Original Dragonriders of Pern (abridged)

The sole survivor of a noble ruling family, Lessa is an outcast—a strong young woman who has never stopped dreaming of revenge for her murdered parents. Everything changes when she meets a queen dragon. The bond they share will be deep and last forever. It will protect them when, for the first time in centuries, Lessa's world is threatened by Thread, an evil substance that falls like rain and destroys everything it touches. Dragons and their Riders once protected the planet from Thread, but there are very few of them. Now Lessa must risk her life, and her dragon, to save her world.

To the nobles who live in Benden Weyr, Lessa is nothing but a ragged kitchen girl. For most of her life, she has survived by serving those who betrayed her father and took over his lands. Now the time has come for Lessa to shed her disguise and take back her stolen birthright. But everything changes when she meets a queen dragon. The bond they share will be deep and last forever. It will protect them when, for the first time in centuries, Lessa's world is threatened by Thread, an evil substance that falls like rain and destroys everything it touches.

Another Turn, and the deadly silver Threads begin falling again. So the bold dragonriders take to the air once more and their magnificent flying dragons swirl and swoop, belching flames that destroy the shimmering strands before they reach the ground.

It has been seven years since Lessa's heroic journey through time to bring the five lost Weyrs of Dragonriders into Pern's future to save their world. Now, the deadly silver Threads are falling again. F'lar, the Weyrleader at Benden Weyr, knows he must find a better way to protect his beloved Pern. F'lar's brother, F'nor, and his brown dragon, Canth, hatch a bold plan to destroy the alien scourge at its source—the baleful Red Star that fills the heavens and promises doom to all. The bold Dragonriders take to the air once more.

In the world of Pern, Harpers are more powerful than kings, for the music they play can control the minds of others. For young Menolly, her dreams of becoming a Harper have nothing to do with power, but rather her love of music. But as the Hall's first female apprentice, Menolly must contend with the Master Harper who gives her a difficult time because of her gender. As Menolly begins to despair, she finds help in the shape of nine bright allies and learns that her musical talents may prove more powerful than anyone could imagine.

Pursuing her dream to be a Harper of Pern, Menolly studies under the Masterharper and quickly learns that more is required than knowledge of music and a clever way with words. The Masterharper gives her a difficult time simply because she is a young woman, and she manages to alienate more of her fellow harpers than she makes friends. Menolly must rise up and prove that a woman is just as capable as any of her male fellow students - and if she can, she will shape the future of Pern.

In the world of Pern, there are few things more important than the ability to sing and write songs. But when Piemur's voice changes, he is given a new task. Pern is in danger once again, and Piemur is assigned a bold mission to the Southern Hold. He must learn the Oldtimers' secret and help Pern rediscover its lost heritage.

From Anne McCaffrey comes a collection of captivating short stories that focuses on everything from spaceship adventure and shifting time-storms to ghosts and romance. The title story, set in the world of the Dragonriders of Pern series, tells of Aramina, a teenage girl who hears dragons and is relentlessly pursued for her ability. Aramina's mother fears losing her daughter completely to the life of a dragonrider, but McCaffrey has another fate in mind for her young heroine.

The beautiful planet Pern seemed a paradise to its new colonists—a return to an agrarian way of life—until unimaginable terror turned it into hell. Lethal spores began to fall like silvery thread-like rain from the sky, vaporizing everything—and everyone—in their path. The colony, cut off from Earth and lacking the resources to combat the menace, was doomed.