Questions tagged [pern]
For questions about "Pern", the planet that serves as a backdrop to Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series. Originally an acronym for "Parallel to Earth Resources Negligible" The planet is periodically ravaged by a space-borne mycorrhizoid spore which is burned out of the sky by dragons.
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Why did Sebell need to know how to pass for a seaholder?
I just re-read Dragonsinger for the umpteenth time yesterday (on Anne McCaffrey's birthday, natch). Something that I've often wondered about, but never pursued before now, is why does Sebell ask ...
6
votes
1answer
162 views
How is a dragonlength a reliable measure of length on Pern?
In the post-dragon society of Pern, a common measurement of length is called "a dragonlength", which seems to be somewhere 20 meters or 50-60 feet. However, the size of dragons varies greatly by color,...
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votes
1answer
136 views
Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight: Originally a Lost Colony prelude?
Did Anne McCaffrey's original 1968 Dragonflight include the Lost Colony prelude? To the best of my recollection it did, but I don't have the original handy any more, and I've came across online ...
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1answer
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How did animals survive Threadfall on Pern?
During a threadfall, the people holed themselves up in their Holds, and the Dragons flamed the Thread from the sky. But we see many instances of riders and dragons and other people getting injured ...
7
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1answer
254 views
Was Anne McCaffrey the first person to have different types of dragons be different colours?
It has become something of a trope to have different types of dragons be different colours. You have Gold, Bronze, Brown, Green and Blue on Anne McCaffrey's Pern, and at least ten different species in ...
3
votes
1answer
396 views
What “sad thing” did Aramina hear?
From the last chapter of The Renegades of Pern, slightly abridged:
Lessa greeted her warmly, expressing delight that Aramina had rediscovered her ability to contact Dragons. Upon questioning, it ...
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2answers
3k views
Homosexuality on Pern
TLDR - Are all male green riders homosexual or bisexual? If they are not, then how do those riders handle unwanted same sex encounters during their dragons mating flight, and why do the weyrs ...
9
votes
1answer
695 views
What about all the dragon-poop?
Was there ever a definitive description of how dragons and fire lizards defecate and what was done about it? I have read some descriptions saying that they do so between, while other sources stated ...
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votes
2answers
814 views
Is thread theoretically possible? [closed]
In the Dragonriders of Pern series there is an extraterrestrial substance known as Thread. This Thread is nasty stuff that is introduced to the planet of Pern by a rogue planetoid moving close enough ...
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2answers
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Green dragon riders sexual encounters in Pern series?
Did green dragon riders have homosexual encounters with the other male dragon riders when their greens were flying?
In The White Dragon, when Mirrim's Green was proddy, the other dragon riders were ...
8
votes
2answers
361 views
Were firearms ever used in the Dragonriders of Pern series?
Having read the books some time ago, I am under the impression that firearms are never used or mentioned in the Dragonriders of Pern series.
In support of this idea, the villains in Dragon's Dawn do ...
10
votes
1answer
760 views
Life Cycle of Thread: Ground phase?
In the Dragonriders of Pern books, the dragon riders burn the Thread before it hits the ground, Ground troops with acid/flame throwers then kill any which does before it can burrow into the ground. In ...
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Are “agenothree” flame-throwers ever described as igniting the liquid?
Reading Anne McCaffrey's Dragonrider novels back in the day, I always pictured the "agenothree" flame-throwers borne by the queen riders as spraying flame at the falling thread.
Later in the series, ...
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2answers
12k views
What is the chronological order of the Dragonriders of Pern series?
I've read most of the books, more or less in published order, but I've gotten rather confused with the timeline jumps that occur in the series.
What is the in-universe chronological order of the ...
