About this item
Bringing fresh wonders and dangers to light in the skies of Pern Anne McCaffrey and her son Todd who demonstrated his writing talents in the bestselling novels Dragons Kin and Dragonsblood return with their second collaboration a thrilling adventure of discovery and fatePellar is an orphan taken in by Masterharper Zist Though born mute Pellar is a gifted tracker and when Zist sets off to take over as harper for Natalons coal-mining camp Pellaralong with his fire-lizard Chitterjoins him on a secret mission of his own to find out if reported thefts of coal are the work of the Shunned criminals condemned to a life of wandering and hardshipHalla is one of the children of the Shunned Though innocent of their parents crimes these children have inherited their cruel punishment Lack of food shelter and clothes is their lot hope is unknown to them And what future would they hope for Without a hold to call their own there will be no protection for them when the lethal Thread inevitably falls again Life is even tougher for Halla Her family gone she must fend for herself Yet despite the brutality of her surroundings Halla is kind and gentle devoted to those more helpless than she As depraved as Halla is good Tenim is in league with Tarik a crooked miner from Camp Natalon who helps him steal coal in exchange for a cut of the profit But Tenim soon realizes there is a lot more to be made from firestone the volatile mineral that enables the dragons of Pern to burn Thread out of the sky Tenim doesnt care what he has to do or whom he has to kill in order to corner the marketCristov is Tariks son Dishonored by his fathers greed and treachery the boy must make amends somehow even if it means risking his life by mining the volatile firestone which detonates on contact with the slightest drop of moistureWhen the last remaining firestone mine explodes in flames a desperate race begins to find a new deposit of the deadly but essential mineral for without it there can be no defense against Thread But Tenim has a murderous plan to turn tragedy to his own advantage and only Pellar Halla and Cristov can stop himand ensure that there will be a future for all on the world of the Dragonriders.
About the Author
Anne McCaffrey was born on April 1st, 1926, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her parents were George Herbert McCaffrey, BA, MA PhD (Harvard) , Colonel USA Army (retired) , and Anne Dorothy McElroy McCaffrey, estate agent. She had two brothers: Hugh McCaffrey (deceased 1988) , Major US Army, and Kevin Richard McCaffrey, still living. Anne was educated at Stuart Hall in Staunton Virginia, Montclair High School in Montclair, New Jersey, and graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College, majoring in Slavonic Languages and Literatures. Her working career included Liberty Music Shops and Helena Rubinstein (1947-1952) . She married in 1950 and had three children: Alec Anthony, b. 1952, Todd, b.1956, and Georgeanne, b.1959. Anne McCaffrey's first story was published by Sam Moskowitz in Science Fiction Magazine and her first novel was published by Ballantine Books in 1967. By the time the three children of her marriage were comfortably in school most of the day, she had already achieved enough success with short stories to devote full time to writing. Her first novel, Restoree, was written as a protest against the absurd and unrealistic portrayals of women in s-f novels in the 50s and early 60s. It is, however, in the handling of broader themes and the worlds of her imagination, particularly the two series The Ship Who Sang and the fourteen novels about the Dragonriders of Pern that Ms. McCaffrey's talents as a story-teller are best displayed. She died at the age of 85, after suffering a massive stroke on 21 November 2011. Obituaries:
