The Renegades of Pern

Pern #10

by Anne McCaffrey

As long as the people of Pern could remember, the Holds had protected them from Thread, the deadly silver strands that fell from the sky and ravaged the land. In exchange for sanctuary in the huge stone fortresses, the people tithed to their Lord Holders, who in turn supported the Weyrs, whose dragons were Pern's greatest weapon against Thread.But not everyone on Pern was part of that system of mutual care and protection, particularly those who had been rendered holdless as punishment for wrongdoing. And there were some, like Jayge's trader clan, who simply preferred the freedom of the roads to the security of a hold. Others, like Aramina's family, had lost their holds through injustice and cruelty. For all the holdless, life was a constant struggle for survival.

Then, from the ranks of the criminals and the disaffected, rose a band of renegades, led by the Lady Thella. No one was safe from Thella's depredations, and now her quarry was Aramina, reputed to have a telepathic link with dragons. But when Thella mistakenly vented her rage on Jayge's family, she made a dangerous mistake. For Jayge was bent on revenge . . . and he would never let her have the girl who heard dragons!

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dragons, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adventure, Adult

384 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1989

About the author

Anne Inez McCaffrey was an American writer known for the Dragonriders of Pern science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction (Best Novella, Weyr Search, 1968) and the first to win a Nebula Award (Best Novella, Dragonrider, 1969). Her 1978 novel The White Dragon became one of the first science-fiction books to appear on the New York Times Best Seller list.
In 2005 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named McCaffrey its 22nd Grand Master, an annual award to living writers of fantasy and science fiction. She was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame on 17 June 2006. She also received the Robert A. Heinlein Award for her work in 2007.

Reviews

[Susan Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an fantastic book. There is so much happening and so many different stories within that you never grow bored. There are quite a few characters, but those from other books that you continue to follow. There are great characters and one terrible villain. There is continent hopping and history being uncovered. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

It's funny, reading through these books has been a lot of fun. Reading in chronological order has been fun. It has been so long since the first couple of times that I read through this series, that I am hitting on characters that I just don't remember. I was a teenager when I first read these though, so who knows what I was thinking through those first times. I have been thoroughly entertained this time around and it has been so enjoyable getting to know these characters again. Characters that I remember loving and thinking they were the most important, well, that all changed. They are still important and I still think they are fantastic, but there are also other characters that are just as lovable and important.

What a great series. I'm really happy I have taken on reading through them again.

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a comfortable book which ties together many different plots and people from all over Pern and ultimately links them to the Southern continent. It is also the book that sets up the latter stories in the series, since in the later part the Pernese discover the sites of 'the ancients' on the Southern continent and start excavating them, leading to latter books.

This book contains probably the most number of separate plots, discrete plot lines and the largest suite of characters of any that I have previously read by McCaffrey. To be honest, at first I was a bit exasperated because the prologue introduces us rather too rapidly through rather too many people who you will not encounter until much later, by which time I had forgotten them. The main thrust of the plot in the early novel is the 'Renegades' and the brigands? outlaws? led by Lady Holdless Thella who took advantage of the homeless people created by thread and for a few turns made it quite a dangerous place for those without dragons. This is a different side of Pern, the one where people who are not Hold or Weyr or crafthall are given a look in, and I did enjoy that aspect of it as well as the wider social context that McCaffrey wove into her world.

The various stories come together, though and once again we zoom in on Hold, Weyr and craft having left the 'renegades, holdless ect far behind. While I did enjoy this I agree the many people who have criticised it; the renegades feel like a plot that started but was dropped in the middle of the book. Araminta's story is told elsewhere and I don't quite see why why she reappears at Southern. Peimur and Jaxon and Robinton all suddenly take the place of the previous story we were reading and all of a sudden the entire focus of the book changes with a tiny little token nod to finalising the original plot, right at the end. The story seems to be set in exactly the same time as several other books, all of which follow characters that are in this one as well. It is all a bit mystifying, and nothing like McCaffreys original, tightly written, single plot novels. I did still quite enjoy it.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book in the series. This book, The White Dragon, Dragon's code and 2 short stories all take place at the same time, masterfully interwoven by one of the Grand master of SiFi/Fantasy. Pern is an amazing complex and detailed world and a fantastic read. Very recommended

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Renegades of Pern, published in 1989, starts a decade before the events of Dragonflight and covers the time up to Dragondrums fairly quickly. We get glimpses of Piemur, but the main storyline is otherwise just touched upon briefly here and there and shown through different POVs. Knowing the first two trilogies will give context, I recommend reading those first anyhow, although the first trilogy has a seriously dated tone and attitude.

I really liked Jayge‘s storyline, even though…

“He had found her! He loved her! He would help her. The Weyrs and the Holds be damned. Hold and Weyr could not provide her with safety. He could and would!“ (page 288)

The dreaded instalove makes an appearance…

Apparently Jayge himself will also keep making appearances in:
* All the Weyrs of Pern
* The Dolphins of Pern
* The Skies of Pern

Looking forward to that!

The first half of the book has a rather episodic feel to it, with different POVs in every chapter. I figured that I was reading one of these in-between books one doesn‘t really need.

However, by the middle of the book many of those strands came together. It got pretty interesting and added new things to the overarching story of the world of Pern. We cover not just new, but also important ground. I really enjoyed myself, especially when we started to spend serious time on the Southern Continent, which is always fun.

Not to be skipped when making your way through the Dragonriders of Pern!

+*+*+
Pern Re-read
I started a re-read of the series in 2020/2021 and plan to read all the available main novels that I have not read yet.
I am deleting, as I progress through the series, mostly in publication order. I am not too fussed about the order for the rereads, so I will diverge where it seems practical…

Publication Order — main novels / next
* 1991 - All The Weyrs of Pern
* 1994 - The Dolphins of Pern
* 1998 - The Masterharper of Pern
* 2001 - The Skies of Pern
* 2003 - Dragon’s Kin
* 2005 - Dragonsblood
* 2006 - Dragon’s Fire
* 2007 - Dragon Harper
* 2008 - Dragonheart
* 2010 - Dragongirl
* 2011 - Dragon’s Time
* 2012 - Sky Dragons

Pern Wiki mainpage: https://pern.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not the best of the series.

[notyourmonkey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dude, even McCaffrey got bored with her own new (deeply boring) characters halfway through the book, chucked the whole Holdless plotlines for huge swathes, and went back to focusing on Piemur and Toric and the politics of the Southern continent. It irks my sense of order that huge chunks of the through-narrative from the original (in my mind) six books/two trilogies has to be continued here before being picked up as the A story once again in All the Weyrs of Pern again. It seems a poorly put-together book, but I nevertheless relished the bits about Piemur growing up and continuing his story from Dragondrums. I also like the gaps filled in a bit in and around The White Dragon. Those two reasons are worth it to me to slog around the Jayge-Aramina-Thella bits to fill in details for the overarching storyline.

Oh, also? The cover shown here does not match my book, even though I selected via ISBN number. ::grumps::

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading the story of Pern chronologically, and glad I chose that route. This book was # 11 for me. I am glad that I chose this route as things are now coming together for me and I have a greater understanding of all things Pern.

4-5 Turns (a turn is a year for us) are covered in this fairly short story. One of things I love about McCaffery is that she wastes no time in getting on with the story. If life is calm and simple in Pern she just moves on to the next time something happens, good or bad.

In this episode of Pern McCaffery introduces us to people, who for some reason or other, are Holdless, leaving them vulnerable. Thread has not fallen for a long time and people have become complacent. With this complacency tension between the Holders, those who own land and are protected by the dragons, and the Holdless have surfaced. Some of the Holdless turn to violence for relief and become known as The Renegades.

Within the story of the Renegades McCaffery also takes us to the sparsely occupied Southern Continent again. We learn more of the back story of major characters and some events previously mentioned in earlier books. As the continent is explored many revelations are revealed and grand discoveries of the first settlers of Pern are made.

Needless to say, I adore this story and am in for the long haul.

[Gillian Murrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars Although I enjoyed this book it felt like two different stories mashed together, along with bits and pieces of the other books thrown in. The reason for that I guess is that it was over a long period of time. Piemur and the continuing excavations in the south were fascinating but I kept wishing they would come across a Dictionary as it would help immensely.

[Barbara K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Older review updated in 2024:

This is yet another Pern novel, and I never get tired of Anne McCaffrey's dragons. This particular story is at times disturbingly violent. I think I may have enjoyed it a bit more on this third or fourth reading, because I already knew which characters would turn out to be super evil/crazy and violent, and how far they would go, so I was prepared, and I could read quickly through the parts I knew I'd find disturbing. It's also a touching story, especially when ... AIVAS wakes up and mentions certain names from Dragonsdawn, which will matter only to those who've read that book but that's in the final chapter, so I won't go into it here.

It's a story that spans about 17 years of the story of Pern, from the first return of Thread in this pass, years of characters' lives, some of them children in the beginning, growing into adults with families of their own. Because of that long time span, the story lines overlap with others in the series. The action flips between the Northern and Southern continents of Pern, and between traders, the holdless, holders, craftsmen, and dragonriders, as well as some murderous renegades, and of course the ever present danger of Threadfall.

Some of the rules that are established about dragons not interfering in holder problems seem to me a bit rigid and at the same time unevenly applied. There is one point at which I was shocked, even having read the book before, when two dragonriders didn't think they could help in an emergency, and that still bothers me. There are times when you worry about politics, and times when you simply jump in and help. But the end of this story is well worth any little reader irritation or annoyance or shock along the way, as Pern enters a brand new era, in which the power hungry seem less relevant although as much trouble as ever.

Some of the characters and events are recognizable from prior installments in the series, such as a repetition of a few scenes from The White Dragon. But I never seem to mind that with this series. It's kept to a minimum, providing just a reminder while the story keeps its flow and forward motion. It's also shown from different points of view, so while for instance the reader might already know of Jaxom's reasons for doing something, reading how another character perceives it is refreshing. This book also introduces some new characters who will be important, or their children will be, in future books in this long series.

When I think about it, I probably would not want to live on Pern. I don't think of it as dystopian so much as being a world with problems, like our own, though with some different problems than our own, while human nature seems just as varied as we know it to be. Pern also has some features that are quite wonderful, like the dragons and firelizards. Still, the social structure leaves a lot to be desired, from my perspective. It is good that by this time in the series some women are beginning to regain some equality, and the men around them learn to value them. The world continues to be somewhat feudal, though, and rewards those already in power. But how different is that from our world, really?

The story of the rediscovery of Pern's past, though, is exciting. No matter whether one's ancestors were more or less knowledgeable or capable, or socially enlightened, learning more about them is always fascinating. When what has been long forgotten is revived and seems entirely new, that's exciting.

[Karlie Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a fan of Pern and its many wonders. Thella is such a great character in regards to villains. You seriously want to see her maimed or dead, you dislike her that much. And I love the details of other things going on in the world of Pern at large, especially things pertaining to the Southern Continent. Those bits are actually probably my favorite.

[Dragana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A while ago I decided to re-read the Pern series (since I fully blame it for my obsession with dragons 🐉💚) and finally complete it. Ten books down, 14 more to go—slow and steady, right? 😅

The Renegades of Pern turned out to be the weakest book so far for me. I loved Anne McCaffrey’s idea of showing life from the perspective of the “holdless” and exploring different reasons why people end up without a Hold. But the execution? Meh. Too many characters, too many time jumps, and everyone felt kind of shallow. I never really connected emotionally with anyone.

Also, the story runs parallel to earlier books, so we get repeated events—just from another angle. Instead of adding tension, it made things feel a bit repetitive. Honestly, this is not the book to start the series with (and maybe even one you could skip without much harm… I’ll know for sure once I get further into my reread 👀).

Still, dragons are dragons, and for that alone it gets a tiny boost. 🐲💖

Rating: 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 ⭐ (because I love dragons too much to be mean).

TL;DR: Cool idea, flat execution. Too many characters + repeated events = meh.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was never my favourite Pern novel and re-reading it after all these year's, my opinion hasn't changed that much. There seems to be too much going on, too many storylines that jump spasmodically from one to another, with nothing really holding them together. The events run concurrently with 'The White Dragon', but don't add a huge amount to the overall storyline.

Thella could have been made a lot more of and taken a bit more centre stage - after Jayge's rescue, she kind of gets forgotten about before suddenly arriving back on the scene towards the end, but her storyline gets muddled in with more exploration of Southern and more issues with Toric, which frankly are a bit boring until right at the very end.

That said, I did still enjoy it, as I probably always will when visiting Pern and once you got used to the sudden leaps in the plots, it ends up being a nice filler between other novels.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't one of my favourite dragon books - its very bitty until the last third, because its covering such a long period of time. The last third is key to what follows, though.

[Imy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragons
Teleportation
Telepaths
Revenge and plotting
Dashing rescue
I love this book, so many POVs. I change from others in the series that only follow a couple people, tops.
But don't read this if it's the first Ann McCaffrey Pern book. It's definitely written for an audience who're very familiar with the characters and worldbuilding.
This book is based over near a decade

[Kaylabee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it! Yes there were slow parts and yes there were a few too many names to remember. But the STORY, omg, the STORY.

I looooove how some books deal with the same timeline/plotline as otherbooks but tells it from other perspectives, adding depth to the world and story as a whole.

This book covers the same time period as the very first three of the series but tells the stories from the point of view of various Renegades (holdless (re: people who are not in charge or living in a Hold) of Pern. I LOVE that. What a great way to tell the story!!

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up getting really interested in the characters introduced in this book. At first they seemed like a distraction from the story I was impatient to get on with, but by the end they had important places in the story and I really liked some of them. Oh, and there's more Piemur. If you're thinking of skipping this book, I would say don't. As well as being quite well written (compared to some of the other co-authored books I've read in the series—ugh), there are key plot points revealed that you won't want to miss—and of course Piemur. Did I mention Piemur?

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thread have been a threat to Pern as far back as people can remember, devouring everything but stone. In exchange for protection by the dragonriders, the peole have provided support to the Wyers. Some chose to live outoutside the holds or have been exiled. From some of these outsiders, a revolt against the system starts.

[Anne Wingate · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the Core Books of the Pern Sequence

I have loved this entire series from day one. If you haven't already done so, begin with the first book and read forward. Although Renegades is terrific as a stand-alone, it is far more memorable and meaningful when read in its place in the Dragonriders of Pern sequence.
Recommended for everyone.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If the entire book had been about Piemur and the continuing excavations of Landing I would have enjoyed it much more. The continuation of Aramina's story from The Girl Who Heard Dragons was interesting but mixing the two plots made for a rather disjointed book.

[Stephanie Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took a while to really ramp up but once I pinned down what characters to root for, it got fun. And the discovery at the end is still one of my favorite memorable scenes from the series.

[Regan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is the most I've enjoyed a Pern book since the original trilogy. Truly, such a fun read. My only drawbacks were that, at times, the perspective jumping became frustrating, as I wanted very much to stay with whatever character we were with at the time, and that several threads of different stories were left unfinished. I think those are probably covered in later books, but they did still feel like abandoned plot lines, in the experience of reading this book. One example that comes quickly to mind is wondering what will happen with Toric and Denol.

As far as what made it good, it's the interweaving of the myriad of familiar characters and even of familiar events, told from different perspectives or showcasing new interactions. There is just so much going on, and practically everything affects everything else, and the depth of the world is so impressive while at the same time inherent and obvious. The style of world building displayed here is thorough, but also entrenched in the "show, don't tell" approach. You are experiencing the world as the characters know it, and you are also discovering it along with them as they uncover details of the past and explore further into uncharted territory. The personal and interpersonal stakes are emphasized, even as the events so deeply affect the trajectory of this entire world.

[C.E. Clayton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an odd one... for over 100 pages, the events of the book start before, during, and after the main trilogy and reads like a series of short stories. I could have cared less about Jayage and Aramina, and Thella for that matter. I liked seeing more of Piemur and his relationship with Toric in Southern, you see more of just how much Toric follows in Fax's footsteps (minus the murder, so far). It was annoying that Piemur seemed to like him for as long as he did, honestly.

It's not until the end of the book that the events actually surpass what happened in "The White Dragon", and when they did, those were the events that mattered. Those were the events that actually move the story of Pern and it's people's quest to learn of their ancestors farther. Such a small portion of this book felt necessary in terms of plot, and so much of it seemed like it would have been better left to just an anthology of short stories of minor characters experiences outside of the Weyr. This was an easy book to read though, which made it fine as another book to read to my toddler during nap time.

[Kryptomite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Renegades of pern is a book that takes place during the same time period as the first three books. When I started to realize that, I had already read a good chunk of this book, as I don't pay much attention to the timeline numbers, and there had been far too much time between each of the pern books I'd read. It's been years since the first three.

Renegades is packed full of story and does a great job of submerging the reader in the world the author has created, especially the stresses of common people during threadfall in the north and the discovery of pern history in the south. It could have almost been two different books covering events in the north and south. In fact, I kind of wish it was, because by the end of it, I was so engrossed in so many different details, I felt like the book was departing my company before I was ready to let it go. That's not to say it was brief or poorly written, but I now wish to know so much more, as its ending went in a direction I did not expect it to.

[Book2Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Anne McCaffrey favorite. It seemed to drag at the beginning (why only 4 stars) but the pace definitely picked up at the end. I also had trouble on the outset at figuring out the time and people in relation to the other books. There are places on the Web to help you, but I hate having to work to read a fiction book.
Good vs Evil: sometimes it is a gray area and sometimes the Evil is just Pure Evil. Most of Pern falls in the gray areas, some whiter than others, but hey we're all human. But the "bad guy" in this one is really, really bad.
Lots of dragons, fire lizards and excavating of abandoned ruins. Some romance just for flavor.
You'll love it as much or more than I no doubt.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was rather repetitive since it retold what happened during the 2 previous trilogies albeit from different POV.s The second book that did so after Nerilka's Story.
The earlier part was thrilling because of the villain, the vicious, vindictive and power hungry Lady Thella, who was perhaps Pern's worst villain so far. But the story suddenly shifted to the 'archaeological' uncovering of Pern's origin. The ending to the villain was rather anticlimactic.

[Sophie Cornell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I use this book to fall asleep to. It's taken me almost 3 months to read. 5 stars for being boring and long winded. 2 actual stars for plot and characters.
I recognise I'm not using this book for its intended purpose.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts at the beginning of the thread falling for the first time in 400 years. But unlike the others, it follows what happens to the regular people of Pern.
It has several storylines that follow different people and how threads falling effects their lives for 17 years.

[Virgil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of the story wear parts of earlier books from a different perspective, so it could get a bit boring, but it still had really interesting new elements.

[Mark Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. A little slow to get started, and a little wordy, but it suddenly get going and doesn’t slow down. The book is a kind out over view of the last 7 books before it. So in a way it starts past tense beginning before Dragonflight, and covering all the books through to Dragondrums. Then the last few chapters are present tense.
The Author captured Thella really well. There aren’t any really nasty evil people on Pern, apart from Fax in Dragonflight, but Thella is worse. Plane nasty for nasty sake, and you feel satisfied with her comeuppance.
The story shifts the to Pern’s history and it’s original inhabitants (or ancients) ending with a sort of cliffhanger.
Looking forward to the next book.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another book that is not as good as I remembered from when I first read it as a teenager.

And so many weird things that an editor really should have been "does that need to be there" about, like lustful character descriptions from their sibling's perspectives, McCaffrey's generally terrible approaches to romance, and anything to do with gender roles or class.