Moreta

By: Anne McCaffrey

Narrated by: Sheila Hart

Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

An air of pleasant anticipation hung so thickly over the Halls, Holds, and Weyrs of Pern that it had affected even the businesslike ways of Moreta, the Weyrwoman of Fort Weyr. Her dragon, Queen Orlith, would soon clutch; spring had made a glorious debut; the Gather at Ruatha Hold was extremely merry; and Moreta was enjoying the attentions of Alessan, the new Lord Holder of Ruatha Hold.

With only eight Turns remaining before the deadly Thread would cease to Fall, all seemed well on Pern. Then, without warning, a runnerbeast fell ill. Soon myriads of holders, craftsmen, and dragonriders were dying, and the mysterious ailment had spread to all but the most inaccessible holds. Pern was in mortal danger. For, if dragonriders did not rise to char Thread, the parasite would devour any and all organic life it encountered.

The future of the planet rested in the hands of Moreta and the other dedicated, selfless Pern leaders. But of all their problems, the most difficult to overcome was time....

Pay another visit to Pern.

©1983 Anne McCaffrey (P)2005 Brilliance Audio

Critic Reviews

"Sheila Hart reads Moreta with a sensitivity and delicacy that reflect the magical, mythical quality of McCaffrey's dragon legends. Hart's characterization is subtle; vocal styles suggest, rather then impersonate, characters, and male voices are satisfying." ( AudioFile)

Weakest Storyline So Far

What did you like best about Moreta? What did you like least?

This storyline went on and on about the daily problems of wierlife, and the severe depredations of the plague. I kept waiting for them to take the obvious step and simply go back in time to stop the plague from ever starting (they "time it" a lot in this story), but instead they take little steps that are almost meaningless in the scheme of things.

Even at the very end (no details, to avoid a total spoiler), it is clear that a their ability to "time it" meant there was absolutely no need for the finale that was included.

2 people found this helpful

Enjoyable story with good narration.

I have read most, if not all, of the Pern series of books. I chose this as my first audiobook based on its reviews on the narrator. I thought that Sheila Hart did a good job with both male and female parts. However, the characterization of an older female seemed forced at times (as in I noticed that it was a younger narrator voicing a younger character). This was not overly problematic, and I was able to stay immersed in the storyline as much as possible during my 30 minute listening sessions (commute to work). After finishing Moreta, I immediately purchased The White Dragon (the book that hooked me on the series) and narrator reviews were also a major consideration.

2 people found this helpful

not comparable to other Pern novels

The publisher's description summarizes the story well, there isn't much more added in the book other than a re-discovery of immunization and some of the cast dying at the end for no reason I could ascertain. Maybe it solved the problem that otherwise, another chapter would have been needed to neatly wrap up what few loose threads were left.
All in all I kept waiting for something more interesting to happen, and as much as I like other Dragonrider novels, this one felt like wasted effort.

1 person found this helpful

Book and narrater great, end credit wrong!

Ms. Hart does a great job at narrating Moreta, a book I've always loved. So it is a but disconcerting to hear on the leadout announcement that the book was narrated by "Dick Hill." Uh--big booboo! Was that an actual "Brilliance Audio End-Credit or an Audible Plug-In? I hardly can believe that Brilliance Audio would release a book with such an error.

1 person found this helpful

Another amazing Pernish saga!

I love Anne McCaffery’s epic storytelling and her picturesque verbiage allows me to be an active participant in the story as I devour every word. I love revisiting every story by following each character’s exciting story.

Moreta is one such tale where dragons are a major part of the lives of her family, friends and relations as they use gifts like ‘mind-speech’ and converse with the dragons that help them all interact with patience and confidence ensuring everyone getting what is needed.

Wholeheartedly recommend this lovely book if your into dragons and fantasy stories. Anne McCaffery definitely uses generational familial histories, giving the reader a look into the lives of the people’s or other souls that take care of the main characters.

One of the best!

Another trip into the magical world of Pern. It is so easy to fall into this new time on Pern. A stand alone great!

great book

Love the Pern series I have read them all, now I am listening to them.

Great story and good listen

Great story with good, but outdated, audio quality. The story is engaging throughout with plenty of discoveries to keep the audience intrigued.

Good Story, till the end. :-(

The story is interesting as I've come to expect in this series. Somehow I missed it the first time around through the series.
The reading is well done. But! I do not like the ending. I felt it lacked compassion for the reader. After having invested my interest, and yes my emotions, the ending showed a clear lack of compassion for the reader. Sure there is a nod to smooth it over. It seemed half hearted. The ending left me feeling empty after a wonderful journey.
Do I think one should not read it. No. If you like the series, enjoy the story.
The ending is not the entire story. Simply stated, be prepared.

Really Enjoyable

This was the last Pern book I read as a youth. Now, as it was then, a story of a plague sweeping across Pern was not very interesting, but what was interesting was the characters and how they interacted with each other and with the dragons. That is what makes Pern so much more interesting than many other stories. The world created by Anne McCaffrey is a world rich in culture and character. It draws you in and makes you want to be a part of it. This story is no different than the others in that. It touches you to hear the losses from the plague and the fear and sorrow they bring. Then having your hope restored as the craft halls and dragon riders work together discovering the solution to the problem. Finally the poignant ending leaves you wondering if it is okay to be happy for the characters as they through their grief, start to rebuild their world.