Reviews

From the initial reports of the survey team that discovers Rukbat's third planet (``The Survey: P.E.R.N.'') to the official banning of the planet to space travel (``Rescue Run''), these five original stories by the author of the popular Pern series offer a glimpse into the early history of the world of ``thread'' and Dragonriders. McCaffrey's unadorned prose allows characters and plot to take center stage. Anticipate a demand for this title. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/93.

A quarter century after Dragonflight , the novel that introduced the vastly popular dragon planet of Pern, McCaffrey details the difficult yet exhilarating early years of the Pernese settlers in five highly readable tales. Trouble starts early when the original landing site is threatened by volcanic action, forcing the human settlers to ring ``The Dolphin's Bell'' in a plea for help from the intelligent sea mammals who migrated with them from Earth. Then there is the First Fall of the devastating Thread which leads colonists to the security of Rua Atha (Ruatha Hold) in ``The Ford of Red Hanarahan,'' while ``The Second Weyr'' recounts the creation of two new Weyrs to accommodate the growing population of dragons and riders who are essential to the colony's survival. The book begins and ends with the human federation, with the initial survey of Pern and, in the odd final tale called ``Rescue Run,'' with the story of how the planet was abandoned when a small Federation expedition, responding to a distress message sent by Pern during the First Fall, finds only 11 colonists led by a madman. Told of the Thread and convinced that these are the only survivors, the rescuers recommend that Pern and the entire system be interdicted. This collection will provide some answers long awaited by avid Pern fans. (Nov.)