Dragonsdawn

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Dragonsdawn

First edition cover
Author Anne McCaffrey
Country United States
Language English
Series Dragonriders of Pern
Genre(s) Science fiction
Publisher Del Rey
Publication date August 1989
Media type Print
Pages 367
ISBN ISBN 0-345-36286-1
Preceded by Nerilka's Story
Followed by Renegades of Pern

Dragonsdawn is a science fiction novel in the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. It was first published in 1989.

While the Dragonriders of Pern series is recognized as science fiction (due to its origin discussing the nature of the star Rukbat and its planetary system), many of its elements in the earlier books were primarily fantasy in origin. Dragonsdawn clearly establishes the science fiction nature of the series by defining the science behind Anne McCaffrey's dragons.

[edit] Synopsis

The planet Pern seemed a paradise to its new colonists -- seeking to return to an agrarian-based simpler way of life, Admiral Paul Benden, Governor Emily Boll and the rest of the colonists had selected Pern as a place to leave their recent wars and troubles behind. Shortly after arriving on the planet, however, a far more serious threat appeared - Thread.

With time running out and the colony's destruction imminent, geneticist Kitti Ping Yung and her daughter Wind Blossom set out to bio-engineer Pernese lifeforms that appear to instinctively react to the Thread - the dragonets that colonists have adopted as pets. In order to ensure the survival of the newly designed species, as well as reduce the possible threat they may have to the colonists by going rogue, they are created with an ability to bond with humans. By the end of the book, Sorka Hanrahan and Sean Connell and a few other young colonists become the first of the dragonriders.

[edit] Themes

  • Food
  • Childbirth (both human and dragon, both literal and metaphoric)

[edit] Trivia

  • Published in the UK by Bantam Press in 1988 as Dragonsdawn: The First Chronicles of the Colony of Pern.