaffrey pulls off wonders with her writing -- no other author could have concocted or done justice to Pern and its people as she does. Lessa especially is such an intricate, complicated, and wonderful character that I would have loved this book if she were the only detailed character, and I look to her as my first role-model. Not only am I in love with F'lar, Masterharper Robinton, and Jaxom, but they make this series more than just my favorite, but one that really affects my life as well. I have read every book about Pern that I could, and I will never tire of this world and its dragons. Anybody who likes science fiction or fantasy will love it, as will anybody who likes to read at all.

Anne McCaffery has written a lot of stories in this series but these, the original three, stand fort as a an astounding display of a frightening talent. How McCaffery can invent and describe a world in such explicit detail, as well as plot-lines that so enthrall that one is lost while reading, I will never know.

Her 'Pern' is an incredible world, populated by the descendants of long-ago, Earth-originating, space farers stranded upon a Terra-like planet populated only by strange animals. Their bizarre history is only revealed in full in the third book, as the true interest of the stories is the planet's fight against 'thread,' a deadly spore that rains upon the planet from time to time.

The characters are fully developed and the plot twists enthralling. While it is more entertainment than psychologicaly insightful, it is an experience you can't help but walk away from shaken.

I love these three books, regardless of the hit-or-miss value of her other stories. This, along with a few choice others, belongs next to Asimov's Foundation Trilogy in sci-fi history.

This threesome is wonderful! I read the books in this series 4 or 5 times a year! (not counting all the others I can get my hands on of Anne McCaffrey's) I can't believe all the books she has written- the woman thinks constantly! I have loved everyone of her books that I have read- I live on Anne McCaffrey's books! I am constantly in search of new ones- I wish I was rich enough to buy all the books she has and will ever write! At night as I go to bed, pieces of diolouge spiral through my head and discuss stopping thread and Impressing dragons and discovering Aivas and brainships and discovering that psycic powers ARE real. . .and then I go to sleep. When I wake up that same thing happens over again- even during my school classes! All I can say is- Thank you Anne McCaffrey!

Though I think this is not as good as Anne's previous novels but it's not by much! THis novel takes you back in time to an earlier Pern to tell you the story of one of Pern's great heroine, Moreta. She is mentioned in Dragonflight as a weyrwoman from Ruatha and could speak to all dragons. But in this book she is from Keroon and she could only speak to 3 dragons- her queen dragon Orlith, and the two queens Holth and Tamianth. This is in fact a tragic and romantic story about Fort Weyr's weyrwoman. She is brave and daring.

She was not as fortunate as Lessa for her weyrmate, Fort's weyrleader, Sh'gall does not love her the way F'lar loves Lessa. At that time Pern is attacked by a deadly plague, which is the flu, as well as thread. Moreta does her best in organize her weyr to fight against the sickness. She also heals injured dragons along the way. This book introduces a new set of characters, including the Masterhealer Campiam, Masterharper Tirone, lord holder Alessan, Oklina, Leri, Sh'gall and more wyerleaders craftsman and of course dragons. Moreta developes a relationship with Alessan and helps with vaccinating human and runnerbeasts alike.

This is a touching, romantic story with a somewhat sad ending to this great tale of Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern.

Or maybe "Dragonflight"? It's really close, either way. This is a beautiful book! Interesting, tragic, epic, romantic, beautiful, it's a nice breather from the escapades of F'lar and Lessa and really adds depth to the whole series. It's like an historical novel, in a sense. Moreta is an awesome heroine. Wow--a McCaffrey heroine who's blonde and is neither drippy nor evil! In just one novel, McCaffrey brings a lot of characters to life. Alessan, Moreta, Capiam, Leri, K'lon, (especially) B'lerion, and the dragons themselves are very real, without being retreads of old characters as McCaffrey has a tendency toward. A plague ravages Pern...an interesting and unusual gimmick for a sci-fi. At it's heart I think this book is a sweet, poignant, tragic love story on several levels: between Moreta and Lord Alessan, between a Weyrwoman and her dragon, between readers and a fascinating and beautiful world and its denizens. Recommended highly!!

I found Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern a nice change from the other Dragonrider novels. Moreta is not stunningly beautiful like Lessa, and she's not a Benden Weyrwoman. She's from Fort, and she doesn't like her weyrmate, she respects him, but does not consider him a possible soulmate. And the fact that Leri was a competent Weyrwoman and feisty even in what seem to be the last few years of her life, is a delightfuly different situation. Lessa and F'lar (much as I love them) seemed annoyingly perfect, and Moreta is very different. I liked the minor characters here too, Oklina was enjoyable, and MasterHealer Capiam was quite interesting as well, B'lerion and Desdra were amusing, as were the different stages of harpering-very funny. I think one of my favorite characters in this particular book was K'lon, because we so rarely see any of the less important riders, seeing bits of the story through a bluerider's eyes is very refreshing. The only thing I didn't like was the rather predictable romace between Moreta and Alessan, frankly, that annoyed me. Though the fact that Moreta had the bad taste to fall in love with a Lord Holder was another nice change from Anne McCaffrey's typical Weyrwoman. And the book had me in tears at the end, it was so sad!
I strongly suggest you read it, Pern fan or not. Though obviously, a member of the latter category wont enjoy it nearly as much as a member of the former. ^_^

In _All the Weyrs of Pern_ the large cast of characters from the Dragonrider and Harper Hall books, with the help of the Ancient AI device unearthed at the end of _Renegades_, settle down to their ultimate task: Ridding Pern of Thread for once and for all.

I've read all the Pern books over and over since I first discovered them in eighth grade -- _Dragonquest_ was the first book I bought with my own money. In the main, I really enjoy them. Anne McCaffrey writes well and her ideas are very original, particularly in the earlier books in the series. Some of the later volumes have not thrilled me, however. _Renegades_ I found particularly unmoving, so I picked up ATW with some trepidation the first time. But this is the Dragonriders series at its best, with all the characters the reader has come to know and love facing challenges with fortitude and even humour.

I don't argue that McCaffrey is a great storyteller. She is at her best in situationally-driven stories (rather than character-driven), particularly those where her charcters are put in a new, alien and/or hostile environment where they must develop the skills to succeed in various tasks. This is part of what makes her Dragonrider series appealing to fans of straight science fiction as well as fans of fantasy. And as the basic theme of ATW, it makes for an absorbing read.

McCaffrey needs a continuity editor, however. As her world becomes more and more complex it seems she has trouble keeping track of the details. Unfortunately, I am the kind of person who is bothered by this.

Is Jancis a Mastersmith or a journeyman smith? She seems to be both, often in the same paragraph. And how did she come to be Fandarel's granddaughter when he formerly stated he had no wife, only his work? How did Sharra appear at landing to exchange a significant glance with Jancis, when before and after that single incident it was clearly stated she wasn't there at all? Why is Menolly telling AIVAS about her three children when in _Dolphins_ at a later date she is shown to be pregnant with only the second? How did Lord Oterel appear in _Dolphins_, long after the close of ATW, when he died before ATW ended? These are just some of the details that distracted me.

But, well, this is still a great book and one that really ties up the Pern series. I could only wish that Anne McCaffrey had ended here.

I recently started reading the Dragonriders of Pern series about two months ago. I picked up "DragonFlight" one day in the school's library and read the whole thing in three days and haven't stopped reading the Dragonrider books since. After reading the first three volumes and "The Renegades of Pern" (I suggest you read all of these first) I started reading "All the Weyrs of Pern." Being the Pern-addict I am now, I quickly became engrossed in the story line. With the promise of Thread to be forever gone for Pern's skies and many other rediscovered things that have been long been lost since the first people came to Pern. It makes for a solid story line and keeps the reader interested through out the book. All in all I think this is the prefect ending for McCaffrey's "Dragonriders of Pern". If you like being keep on the edge of your set wondering what's going to happen next, I think this book would be worth looking into. But do be warned, have a box of tissues for the ending. It's an unexpected tear jerker.

I found All the Weyrs to be the most satisfying of the newer Pern books written in the 90's. Here McCaffrey takes on a plotline set up in Renegades and DragonsDawn. The book details a lot of technology introduced by the computer Aivas which was uncovered at the end of Renegades. But somehow reading about the characters learning about technology is not incredibly dry but rather entertaining. One of my favorite aspects of McCaffrey's writing is the simple and sweet voices of the dragons in speech. Here, Aivas, the computer, takes on a persona that is more sophisticated than the dragons but equally sweet. The venture to rid Pern of Thread involves ventures into space, some of which made me mentally balk at going "between" to a space ship. Also the book introduces the future political upheavals and problems with the introduction of the new technologies. All of our favorite charactors are here, particularly Jaxom and Sharra, Robinton, Lytol and of course F'lar and Lessa.

This is the third book in the Dragonriders of Pern series and is as good as the other two before it. In dragonflight, Fax and Lady Gemma had a son named Jaxom, which Lessa gave Ruatha hold to. As of now, Lytol leads Ruatha Hold. Jaxom is a adventurous young man. His dragon Ruth, is a pure white dragon, very human, clever and nice. Jaxom thinks that he can never really be a real dragonrider because he was Ruatha's young lord. Nevertheless when Ramoth's queen egg is stolen, Jaxom and Ruth hatches a daring plan to rescue the egg from the southerners. Along the way, he meets thread and is scored. He then recieves training in Fort Weyr.

Along the way, you'll read about F'lar's duels with the oldtimer T'kul, Masterharper Robinton gets a heart attack, Jaxom comes down with firehead and recovers in Sourthern and meets Sharra, his lover. Benden Weyr's leaders along with Fanderal, Robinton and a bunch of Pern's leaders discovers ancient settlements and space ships in Southern.

A definitely good read!

Enjoyable, start at the beginning of the series

Jaxom is the future Lord Holder of Ruatha, one of Pern's oldest and most venerable holds and has been groomed for his role since he was very young. When he accidentally impresses a white dragon named Ruth, everyone is dismayed and worried about what to do with him. Dragonriders belong in the Weyr, after all, and a man simply cannot be a dragonrider and a Lord Holder - or can he? Jaxom is determined to keep Ruth and to learn how to fly, breathe fire and kill Thread - and be the future leader of one of the most prosperous Holds on Pern. What others refuse to teach him, Jaxom discovers for himself. It is as Ruth and Jaxom are experimenting that they find themselves in the position to prevent a great disaster on Pern and to unite the Oldtimers and the Weyrs of the Northern Continent through Ruth's unique ability of always knowing when he is and his rapport with fire lizards. Ruth and Jaxom even discover some new "secrets" on the Southern Continent that the ancients left behind!

The White Dragon is simply a superb book. I loved the characters and really felt that I identified with Jaxom as he was growing up and growing into his roles as both a dragonrider and as a Lord Holder. Readers who have read McCaffrey's previous books in the Pern series will simply find that it is another story about Weyleaders F'lar and Lessa (Dragonflight & Dragonquest), as well as Masterharper Robinton and Journeyman Menolly (Dragonsong & Dragonsinger) told from a different, very enjoyable perspective. I loved the way McCaffrey took the time to incorporate older characters so that the readers know what is happening in their lives. The White Dragon is an exciting link between the first several books and the next grouping as there are many surprises and new discoveries that take place here. Ruth is also one of my favorite dragons and was such a joy to read about. Anyone who loves fantasy will enjoy this book so do yourself the favor and buy this book!

I enjoyed this book very much. It combines the fantasy charm and character development of the best of the other Pern books with more of a standard "Science Fiction" feel due to the higher tech action of the colonists arriving in their space ships. I personally found it a felicitous combination. When I read this, I had already read the Dragonriders and Harper Hall trilogys, as well as Moreta, Dragonlady of Pern, and it was fascinating to go back in time to the original settlers and learn how dragons came to be. However, this could also be a good introduction to Pern for someone who had never read anything in the series.

This was the first Dangonbook I read. I didn't expect to like it--fantasy is not usually my cup of tea. Not only did I like it, I went straight to the bookstore and bought every one of the series and immersed myself in the world of Pern. By the end of Dragonsdawn, I wanted a dragon so badly that it almost broke my heart. You can lose yourself totally in the fantastic world of the Weyrs and Holds of Pern, and fall head-over- heels for the dashing Holders and Weyrleaders; ache with the young Pernese who wait to be chosen by a dragon; and soar in triumph with the Dragons as they fight their battles against Thread. Please, Anne McCaffrey, don't stop writing about Pern and all the generations that follow the discovery of the original landing!!!! All the books that follow, or precede, Dragonsdawn are just as compelling and fascinating--I'm hooked on Dragons!

This book is excellent! I absolutely fell in love with Dragonsdawn. I had not heard of Anne McCaffery until a few years ago when I randomly picked up her book. I am obessed with imagination, but always disapointed when I realize that it can NEVER be real. Yet, when I read Dragonsdawn, it let an "impossible" myth that dominated my fantasy become a reality. Not by some magic or undefinable subtance, but by a "logic" by science that doesn't seem incrediable. As for the charaters, I was enchanted by the young, red-headed Sorka and the free spirited, son of the Roaming folk Sean. And I fell in love with the loyal dragonet/firelizards. To me the greatest test of a book is weather I want to read another book about the same place and people. I loved this beginning hope of Pern, trashed by disater and conspiracy only to find another way to hope again, so much that it took me a whole year to read anymore about Pern. Afraid that the sequels whould distroy the greatness built by the one book. I highly recommend this book, an ultimate beginning.

The Rowan is my favorite science fiction book of all time. I can't tell you how many times I've read it. I own three copies, a new paperback, a paperback that's falling apart and a hardcover that took me forever to find. There is something about this book(indeed, about all Anne McCaffrey books)that reaches out and grabs you and makes you think, Oh, why can't I just leap into this book and meet those people!

The book is set sometime in the future and humankind has spread out into space with the aid of the Talented, people with incredible mental abilities, like telepathy, telekinesis, and clairvoyance. The Rowan was the victim of a terrible accident as a child and a whole planet heard her telepathic cries for help. She has the potential to be the most powerful Prime Talent ever. As she grows into her amazing abilities, she grows away from others. She discovers that her powers isolate her from everyone around her. One evening, a telepathic distress call from an unknown Talent of Prime ability shakes her whole universe. And that's how she meets Jeff Raven, a charismatic young man from distant Deneb. The Rowan stands beside him against a mysterious alien threat to his planet and realizes she never wants to leave him, that she loves him, and he will move solar systems to have her in his arms.

These characters are wonderful! The romance between the Rowan and Jeff Raven is so touching, yet it is written in such a way that it's not too sweet. It's practical and forthright, a wonderful narrative. And let's not forget gruff Reidinger and gentle Afra and Rascal, supporting characters that make the book what it is.

I've read the entire series and not one measures up to this one. If I could, I would beg Anne McCaffrey not to end it with The Tower and the Hive, which I think is the last. The Rowan is the book that convinced me I wanted to be a writer. Read it. Read it many times and find in it what I've found. It's a wonderful story.

I like to read fantasy fiction but had never thought of sci-fi fantasy until the day I went wandering through the public library looking for something different instead of the usual romantic mystery novel I usually read. The first thing that caught my eye was the cover of the book which showed a remarkable looking women and after reading the synopsis I thought it sounded different. When I got home I decided to take a quick glance before cooking dinner. Once into the book I couldn't put it down and I was hooked. The Rowan is a facinating girl and later woman with amazing powers and a strong will of her own which she exibit as a baby when she lets the whole universe know she is alive, trapped and hungry. From this point on the universe is not the same. It tells of her growing up and her loneliness. I especially loved the way Anne McCaffrey introduced the love of her life and our first encounter with the unusual deadly enemy the universe encounters. The Rowan has everything we love; a great heroine and her love, suspence and the feeling that this type of future could be waiting for us. This was the first Anne McCaffrey book I had ever read. I couldn't wait to read the sequals and because this book had been out for a while I was able to go right into the future books of the series. When I caught up to the latest it just drove me nuts waiting to see what was going to happen. I WAS HOOKED AND YOU WILL BE TOO. The ROWAN is an amazing woman and she is there through the whole series with her amazing future. If you have never been interested in science fiction or fantasy I guarantee you will be hooked by this book and of course, just like me hooked into all Anne McCaffrey's books and I was amazed to discover how real these books seem. I have read the Rowan 3 times and am now ordering it and all the series in hardcover so my daughter can enjoy them the way I have and will continue to in the future. I only buy hardcover books when it's a series I feel strongly about and The Rowan is one of these books!!!!

When my grandmother gave "The Rowan" to me (I love books), I turned it over and read the back. I was skeptical and not sure about it. I am not in to sci-fi but more into fantasy. I took it with me to my highschool testing and when I was done with it I took it out and started reading. When it was time to go on testing I couldn't put it down. I found the inter-space world Anne McCaffrey created had intwined me and caught me in its wondrous atmosphere. The story of a young powerful teleknetic orphan held me on the edge of my seat. The emotions and experiences of the young girl soon known as the Rowan wow'd me and made me see sci-fi in a new light. I keep it among my other favorites such as: Dragonlance series, the Chronicles of Narnia, and the Myst series. Amazing like no other book I couldn't believe how it still held my attention months later as I wondered about some of the events. The advanced world of earth and outer colonies was the future and AM had brought it to life with the powerful teleknetic minds of the FT&T it made me wish for more. The colorful worlds and wonders of the Rowan and her story is a true work of art. If you want to start a great series start reading the "Rowan" series. Truly excellents books probably Anne's best works ever.

First, let me say that I'm a die-hard Pern fan, and Robinton is one of my favorite characters from Pern. It was very nice to have a novel which detailed his background so well. However, this novel is severely handicapped by all the same faults found in the later Pern novels. First, there are many re-hashed plots. For example, Robinton's problems with his father mirror Menolly's problems with her father, and they end in the same way (even down to the exact same speech spoken by the Masterharper when each gets promoted to journeyman). Second, the characters are very one-sided, and are sometimes even direct copies of others. For example, Petiron is exactly like Yanus Seaholder; Halanna, when you first meet her, is exactly like Kylara, and when she changes, you never see her again; Manora is fifty years younger than in Dragonflight, but hardly has any physical description other than her "quiet dignity," a phrase used to describe her in every other book. Third, Robinton is a god. He is the best musician on the planet and the nicest person, and everyone looks out for his well-being. Even as a child, his greatest problem was his father, and everyone shielded him from him; Robinton managed to escape from the Harper Hall as a journeyman without ever truly having to face his greatest problem. Except for the fact that Robinton is my favorite character in the series, I would have no real emotional attachment to him in this book--he is too perfect.

I've read every Pern novel and short story that has been published, and some are better than others. This one isn't the worst, but it isn't the best either. It does provide a great history for the other novels. However, in general, McCaffrey's writing suffers from repetition of description and plot, and an inability to create deep characters. The worlds she creates (such as in Pern and the Crystal Singer novels) are beautifully crafted, but the books, especially the later ones, become banal.

This book is an interesting read for die-hard dragonfans such as myself-- if only because it fills in Robinton's background. I think it is particularly fitting that McCaffrey focussed a novel around Robinton-- he has never been a central character in the Pern books, but his role has always been pivotal, both as witness, advisor, and spur to action. He has deserved this new attention. I also disagree with some of the other reviews posted here-- Robinton's troubles with his father help explain his support and understanding of Menolly's plight. Also, presumably, Petiron learned from his mistakes with his son... Menolly was his chance to make it all up. One stupid beef with the book-- as in the case with many of her later Pern books, there are many inconsistencies. The one that annoyed me the most was Sebell-- in Dragonquest he was a scruffy young apprentice at the wedding feast (seven years after Thread's advent), yet in this latest book he's already a journeyman well before the beginning of Thread. Wouldn't he be too old for Menolly if this is the case? Generally, a great read for the seasoned McCaffrey fan-- not for beginners.

Masterharper of Pern is a great book, as are all of Diana Wynne Jones' books! it is filled of adventure and comedy and romance, as well as being a good first book to read in her wonderful but complicated Pern series. I love it, and reread it over and over again!