{"product_id":"the-skies-of-pern-isbn-9780345434692","title":"The Skies of Pern","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn this triumphant   return to Pern, Anne McCaffrey takes us on an adventure as surprising and unforgettable   as any that has come before . . .\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It is a time of hope and regret, of endings and   beginnings. The Red Star, that celestial curse whose eccentric orbit was responsible   for Thread, has been shifted to a harmless orbit, and the current Threadfall will   be the last. Technological marvels are changing the face of life on Pern. And the   dragonriders, led by F'lessan, son of F'lar and Lessa and rider of bronze Golanth,   and Tia, rider of green Zaranth, must forge a new place for themselves in a world   that may no longer need them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But change is not easy for everyone. There are those   who will stop at nothing—not even violence—to keep Pern and its people pure. And   now a brand-new danger looms from the skies . . . and threatens a catastrophe of   unimaginable proportions. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Once again, the world looks to the dragons and their   riders to solve the crisis and save the world. But now, as the friendship of F'lessan   and Tia begins to bloom into something more, unforeseen tragedy strikes: a tragedy   destined to forever change the future—not just of the two young lovers, but of every   human and dragon on Pern . . .“SUPERB STORYTELLING AND ENGAGING CHARACTERS . . .McCaffrey’s most popular series takes on a new dimension with the latest installment, as familiar characters feel the weight of their years, giving way to a new generation of humans and their dragon companions.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e–Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The continuing evolution of this world is carefully handled and always fascinating. . . . Multifaceted as the eyes of their dragons, these novels offer romance, adventure, medieval pageantry, intrigue . . . [and] a satisfyingly complex society. In \u003ci\u003eThe Skies of Pern\u003c\/i\u003e, McCaffrey serves up a buffet which can satisfy virtually anyone who steps up to its table.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e–SciFi Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnne McCaffrey\u003c\/b\u003e, one of the world’s most popular authors, is best known for her Dragonriders of Pern® series. She was the first woman to win the two top prizes for science fiction writing, the Hugo and Nebula awards. She was also given the American Library Association’s Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement in Young Adult Fiction, was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, and was named a Science Fiction Writers of America Nebula Grand Master. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1926, McCaffrey relocated to Ireland in the 1970s, where she lived in a house of her own design, named Dragonhold-Underhill. She died in 2011.Part 1 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTURNOVER\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTurnover at Landing—1.1.31 Present Pass Aivas—Aivas Adjusted Turn 2553\u003cbr\u003eSince it was not at all unusual for dragonriders to be found poring over\u003cbr\u003ethe volumes in the extensive Aivas archives, F’lessan, rider of bronze\u003cbr\u003eGolanth, was not surprised to see a girl wearing the shoulder knots of a\u003cbr\u003egreen rider from Monaco Bay deeply engrossed in study. What did strike\u003cbr\u003ehim as odd was that anyone at all was here in the main archive reading\u003cbr\u003eroom during Turnover. Tonight the planet, north and south continents,\u003cbr\u003ewould officially celebrate the beginning of the thirty-second Turn of\u003cbr\u003ethe present and, hopefully, final Pass of Threadfall. Even through the\u003cbr\u003ethick walls of the building, he could hear drums and occasionally the\u003cbr\u003esound of the brass instruments from Landing’s Gather Square.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhy wasn’t the girl, especially a green rider, out dancing? Why wasn’t\u003cbr\u003ehe? He grimaced. He was still trying to overcome the carelessly lustful\u003cbr\u003ereputation that he had earned early in this Pass. Not that he was any\u003cbr\u003edifferent from many bronze and brown riders. “Just more noticeable,”\u003cbr\u003eMirrim had told him in her candid fashion. Mirrim had astonished\u003cbr\u003eeveryone, including herself, when she had Impressed green Path at a\u003cbr\u003eBenden Weyr Hatching. Being T’gellan’s weyrmate had mellowed her natural\u003cbr\u003eassertiveness, but she never spared him her blunt opinions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe girl was engrossed in her study of a foldout page depicting Rukbat’s\u003cbr\u003eplanetary system, spread across the tilted reading desk. Not everyone’s\u003cbr\u003ereading choice certainly, F’lessan thought.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMany of the younger riders, who would see the end of this Pass in\u003cbr\u003esixteen Turns, were studying to become proficient in another craft. In\u003cbr\u003ethat way they would be able to support themselves once the traditional\u003cbr\u003etithe to the Weyrs ceased. While Thread still fell, Hold and Hall would\u003cbr\u003econtinue to support the dragonriders, in exchange for aerial protection\u003cbr\u003eagainst the voracious organism that could destroy anything but metal and\u003cbr\u003estone. But when Thread ceased, so would that support. Those riders whose\u003cbr\u003efamilies owned holds or halls might simply be reabsorbed, but weyrbred\u003cbr\u003edragonriders like F’lessan had to find another way. Fortunately for\u003cbr\u003eF’lessan, he had discovered Honshu, in the foothills of the great\u003cbr\u003eSouthern moun- tain range, and since the Weyrs had wrung out of the\u003cbr\u003ecouncil that loosely governed the planet the concession that\u003cbr\u003edragonriders might claim holdings on the Southern continent, F’lessan\u003cbr\u003ehad claimed Honshu as his. He had based most of his argument on the fact\u003cbr\u003ethat he intended to restore and preserve the Ancient habitation and its\u003cbr\u003esplendors for everyone to enjoy. He had used every ounce of his\u003cbr\u003econsiderable charm and every jot of guile with other Weyrleaders,\u003cbr\u003eCraftmasters, and Lord Holders in order to secure that title to himself.\u003cbr\u003eAnd once the formidable intelligence of the Artificial Intelligence\u003cbr\u003eVoice Address System—Aivas—and the combined might of all the Weyrs of\u003cbr\u003ePern had diverted the orbit of the menacing Red Star, he had begun to\u003cbr\u003espend all the time he could spare from his duties as a Benden Wingleader\u003cbr\u003ein refurbishing Honshu.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eF’lessan had never been a studious youngster—his interests as well as\u003cbr\u003ehis concentration span had been limited to escaping lessons whenever he\u003cbr\u003ecould and having the greatest amount of fun. Impressing bronze Golanth\u003cbr\u003ehad imposed discipline at last, because there was no way he would\u003cbr\u003eneglect his dragon. He had learned a determination and focus that had\u003cbr\u003eresulted in his becoming one of the most adept riders, held up as a fine\u003cbr\u003eexample—at least of riding—by weyrlingmasters.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHonshu had become another passion. The Ancient holding, with the\u003cbr\u003esplendid murals in its main hall, had exerted a strange compulsion on\u003cbr\u003ehim from the start: to preserve the ancient treasures found there and to\u003cbr\u003ediscover as much as possible about its founders and residents. With the\u003cbr\u003eboyish impudence that was his most ingenuous characteristic, he had\u003cbr\u003eappointed himself Honshu’s guardian and caretaker. He had worked harder\u003cbr\u003ethan anyone else in clearing out the muck and mold and restoring the\u003cbr\u003efabric of the place. Tonight he had a puzzle he wanted to solve. He had\u003cbr\u003especifically chosen this time to come to the Aivas facility, hoping to\u003cbr\u003ebe its sole visitor. He preferred not to share his research—his\u003cbr\u003efascination with Honshu was at odds with his reputation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou protect Honshu. I like being there very much, said his dragon,\u003cbr\u003eGolanth, from where he had settled himself in the hot noontime sun among\u003cbr\u003ethe dragons who had brought their riders to Landing’s Turnover\u003cbr\u003efestivities. Good sunning places, clear water, and many fat herdbeasts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStill paused quietly on the threshold of the reading room, F’lessan\u003cbr\u003egrinned. You found it. We’ll keep it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYes, Golanth agreed amiably.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eF’lessan stuffed his riding gloves into the Turnover gift of a fine\u003cbr\u003ecarisak, giving the wide cuffs a good push; the new wher-hide leather\u003cbr\u003ewas stiff, despite the good oiling he had given it yesterday evening.\u003cbr\u003eThe carisak had been presented to him by Lessa and F’lar. He rarely\u003cbr\u003ethought of them as “mother” or “father”: they were his Weyrleaders, and\u003cbr\u003ethat was more relevant. His birthing day, his Impression Day—the day\u003cbr\u003emarking the advent of Golanth into his life—and Turnover were, however,\u003cbr\u003ealways recognized by some gift from them. F’lessan didn’t know if this\u003cbr\u003ewas occasioned by their need to remind him of his parents, or themselves\u003cbr\u003eof their son. Fostering was the rule in a weyr, so no child was without\u003cbr\u003eseveral people, not necessarily the birth parents, who took special\u003cbr\u003einterest in him or her. As F’lessan grew up and saw how easygoing life\u003cbr\u003ewas in a weyr, and the conformity required of children in the holds, he\u003cbr\u003ewas as glad he’d been weyrbred.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe gave the gloves one more shove to store them completely, but still he\u003cbr\u003ehesitated to enter the room. He didn’t want to disturb the single reader\u003cbr\u003ewho was so engrossed in her study that she was unaware of him standing\u003cbr\u003ethere.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNo one has ever disliked your company, said his dragon.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI don’t like to break into such concentration, F’lessan replied. How do\u003cbr\u003ewe know she isn’t studying an alternative occupation for After?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDragons will always be needed on Pern, Golanth said stoutly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGolanth was fond of making that observation. Almost as if Golanth, too,\u003cbr\u003eneeded to reassure himself. Maybe it was just the mind-set of a bronze\u003cbr\u003edragon—or more likely Mnementh’s in particular, since F’lar’s great\u003cbr\u003ebronze took a keen interest in the subtle tuition of any bronzes hatched\u003cbr\u003eon Benden’s sands. However, succeeding F’lar as Weyrleader of Benden was\u003cbr\u003emost certainly not in F’lessan’s future plans. F’lessan earnestly hoped\u003cbr\u003ethat F’lar would lead the Weyr out of this Pass: a triumph in itself,\u003cbr\u003eover and above what F’lar had done at its beginning with the slender\u003cbr\u003eforce he’d had available then. Being Wingleader suited F’lessan’s blithe\u003cbr\u003epersonality, especially now that he had claimed Honshu as his special\u003cbr\u003edomain. Now, if the Weyrleaders—or rather F’lar—would just come out and\u003cbr\u003esay that he and Lessa would retire there, no one would dare contest his\u003cbr\u003eclaim.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUnlike the position of Lord Holders, the Weyrleadership was not\u003cbr\u003ehereditary. A good example was the recent stepping down of R’mart and\u003cbr\u003eBedella of Telgar. To establish the new leadership, the challenge had\u003cbr\u003ebeen for the best bronze in the Weyr to fly the first junior queen ready\u003cbr\u003eto mate. J’fery, rider of bronze Willerth, was now Telgar’s Weyrleader,\u003cbr\u003eand Palla, golden Talmanth’s rider, was Weyrwoman. F’lessan knew them\u003cbr\u003eboth well, and knew they would lead Telgar Weyr well under Threadfree\u003cbr\u003eskies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf we don’t make the arrogant mistakes that the Oldtimers did, F’lessan\u003cbr\u003eadded to himself, and expect to continue receiving the perquisites due\u003cbr\u003ethe Weyrs during a Pass, once there is no more Thread.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA movement brought him back to the present. The girl’s boots scraped\u003cbr\u003eover the stone floor as she recrossed her ankles. She was hunched\u003cbr\u003eforward over the reading desk and now leaned her elbows on the table.\u003cbr\u003eHer profile was well lit by the softly disseminated light, and she had\u003cbr\u003ethinned her lips over whatever it was she was reading. She frowned, then\u003cbr\u003esighed over the wide page. F’lessan saw the well-defined arch of a black\u003cbr\u003eeyebrow as her frown relaxed. She had a long and very delicately formed\u003cbr\u003enose, he observed with mild approval. Her hair, a midbrown sparking with\u003cbr\u003ered as she moved, was clipped short on top to reduce sweating under her\u003cbr\u003ehelmet. Left long at the nape of her neck, the wavy mass reached halfway\u003cbr\u003edown her back, where it was neatly cut off in a straight line.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe turned her head abruptly, suddenly aware of his scrutiny.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Sorry. Thought I’d have the place to myself,” F’lessan said genially,\u003cbr\u003estriding forward, his dress shoes making very little sound on the stone\u003cbr\u003efloor.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHer startlement suggested to him that she, too, had thought she could\u003cbr\u003estudy in solitary quiet. She was in the act of pushing back her chair\u003cbr\u003ewhen he held out a hand to prevent her from rising. Most riders knew who\u003cbr\u003ehe was: he made a habit of flying Thread with the two southern Weyrs and\u003cbr\u003eusually attended every Impression. The latter was sheer indulgence on\u003cbr\u003ehis part, for at each Impression, he and Golanth reaffirmed their\u003cbr\u003elifelong commitment to each other.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNow that he could see her full face, he recognized her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“You’re Tai, aren’t you? Zaranth’s rider?” he asked, hoping he\u003cbr\u003eremembered rightly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou always do, Golanth murmured.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe’d Impressed, unexpectedly, nearly five Turns ago at Monaco Bay.\u003cbr\u003eShe’d come south, though he couldn’t remember from where. There had been\u003cbr\u003eso many people flooding through Landing since Aivas was discovered in\u003cbr\u003e2538. While she couldn’t be much older than her mid twenties, he\u003cbr\u003ewondered if she’d been part of the workforce during those astonishing\u003cbr\u003efive Turns of Aivas. After all, Aivas had demonstrated a distinct bias\u003cbr\u003efor green dragons and their riders.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eF’lessan stepped forward, extending his hand to her. She looked\u003cbr\u003eembarrassed, dropping her eyes as soon as their hands had clasped\u003cbr\u003epolitely. Her handshake was firm, if brisk almost to the point of\u003cbr\u003erudeness, and he could feel some odd ridges, scars, on the back of her\u003cbr\u003ehand and on her forefinger. She wasn’t pretty; she didn’t act sensual,\u003cbr\u003ethe way some green riders did, and she was only half a head shorter than\u003cbr\u003ehe was. She wasn’t too thin, but the lack of flesh on her bones gave her\u003cbr\u003ea slightly boyish appearance.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I’m F’lessan, Golanth’s rider, of Benden.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Yes,” she said, shooting him a sharp look. Her eyes were set at an\u003cbr\u003eunusual upward slant, but she looked away so quickly he couldn’t see\u003cbr\u003ewhat color they were. Oddly enough, she flushed. “I know.” She seemed to\u003cbr\u003egather breath to continue. “Zaranth just told me that Golanth had\u003cbr\u003eapologized for disturbing her nap on the ledge.” She flicked him another\u003cbr\u003ealmost contrite glance, awkwardly clasping her left wrist with her right\u003cbr\u003ehand so that the knuckles turned white.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eF’lessan grinned in his most ingratiating fashion. “By nature, Golanth\u003cbr\u003eis very considerate.” He gave a little bow and gestured toward the\u003cbr\u003evolume open on the reading desk. “Don’t let me disturb your studies.\u003cbr\u003eI’ll be over there.” He pointed to the far right.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe could just as easily work in the alcove as in the main room and not\u003cbr\u003eintrude on her solitude. In no time at all he had collected three of the\u003cbr\u003erecords he thought most likely to contain the information he sought, and\u003cbr\u003ebrought them to the smaller reading desk in the alcove. A narrow window\u003cbr\u003egave him a view of the eastern hills and the barest sparkle of the sea.\u003cbr\u003eHe seated himself, placed the piece of paper that he had brought with\u003cbr\u003ehim on the table, and started riffling through the thinly coated plastic\u003cbr\u003epages of the COM Tower records. He was looking for one name: Stev\u003cbr\u003eKimmer, listed in the colony records as Stakeholder on Bitkim Island,\u003cbr\u003enow called Ista Hold. He needed to find any connection between Kimmer\u003cbr\u003eand Kenjo Fusaiyuki, who had been the original Honshu Stakeholder.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn his careful clearing of debris in the ancient dwelling place, he had\u003cbr\u003efound the initials SK carved or etched on several surfaces: on the metal\u003cbr\u003eworktop in the garage of the ancient sled and on several drawers. No\u003cbr\u003eother inhabitant had defaced or initialed anything. The only SK not\u003cbr\u003elisted as going north in the Second Crossing—when the Thread-beleaguered\u003cbr\u003ecolonists had resettled at Fort—was Stev Kimmer. Previous research\u003cbr\u003erevealed that the man had disappeared with a sled after Ted Tubberman’s\u003cbr\u003eillegal launch of an appeal for help from old Earth. Kimmer had not been\u003cbr\u003eseen again. The loss of a functional sled had been officially regretted;\u003cbr\u003eKimmer’s absence had not.","brand":"Del Rey","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301375660261,"sku":"NP9780345434692","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780345434692.jpg?v=1767741538","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-skies-of-pern-isbn-9780345434692","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}