Dragonsdawn (A Novel of Pern)

Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey is the first book in her dragon books about the planet Pern. It was not the first written, but it is in the history of Pern, the first.

The book begins with the space ships holding the people who will settle on Pern - the only people other than the original survey team 200 years ago - to set foot on the planet. The colonists signed up to go to Pern because they were tired of the way Earth and its settled neighbors had been depleted. On Pern they will do their best to live in harmony with the planet instead of destroying it.

Fire-lizards are one of the first animal species found. A cross between a lizard and the mythical dragon, fire-lizards are soon the favorite pet of everyone on Pern. Which is fortunate when, eight years after landing, a strange Thread falls from the sky burning every organic thing in its path. The fire-lizards help to fight the Thread by burning them with their dragon breath.

The new settlers will have to learn to cope with this new and potentially devastating problem if they are to survive their new life on Pern. Of course, with the 18+ books that McCaffrey has written about life on Pern, there is hope that the colonists will survive.

McCaffrey, Anne. (1988). Dragonsdawn. New York: Del Rey Books.