''Nerilka's Story'' is a
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
novella
A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
by the American-Irish author
Anne McCaffrey. ''Nerilka's Story'' is the eighth 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. ...
'' volume series.
[. Retrieved 2011-10-09.]
''
Moreta
''Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern'' is a science fiction novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. It was the seventh book published in the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' series.
With this book, McCaffrey jumped 1000 years back in Pern history f ...
'' (1983) and its sequel ''Nerilka'' (1985) are companion stories, in that the latter narrates a second perspective on major events of the former. It was the first work in the series following publication of ''
The Atlas of Pern
''The Atlas of Pern'' by Karen Wynn Fonstad is an authorized companion book to the science fiction Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. It was completed in 1984 based on the first seven Pern novels and collaboration with McCaffrey.
The ...
'', and so is not covered in the Atlas.
Plot summary
Taking a different approach from the previous seven books in the series, ''Nerilka's Story'' has a non-dragonrider and non-harper as its major viewpoint character. It is set during the events detailed in ''
Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern''. Nerilka is the daughter of a Lord Holder who turns her back on her life in an upper-class family and sets out to fight the disease that threatens to kill all humans on Pern. According to a critic for the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', Nerilka makes for an "intelligent, resourceful, selfless and, alas, homely" heroine.
Reception
Critics have called ''Nerilka'' a story with "terse power". It was first published in 1985. The novel reached #7 on
TIME
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
Magazine's Best Sellers list for fiction on April 7 and 21, 1986.
On the
New York Times Best Seller list
''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
for paperbacks, it first appeared on February 22, 1987, at #12,
and reached #11 the week after.
Notes
References
Citations – books
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External links
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{{Authority control
1986 novels
1986 science fiction novels
Dragonriders of Pern books
Novels by Anne McCaffrey
Del Rey books