''Dragonquest'' is a science fantasy novel by the American-Irish author

Anne McCaffrey Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926 – 21 November 2011) was an American-Irish writer known for the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction (Best Novella, ''Weyr Search'', 19 ...

. It is the sequel to ''

Dragonflight ''Dragonflight'' is a science fiction novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. It is the first book in the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' series. First published by Ballantine Books in July 1968, it was a fix-up of two novellas which betwe ...

'', set seven years later and the second book in the ''

Dragonriders of Pern ''Dragonriders of Pern'' is a science fantasy series written primarily by American author Anne McCaffrey, who initiated it in 1967. Beginning in 2003, her middle child Todd McCaffrey has written Pern novels, both solo and jointly with Anne. ...

'' series. ''Dragonquest'' was first published by Ballantine Books in May 1971.

Origins

According to her son

Todd Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...

, McCaffrey's agent

Virginia Kidd Virginia Kidd (June 2, 1921 – January 11, 2003) was an American literary agent, writer and editor, who worked in particular in science fiction and related fields. She represented science fiction American authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin, R.A ...

and editor

Betty Ballantine Betty Ballantine (born Elizabeth Jones; September 25, 1919 – February 12, 2019) was an American publisher, editor, and writer. She was born during the Raj to a British colonial family. After her marriage to Ian Ballantine in 1939, she moved ...

provided crucial advice and assistance in her struggle with the sequel to ''Dragonflight''. After the agent first read a draft, the author followed her advice to "burn it", and she met with the editor in long sessions. It was near completion before she emigrated to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in September 1970, with her two younger children Todd and Georgeanne, one month after divorcing her husband. She finished it soon after the move.

Plot summary

As it opens, tensions are rising between the Oldtimers, those dragonriders who came forward in time 400 turns (Pernese years) to help the undermanned contemporary dragonriders protect the planet Pern and its inhabitants from the destructive Thread.

F'nor Characters in the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' series of science fiction novels by Anne McCaffrey. 8th Interval, 9th Pass Major characters AIVAS AIVAS is an advanced computer (Artificial Intelligence Voice Address System). AIVAS was found by Jaxom, ...

(rider of Canth, a Brown dragon that rivals the size of the Bronze dragons) attempts to mediate, but things escalate to the point that an Oldtimer, T'reb (who is disturbed by his green dragon being in heat), stabs

. F'nor is sent to the Southern Continent to recover, where he falls in love with Brekke and discovers the wicked deeds of Weyrwoman Kylara.

F'lar Characters in the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' series of science fiction novels by Anne McCaffrey. 8th Interval, 9th Pass Major characters AIVAS AIVAS is an advanced computer (Artificial Intelligence Voice Address System). AIVAS was found by Jaxom, ...

, F'nor's half-brother, is eventually forced into a duel with T'ron, the leader of the Oldtimers, which ends in banishment for the Oldtimers who will not accept F'lar's leadership and in a grave injury for F'lar. Brekke's queen dragon (Wirenth) rises in mating flight but is attacked by Kylara's queen dragon (Prideth), and both dragons die, leaving their riders in near-catatonic states. Only Brekke recovers, mostly because she can hear other dragons (besides her own queen, Wirenth). With the Lords Holder adamant that the dragonriders attempt to eliminate Thread at its source, F'nor attempts to direct himself and his dragon, Canth, to the Red Star, but they find the atmosphere inhospitable, and they fall back to Pern, badly injured. Brekke's cry for F'nor not to leave her was also the inspiration for a song by

Menolly Characters in the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' series of science fiction novels by Anne McCaffrey. 8th Interval, 9th Pass Major characters AIVAS AIVAS is an advanced computer (Artificial Intelligence Voice Address System). AIVAS was found by Jaxom, ...

, after she found that a certain guitar chord sounded amazingly like Brekke's voice when she screamed. This is chronicled in ''

Dragonsinger ''Dragonsinger'' is a young adult science fiction novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. Published by Atheneum Books in 1977, it was the fourth to appear in the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' series written by Anne McCaffrey and her son Tod ...

''.

Awards

''Dragonquest'' was one of six nominees for the 1972

Hugo Award for Best Novel The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published in, or translated to, English during the previous calendar year. The novel award is available for works of fiction of 40,000 ...

(voted by participants in the annual World Science Fiction Convention) and it placed fifth for the 1972

Locus Award for Best Novel Winners of the Locus Award for Best Novel, awarded by ''Locus'' magazine. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The award for Best Novel was presented from 1971 (when the awards began) to 1979. S ...

(voted by

Locus magazine ''Locus: The Magazine of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field'', founded in 1968, is an American magazine published monthly in Oakland, California. It is the news organ and trade journal for the English-language science fiction and fantasy fields ...

readers). The

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

in 1999 cited the two early Pern trilogies (''Dragonriders'' and '' Harper Hall''), along with ''

The Ship Who Sang ''The Ship Who Sang'' (1969) is a science fiction novel by American writer Anne McCaffrey, a fix-up of five stories published 1961 to 1969. By an alternate reckoning, "The Ship Who Sang" is the earliest of the stories, a novelette, which became ...

'', when McCaffrey received the annual

Margaret A. Edwards Award The Margaret A. Edwards Award is an American Library Association (ALA) literary award that annually recognizes an author and "a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature". It is named afte ...

for her "lifetime contribution in writing for teens".

Notes

References

Sources

External links

* * {{Pern stories 1971 novels Dragonriders of Pern books Novels by Anne McCaffrey 1971 fantasy novels 1971 science fiction novels Ballantine Books books