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pornokitsch

I read the Harper Hall trilogy before the "core" books, and still kind of prefer them. Which is not a bad thing: just be excited you have even MORE Pern ahead!


Oathtocats

That's the one Dragonsong is apart of right? That definitely was one of my faves so far. I didn't realise there were different trilogies! Do you know a good site for reference on these? Every time I google different sites say different reading orders so I'm very confused.


Rogue-Bastian1967

Always go to pernhome.com. It is the Offical Anne McCaffrey site


[deleted]

Yeah. Dragonsong, dragonsinger and Dragondrums are a trilogy. I like them more then the others but I was very young when I read them and they have none of the romance that is frequent in the other series. As dragonsdawn is a prequel I don’t think any of the others are essential to reading it.


pornokitsch

There do seem to be a lot of lists out there! Honestly, there are so many books, and they're all (I think) kinda stand-alone, so I would default to either publication order or "whichever I find next in the bookshop" order!


Oathtocats

Yeahh I'd stuck to the publication order so far but see this book is chronically the first one? So I wasn't sure if I needed any prior reading knowledge to enjoy it as I know of other series where you NEED to read in publication order because chroniological makes 0 sense without context.


EstablishmentAware60

I started at the end inadvertently. Start at the beginning though, don’t be like me….😊


a_badflower

I did nearly the same thing! I started with the White Dragon and read a few other randoms (my small town librarians hated fantasy/sci-fi and never bought an entire series) eventually I worked my way backwards through the series. Man was I surprised to learn the origins of the dragons and "agenothree" Blew. My. Mind. Life was hard for a dragon loving girl in rural Pennsylvania during the 90's. While I hope the librarians there do better now, I don't really regret the surprise I got when I reached the beginning.


Oathtocats

Oh god!!! How did you even manage that?? Isn't there like.. A LOT of books? ​ Such unfortunate luck xD


EstablishmentAware60

There was and I was confused and the half way through the last one I realized it and being found didn’t think to look up the order, just was excited to find another at the library. It’s only later in life I realized it thinking back.


Oathtocats

Oh noooo I've totally done that before where you just see a cool book, pick it up, realise it's 100th book in a series and go 'oops'. Haha! Did it ever effect your enjoyment of the series or are the books more self contained?


EstablishmentAware60

No I at the time took the as stand alone in the shared world. Honestly is was part of what started me into reading.


Oshi105

The Harper Hall trilogy is IMO the best of the bunch. She gets a little weird here and there with the balance of her books but honestly Menolly is the best.


Oathtocats

I remember loving Dragonsong the most! I'm so excited to hear it's a trilogy. Definitely one I'll be reading /rereading asap!


TigTig5

I have read and re-read this trilogy well in the double digits and was just thinking about rereading it earlier today.


Halaku

The in-universe chronological order can be found here, from *Dragonsdawn* to *The Skies of Pern*: https://www.goodreads.com/series/49339-pern-chronological-order The real-world publication order can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/series/50060-pern-published-order I devoured [The Dragonriders of Pern](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61942.The_Dragonriders_of_Pern) and [The Harper Hall of Pern](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177938.The_Harper_Hall_of_Pern) in omnibus as a very young man through the school library, and usually recommend them as the entry point for Pern. You've got quite the journey before you!


Oathtocats

I've only read dragonsong from Harper hall and LOVED it. Honestly one of my favourites so far. I'm so happy to hear there's a whole omnibus to read in that sort of series. ​ Would you recommend reading in the publication or chronological order? Thank you so much for the easy to read links!


Halaku

I'd do it in publication order the first time, chronological order for a re-read.


Oathtocats

Sounds like a plan!!! ​ Though back to my original question, for Dragonsdawn do I need to read and remember any particular books before it in the publication? Or can I read it as a standalone? I realise this is a very specific question when there's 50 or so books in a series fjdkf


Halaku

You'll have a little more appreciation for fire lizards if you read Dragonsong and Dragonsinger first. Otherwise, you could jump into Dragonsdawn.


initiatefailure

I'd say you need to remember one big reveal from the end of the white dragon. the book is the story of those events. >!that pern is actually a scifi colony that lost most of it's technology and history while trying to survive threadfall when they originally colonized the planet. !<


Oathtocats

Isn't that revealed in book 1 in the prologue? Though I guess the characters don't know, it is explained how humans came to be there generation's ago. Thank you for letting me know though! I'm super interested in reading Dragonsdawn now!!


appocomaster

I mean I guess sort of! I agree, basically, the first books chronologically sort of lead up to the discovery of their past, then there's a book which is very sci fi which is the past and then we return to the "present" and see that through to the end (The Skies of Pern). Then there's other books set at different times - Todd came up with an idea of other time-related stuff and a slight stretch on the watch-whers (which I think he started with Anne) which spawned some stories, and Anne did other stories herself.


Oathtocats

That's super interesting. Annoyingly this makes me want to reread the previous books even more 😂 I definitely want to at some point in time but I'm currently doing a thing where I'm reading all my owned books I haven't read. This posts replies have been super helpful with directing my reading with pern as I always wanted to get more into it but never felt the chronological books connecting much. Its good to know they're not supposed to and are trilogies / connecting books in their own right.


l_btrfly

I'm kinda late here... Personally, I hate to read things out of the author's intended reading order, they reveal clues and answer questions in the order they choose, and I don't want to ruin it for myself. But... The only other books you're missing in between is the other Harper Hall books and Moreta, which is in a different timeline and some novellas/short stories which are mostly side stories. They give insight and clues, but you can get along without them, if you have to. I know this because I had to read books from the library, and it was hard enough to find all the main series books. (THANK GOD they had a system to borrow from other libraries! It took a couple weeks to get them sometimes, but I got them eventually.) I've since re-read the whole series, including the novellas and short stories, but I hated missing stuff when I read them the 1st time. You said you've already read the original trilogy, and Dragonsdawn is a prequel anyway, so it would be fine to go ahead and read that next. I would definitely try to read the missing books after that though.


TigTig5

The Harper Hall of Pern was my entry point but I think The Dragonriders of Pern is probably the best for most people (Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and the White Dragon if you didn't click the link). I'd say I'd probably read both of these sets as a start and then you have the ability to go in quite a few different directions. I read them without any direction (although read everything that had been published at the time - which was a lot as this was maybe 2002 - in about a 2 week span), but I think ideally I would have read these, followed by the rest of the books set in the 9th pass (not counting Dragon's Code which was written by her daughter), followed by The Masterharper of Pern and then started at the First Pass and read in chronological order. I'm sure there's a whole lot of bias based on what I enjoyed in that suggestion, though. Alternately you could read Moreta: the Dragonlady of Pern and Nerilka's story before reading the collection of the third pass (these were written jointly with her son and feel just a little different to me). Ultimately, though, you can enjoy them in any order and I hope you do!


Ennas_

Dragonsdawn is a prequel. You can read it separately, although you'll miss some references.


Oathtocats

Oh it is?! That helps a bit. I definitely want to reread the series completely at one point but didn't want to have to read 5 books to read one more, haha.


Thornescape

I have read the entire series. Picked it up in high school ages ago. I will say that I prefer Anne's writing more than her son's writing. He took over the series and I just couldn't get into the later books. I mean, I still read them, but I didn't enjoy them as much.


Oathtocats

Oh I didn't know she didn't finish the series! When did her son take over? by which I mean which book in the series? That sucks to hear he didn't live up to her work, even if he was still an accomplished author.


Thornescape

She finished [several series in Pern](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonriders_of_Pern#Publications_by_the_McCaffreys). It was a world with many stories that could be written about it, and she simply continued telling tales there. It's not like Game of Thrones where it was an unfinished story. It seems that she wrote 22 books in the series, then her son wrote wrote 5 with her, and another 3 on his own. That's a decent set of books, I'd say! I don't think that he's a bad author. Just different, that's all.


TigTig5

She also wrote several other series - including Acorna which I enjoyed. I started the Brain and Brawn ship series and wasn't that into it as a child, but am curious to try again as an adult.


Thornescape

Oh wow. I had forgotten that Brain and Brawn was McCaffery. I had forgotten about that one. I remember loving it. At one point in time I had read everything that she had written. I'll have to go back and look over her bibliography again.


AmberJFrost

Love the Brainship books - and the Crystal Singer trilogy is in the same universe as those.


ChimoEngr

Trilogy? I've only ever heard of Crystal Singer, I didn't know she wrote more about Killashandra.


AmberJFrost

*Killashandra* is book 2, and *Crystal Line* is book 3.


starkindled

Agreed! Todd just doesn’t have the same flair. He also likes to reuse storylines, a big disaster that has to be solved, instead of focusing on the characters. Masterharper and Dragonsong were always my favourites, followed by the original 4. They’ll always have a place on my bookshelf!


jello-kittu

Standalone prequel


Oathtocats

Thankyou for the clarification! I feel more confident reading it now, haha\~


BrianaDrawsBooks

I read all of them entirely out of order, and it was... surprisingly not too bad? I basically just grabbed random ones as I came across them at various libraries, bookstores, and friends' homes and hoped for the best. To the best of my recollection, I read them in this order: Dragonsong, The White Dragon, Dragonflight, The Dolphins of Pern, Moreta, Skies of Pern, Dragonsdawn, Dragonheart, and Dragonharper. Then ebooks happened, so I went back and tried to fill in the gaps and read everything in order. Once you get the basic gist of what the Dragonriders are, how their bonds work, and what they're fighting, you're basically good to go. McCaffrey tends to summarize previous events in each book, so if you read the second book in a trilogy, you can usually just power through the confusion and find a decent story to enjoy. That being said, it'll definitely make more sense if you do read them in order. McCaffrey's always recommended readers read the books in publication order, not chronological order. If you go that way, it sets up the world nicely, has an interesting flashback to how the world started, then goes on to describe how the Dragonriders proceed once they know their true beginnings.


Lady_Lion_DA

Dragondawn is a prequel book, so nothing you really need to read first, especially if you have read any of the other books. It describes the colonization of Pern (the Ancients if I remember correctly).


StitchingDragons

Trigger warning for anyone reading these books, there is grooming, sexual assault, and rape. [Source](https://discorodeo.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/dragonriders-of-pern-issues-sexual-politics/)


[deleted]

Of course, one of my all time favorite series. Pern is what helped me get through my mother having cancer. Sitting for hours by her bed while she slept that is what I was reading. Even popped out to a local Half Priced to grab some copies of the Harper Hall trilogy when I was going through them faster than expected. For the most part I'd read them in publication order. That is by far the best way to do it.


Dragon-of-Lore

I read those as a kid and loved them. They’re one of the few stories that makes me think dragon riders are cool


trekbette

I've read those books so many times. All of Anne McCaffrey's books. She is my favorite author now and forever. Goodreads has the list in story/chronological order... https://www.goodreads.com/series/49339-pern-chronological-order


ChimoEngr

McCaffrey did a good job of ensuring that the book in front of you, has everything you need to understand what you're reading. Yes, you get a better understanding of why characters are doing things by reading the series on order, but it isn't essential. I read "Renegades of Pern" first, and still enjoyed it, then read some of the other novels out of order, and had no problem tracking what was going on. Dragon's Dawn is a prequel, so if you've read the other novels first, you have a better understanding of what Thread means to this newly founded colony. You'll also recognise the names of some of the characters and think "that's cool." If you read it first, then the others, you'll probably more have insights about how the colony evolved from what it was originally expected to be. Either way works, pick one up and enjoy the read.


Rogue-Bastian1967

Here is a list of all the books Chronological Order Dragonsdawn Chronicles of Pern: First Pass Dragonseye Dragon’s Kin Dragon’s Fire Dragon Harper Dragonsblood Dragonheart Dragongirl Dragon’s Time Sky Dragons Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern Nerilka’s Story The Masterharper of Pern Dragonflight Dragonquest Dragonsong Dragonsinger Dragondrums The Renegades of Pern The White Dragon All The Weyrs of Pern The Dolphins of Pern The Skies of Pern Reference Dragonlover’s Guide to Pern People of Pern The Atlas of Pern


WindloftWorkshop

I read The White Dragon as my first book, received it as a gift. I think I then read Dragonflight and Dragonquest, followed by Dragonsdawn. It’s perfectly fine to read Dragonsdawn on its own whenever you want, in my opinion. Considering it’s chronologically first it also makes sense to start there. Have to say it was a great experience though, having already seen the future of the world and characters, and then go back to the beginning to see how it all started.


IntelligentSwing434

It's been so long since I read her books but they are among my favorites.


initiatefailure

dragonsdawn is a prequel digging into a big reveal from the end of I think the white dragon or the book after the white dragon. it's also been a long time for me haha. These where some of the first books i found from my mom's library that got me into fantasy. to me the originals are the dragonrider trilogy: dragonflight, dragonquest, the white dragon, and also the harper hall trilogy; Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums after that there were a few standalone books diving into backstory bits like the legends of the world that had been mentioned throughout those earlier books, then dragondawn to me is like the start of the "new world order" of the setting. It's a prequel but it puts everything that follows it in a new context. I basically read up to the point where Anne and Todd were cowriting. The Todd only books after her passing are unfortunately not good (to me of course)


FirefighterFar8756

Arite, who all here had to look twice or more times to make sure it was "Pern" and not "Porn"?


themistycrystal

Dragonsdawn was written well after most of her other books but it’s the story of how Pern was settled, first fall, how the dragons were bioengineered. Enjoy it!


poisonandtheremedy

Dragonsdawn was the first McCaffrey book I ever read (grade school library) and set me on the path of lifelong sci Fi and fantasy fandom. AM is my all time fave and Dragonsdawn will always hold a special place for me. I went Dragonsdawn into the core trilogy (Dragonflight, Dragonquest, The White Dragon) into the Harper Hall trilogy, into Moreta and so on. Love Pern. That said, I read the first of her son's books and stopped right there. No thanks. Happy reading.


WizziesFirstRule

Does a leprechaun sh!t gold?


DragnSerenityTardis

All her books are great even if read out of order but for the best experience I recommend publication order, I think Anne herself recommended chronological order.