On Dragonwings: Dragonsdawn / Dragonseye / Moreta

Pern (Chronological Order) #1, 3, 12

by Anne McCaffrey

Perfect for diehard fans as well as readers discovering McCaffrey for the first time, this dazzling new volume features three classic novels from the early years of Pern– Dragonsdawn , Dragonseye , and Moreta .

The spectacular planet Pern seems a paradise to its new colonists–until unimaginable terror turns it into hell. Suddenly deadly spores are falling like silver threads from the sky, destroying everyone and everything they touch. Pern is in mortal danger. The only thing that can stop the Thread is the fire from Pern’s flying dragons. Now, the colonists must join forces with the dragons to burn the Thread before the parasite devours any and all organic life–and turns lush Pern into a barren wasteland.

On Dragonwings traces the story of the early generations on Pern. From the colonists who first created the fire-breathing dragons for protection, through the rise of the dragonriders, these three novels set readers on a daring quest to protect a beautiful and extraordinary planet.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Anthologies

912 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2003

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

[T.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before How to Tame a Dragon, and Game of Thrones and the Smaug from the Hobbit movies there was Anne McCaffrey and her Dragons of Pern series.

An incredibly spun exotic and foreign world which starts with a planet threatened by a scorching contamination orbiting its solar system and a bond forged between man and the dragons inhabiting the planet which until now were seen only as wild, dangerous animals.

I recently redownloaded the books I read as a child, and they still hold up beautifully. Timeless fantasy.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

On Dragonwings: Dragonsdawn / Dragonseye / Moreta (Pern #9, 14, 7)
McCaffrey, Anne
Dragonsdawn: The first settlers of pern, how it is that man has come to pern, the reason and meaning of many of the names of the places of pern. The expodition of travelers who are transported by giant space ships who become the dawn sisters, their trials of travel, relocation and decimation by the pern thread invasion and the ingenuity and strenght in develping the dragons and training them to fly the skyes and protect pern from the evil thread


Dragons eye : Todd pern side interperated by Maccaffrey's and his first attempt at helping to write in the series. Through the dragons view of things they are able to combat prejudice and create meaningful changes in their world, and most of all save pern from distruction in future generations .
the story of the rebuilding of pern after the devastation, and the beginning of the weirs

Moreta: The heroic story of moreta who inspired song by her self sacrifice because of plage. finding love in inopportune times, and the sacrifices of duty. the people of pern find out that they are not only going to be taxed by the imminate attach of thread but by a rampid illness that decimates the population right before the dawning of a new thread era.

[Elis Griner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is three books in one, which I wasn't expecting because I didn't do more than read the title. All three books were already read in the early and late nineties, making this a reread. I loved then, and to this day, these stories.

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great books, great writer, great story. A classic fantasy series. If you like dragons, fantasy and sci-fi you should read these books about the planet Pern, its human inhabitants, dragons and dolphins.

[Laurla2]

contains the stories
dragonsdawn - pern # 9
dragonseye - pern # 14
moreta - pern # 7

[Odell Hubbard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back to Pern

This is my first return to the Pern series in years and it is still as fascinating and engaging as ever.

[Luther · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The saga of Pern

An adventure, well actually three adventures with threads (no pun intended) of tales woven together. A most enjoyable and entertaining read!

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

As there are three books in this collection, I should give it three scores. Dragonsdawn & Dragonseye are both 4 star books, but Moreta is a 2, at best. There are some problems with all of the books, but Dragonsdawn & Dragonseye are generally enjoyable in spite of them, whereas Moreta is dragged down repeatedly by a love story that isn't that deep/necessary; it should have also been named Capiam: Masterhealer of Pern instead, as it'd be more appropriate. Probably the biggest problem with Dragonsdawn is it gives a little too much information about the background of the series (17 dragons is too small a gene pool to produce a viable, increasing population of dragons, & there was never any reason to have the creation of the telepathic felines, also too small a breeding group, by the books malcontent). With Dragonseye, my only true problem is the claim that because knowledge is not currently relevant, one shouldn't bother teaching it; this rankles. Moreta, I had the biggest problem with as her character seemed like she was only in the novel because it was named after her. Capiam discovers how to fight the problem, Capiam organizes the distribution of the solution, & deals with the recalcitrant Lord Holders. Moreta, however, goes to a party, does a bit of healing work on dragons, has a jungle liaison, time travels such to facilitate the continued fighting of the current problem as opposed to the elimination of the problem before it occurs, & then does something so stupid as a person supposedly so well versed in animal husbandry would never do it's inconceivable, causing the book to be named after her. She is a weak lead. Also, the events of the book are truly unimportant, except in that they explain the complete interdiction of the southern continent in the later books, though that could as easily have been accomplished in a minimal aside by another character in another book, rather than wasting the paper for this one. The first two books in this collection deserved better than to be paired with the third book, but as they are paired with it, the average, rounded down, of their scores is 3 stars. Dragonsdawn & Dragonseye deserve a read if you are interested in the Pern Series, but Moreta really isn't worth your time.

[Kerith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three novels in one: Dragonsdawn is Pern's Genesis and even though it is the beginning of things I don't recommend it to the new Pern reader. It's fun finding out how things began but better to read her classics first, in my opinion. Dragonsdawn is clearly written after the main oeuvre, and is a little thinly stretched and contrived at times.
Dragonseye takes place 200 years after Dragonsdawn, at the end of the first Interval. No one believes that Thread will come back (shades of Dragonflight?) and there is much discord between the Holds and the Weyrs. This is also a foundational tale, telling of the beginnings of the Harpers and the Teaching Songs. Fun for that purpose, but again, I recommend her earlier works first.
Moreta is her novel based on the "Ballad of Moreta's Ride", oft-mentioned in the Dragonriders of Pern/Harper Hall books. A plague sweeps across Pern and Hold, Hall and Weyr must rally together to survive. This is the best of the three novels in the omnibus. Now don't forget your flu shot!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually three books in one: Dragonsdawn (c)1988, Dragonseye (c)1997, and Moreta (c)1983. 873 pp.
When I was 11 or so, Dad Walter introduced me to The Hobbit and it was there my fantasy/sci-fi binge began. Once through The Lord of the Rings, my very next stop was the Dragons of Pern. For some reason, I stuck to the original three or four and instead of branching out in the series, read those same three or four over and over and over again (I do that repetitive thing a lot - it's one of those things that makes me wonder about autism and its origins. There is a fine line between my own idiosyncrasies and Gabe's).

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved Anne McCaffrey's Pern series since I was a little girl and my mom read me the Menolly trilogy.

That being said, two of my favorite books have een Dragonsdawn and Dragonseye because they give you such a good background on Pern.

Want to know how the first Dragonriders were formed? Want to know how they learned to fight Thread? Look no further than Dragons Dawn. I found Sorka and Sean to be very interesting characters who were great to follow.

[Leslie J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I especially liked Dragonsdawn about the first settlers landing on Pern and how the dragons were developed. All three were great and really developed the world of Pern. I have almost all the Dragons of Pern books. I have to use a spreadsheet to keep track of which ones I don't have yet. I like to buy the larger multiple book sets so I can read them back to back.

[BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great set of three books - Dragonsdawn, Dragonseye, and Moreta. I remember reading Dragonsdawn and thinking, OH MY GOD! My detailed reviews will be for each of the books. This is definitely worth collecting.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed the dragons of Pern. These three book seemed only connected to each other by that planet. I enjoyed all three but they were so separate. My favorite was dragon's dawn...because I hadn't read anything about humans arrival on Pern. I also loved Sean, & sorcha

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has 3 complete stories in it: Dragonsdawn, Dragonseye, and Moreta.

[Chris]

This was a really good book ( even though it was really long) and there were some pretty intense moments in the book. If you have alot of time and like science fiction then read this.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, very well written. I thought the story line flowed very well.

[Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne McCaffrey has written an absolutely wonderful fantasy series. Her Pern novels are beautifully written and very enjoyable individually or as a whole.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was unable to be on site the day Anne McCaffrey visited the office at Random House and I was so bummed. This is an author I grew up reading. However, my team asked her to sign a copy for me!

[Franc Woods]

Moreta was not as good as others. Seemed a bit scattered and eventually predictable.

[Bishop Juneblood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how wonderful Anne McCaffrey's works are.