The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall (Dragonriders of Pern Book 12)

Travel back to the earliest days of Pernese history in this first-ever Dragonriders of Pern short-story collection!Join the original survey team as they explore Pern and decide to recommend it for colonization. Share the terror of the evacuation from the Southern Continent as a flotilla of ships, aided by intelligent, talking dolphins, braves the dreadful currents of the Pernest ocean. Learn how the famous Ruatha Hold was founded, and thrill with the dragonriders as they expand into a second, then a third Weyr. And discover a secret lost in time: the rescue of some of the original colonists before the planet was cut off forever!Building a new life on a distant world, braving the dreaded Thread that falls like silver rain from the sky only to destroy every living thing it touches, flying heroically on the wondrous dragons: The Dragonriders of Pern!

Let the queen of dragons herself take you back to the earliest days of Pernese history as Anne McCaffrey brings to life events that shaped one of the most popular worlds in all of science fiction, in this first-ever Pern short-story collection.


From the Hardcover edition.

Publishers Weekly

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.)

Let the queen of dragons herself take you back to the earliest days of Pernese history as Anne McCaffrey brings to life events that shaped one of the most popular worlds in all of science fiction, in this first-ever Pern short-story collection. Generally the stories are about the relocation and reorganization of the southern colony in response to the "First Pass" of the "Red Star"—an erratic planet that periodically brings a biological menace, in the form of falling thread. The twelfth Dragonriders of Pern book, First Fall shares its early setting only with one previously published book in the series, Dragonsdawn (1988). MacCaffrey places Dragonsdawn and First Fall in a perspective of the ancient history of Pern. Collection of short stories dealing with the early days of the colonization of Pern. Let the queen of dragons herself take you back to the earliest days of Pernese history as Anne McCaffrey brings to life events that shaped one of the most popular worlds in all of science fiction, in this first-ever Pern short-story collection "IT'S THE THIRD planet we want in this pernicious system," Castor said in a totally jaundiced tone, his eyes fixed on the viewscreen.