Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!ra.nrl.navy.mil!chiapp19.algx.com!allegiance!news-out.visi.com!petbe.visi.com!news.octanews.net!green.octanews.net!news-out.octanews.net!news.glorb.com!tdsnet-transit!newspeer.tds.net!feeder.nmix.net!feeder.swcp.com!news.swcp.com!boofura.swcp.com!not-for-mail From: quirk@swcp.com (Taki Kogoma) Newsgroups: alt.fan.pern,news.answers,alt.answers Subject: Welcome to alt.fan.pern (Monthly posting) (Part 1 of 2) Supersedes: Followup-To: alt.fan.pern Date: 15 May 2004 01:00:08 -0600 Organization: Nit-Pickers For a Better Tomorow Afternoon Lines: 1269 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Distribution: world Expires: 06/17/04 01:00:06 Message-ID: Reply-To: quirk@swcp.com (Taki Kogoma) NNTP-Posting-Host: boofura.swcp.com X-Trace: iruka.swcp.com 1084604418 9010 198.59.115.28 (15 May 2004 07:00:18 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@swcp.com NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 15 May 2004 07:00:18 +0000 (UTC) Summary: Introductory material for the alt.fan.pern newsgroup Keywords: Pern, FAQ, Intro Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu alt.fan.pern:40377 news.answers:271290 alt.answers:72894 Posted-By: auto-faq 3.1.1.2q Archive-name: pern-intro/part1 Posting-Frequency:: Monthly URL: http://kumo.swcp.com/~quirk/afp-index.shtml Version: 4.1 This document is now being prepared from the HTML sources used by the WWW version. The WWW version is available at: http://kumo.swcp.com/~quirk/afp-index.shtml "The Dragonriders of Pern(R)" is a Registered Trademark of Anne McCaffrey, etc. WELCOME TO ALT.FAN.PERN! Contents of Part 1: (Dates indicate last time the file corresponding to that section was modified) 1. Introductory Material (9 Sep 03) 1a. About this newsgroup 1b. Introduction to Pern 1c. Appropriate subject matter 1d. Why 'alt.fan.pern' and not 'alt.fan.mccaffrey'? 1e. Spoiler ettiquette 1f. Other newsgroups of interest 1g. Common abbreviations 1h. Fan Fiction 1i. Anne McCaffrey on the net 1j. Just who is this Quirk joker anyway? 2. Pern in Print (11 May 04) 2a. Book List (McCaffrey-written) 2b. Latest Pern book news 2c. Suggested reading order 2d. Chronological order of books/stories 2e. Pern books on tape 2f. Other Pern materials 2g. Obtaining hard-to-find books CONTENTS OF PART 2: 3. Frequently Asked Questions about Pern (6 Apr 01) 3a. Pronunciation of various words/names 3b. Rider behavior during Mating flights 3c. Queen dragons and firestone 3d. Where to dragons/firelizards deficate? 3e. Who/What does Aramina hear in The Renegades of Pern? 3f. What's this I hear about a Pern Movie/TV Show? 3g. Is Rukbat (Pern's sun) a real star? 3h. Robinton, Silvina, and Camo 4. On-line Simulations of Pern (2 Jun 03) 4a. Accessing Pern-type MU*s 4b. (Insert your favorite MU* here) is down!!! 4c. List of Pern-type MU*s 5. "Real Life" Fan Organization and related info (11 May 04) 6. Non-Pern McCaffrey materials (6 Dec 96) 6a. Booklist 6b. Booktapes Note: These articles are being cross-posted to the news.answers and alt.answers newsgroups for extended expire times and archival on rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/alt.fan.pern or /pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/alt/fan/pern or /pub/usenet/news.answers/pern-intro or /pub/usenet/alt.answers/pern-intro To obtain these files (assumes UN*X environment with FTP capability): --- %ftp rtfm.mit.edu Connected to Name (rtfm.mit.edu:): [anonymous] 331 Guest login ok, send ident as password. Password: [your e-mail address] 230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply. ftp> [cd pub/usenet/alt.fan.pern (or) pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/alt/fan/pern (or) pub/usenet/news.answers/pern-intro (or) pub/usenet/alt.answers/pern-intro] (or) pub/faqs/pern-intro] 250 CWD command successful. ftp> [get Welcome_to_alt.fan.pern_(Semi-monthly_posting)_(Part__of_2)] (Where is the part number. If you have chosen the pub/usenet/news.answers/pern-intro or pub/usenet/alt.answers/pern-intro or pub/faqs/pern-intro path, then just get part.) 200 PORT command successful. [Some stuff] ftp> (get any other parts you may want) ftp> [quit] % --- 1. Introductory Material 1a. About this newsgroup. The newsgroup alt.fan.pern is dedicated to discussion of the fictional world of Pern as described in the various novels and short stories by Anne McCaffrey. Related topics include Ms. McCaffrey's other works, and several of the on-line 'virtual realities' depicting Pern (see below). 1b. Introduction to Pern Pern is the third planet of the Rukbat system in the Sagittarius sector. It is a colony world which has lost contact with 'Mother Earth' due to periodic attacks from an organism called 'thread' which devours all organic material it comes into contact with. To counter Thread, the original Pernese colonists -- back when they still had the skills -- modified an indigenous life-form to create Dragons -- so named for the mythical beasts they resemble. 'Modern day' (as depicted in most of the books) Pern has lost many of the skills originally brought with the colonists and can probably be best described as a 'pre-industrial' society. Toward the end of the series, much of the original colonists' technology is rediscovered. Alternatively, Pern is the home of Dragons, their riders, and various other people as depicted in Anne McCaffrey's _Dragonriders of Pern_ series and related books. 1c. Appropriate subject matter As stated above, this group is primarily for the discussion of the world of Pern -- discussion of Ms. McCaffrey's other works is not unwelcome, but the emphasis is on Pern. (See section 1d: "Why 'alt.fan.pern' and not 'alt.fan.mccaffrey'?" for more on this.) A component of this discussion revolves around the various multi-user programs that have been set up attempting to simulate Pern. One of The more frequntly discussed is 'PernMUSH', although there are many others in existence. Articles about PernMUSH or the other Pern-related simulations should have 'PernMUSH' or 'MUSH' or something similar in the subject line so that those who are not interested can filter them out via KILLfile. Note, however, that questions pertaining to the mechanics of MU*s (clients, code questions, etc.) are better asked in the rec.games.mud.* hierarchy rather than here. Occasionally, the traffic about PernMUSH seems to dominate this newsgroup. Generally, complaining about it is counterproductive and a good way to spark a flame-war. If you, the reader, wish to discuss something that is not presently being addressed in the group, by all means start the discussion yourself. If others find the topic interesting they'll respond. A note on announcements: Due to the nature of Usenet, it can take several days for an article to propogate to the various news servers across the net. A lead time of at least 3 days is strongly recommended for time-critical announcements. Also, posting binary files -- i.e. uuencoded or MIME-encoded .gifs, executables, etc. -- is strongly discouraged. Many people must pay by the byte (or for connect time which translates to the same thing) to download newsgroup articles sight-unseen -- this means that by the time they've determined that the file they just spent 30 minutes downloading is an unwanted binary, they've already paid for it. Therefore, if you have a neat-o image or program you wish to distribute, the preferred method is to place it on a web or FTP site, or post to one of the appropriate *.binaries.* newsgroups, and then post a pointer to this newsgroup telling where to find it. Finally, inconsiderate fools have, from time to time, taken to posting entirely inappropriate articles to the newsgroup; often cross-posted to many others. PLEASE do not post follow-up complaints to alt.fan.pern. Doing so, particularly with cross-posted articles only serves to increase the overal newsgroup clutter. If you feel you must complain, please do so to the article author in question via email. 1d. Why 'alt.fan.pern' and not 'alt.fan.mccaffrey'? alt.fan.pern was first proposed (in '91, if memory serves) as a forum for the discussion of PernMUSH (i.e. alt.mud.pernmush). However, it was agreed that this would be too narrow a topic to warrant a newsgroup, so the charter was expanded to general discussion of Pern and Pern fandom, discussion carried out on alt.config and the newgroup message was sent out. (This is based on a history of this newsgroup that Amberyl sent me back in '94; I am not a founding member, I'm just this guy who pulled together the material to create this document, and is now stuck maintaining it.) Since then, the charter has expanded somewhat to acceptance of discussion of Ms. McCaffrey's other works. If one so wishes, rec.arts.sf.written (see section 1f Other newsgroups of interest) does exist for non-Pern discussion, and overall traffic on alt.fan.pern really isn't high enough to warrant a newsgroup split. As for renaming the newsgroup, this is effectively impossible: alt.* newsgroups never die. There will be an alt.fan.pern newsgroup for as long as newsservers continue to exist, so any attempt at renaming the newsgroup will, in practice, just end up creating a new, redundant newsgroup with lower propogation -- Based on several factors, alt.* newsgroups created after 1993 or thereabouts have considerably lower propogation (i.e. can be found on fewer sites) than those created earlier. 1e. Spoiler etiquette Whenever new books or other material are published, it is advisable that any discussion that may give away the story or otherwise 'spoil' the book for others should be 'protected'. The techniques used to do this are known as 'spoiler protection'. (Whodathunkit?) Placing "Spoiler!" in the subject is a start, but is not enough as many newsreaders display the first 12-20 lines of article text when an article is presented for reading. The following steps are suggested: 1. Insert 12-20 blank lines before the sensitive material. 2. Place a ^L (Control-L) character at the *beginning* of one of the lines; this will cause some newsreaders to treat it as a top-of-page marker. (Note: This doesn't always work, and some editors do not allow control characters to be embedded, so the '20 blank lines' measure should be used in all cases; the ^L serving as an additional layer of defense.) How long should spoiler protection be kept in place? My feeling is that spoilers should be kept in place until one or two months after the release of the paperback edition of a book (assuming it was first released in hardcover). However, practice has shown that 3-6 months after initial publication is usually sufficient. 1f. Other newsgroups of interest rec.arts.sf.*: The primary hierarchy for discussion of Speculative Fiction (Science Fiction + Fantasy). The subgroups are: * rec.arts.sf.written: Books, Short Stories, etc. * rec.arts.sf.movies: Big screen. * rec.arts.sf.tv: Not-so-big screen. * rec.arts.sf.science: "How the heck does this thing work?" * rec.arts.sf.fandom: Fannish activities, cons, et al. * rec.arts.sf.misc: Catch-all. * Plus several others. When posting to these newsgroups, please remember to use appropriate subject headers; including the author or title in the subject would be a good idea. * alt.fan.dragons: Discussion of dragons of all types - mythological, fictional, etc. Those interested in the various MUSHes, MOOs, et al. may find * rec.games.mud.tiny * rec.games.mud.admin * rec.games.mud.misc of some interest. Keep in mind that these are general MUD newsgroups, and the latter two carry considerable traffic on many different MUD types that historically have not been used for Pern simulations. 1g. Common abbreviations For those of you new to the net, there are quite a few abbreviations in use here on Usenet that may be unfamiliar. Here is a short list of the more frequently encountered. ;-), :-), :), etc. A 'smiley' face -- look at it sideways. Used to indicate humor and/or sarcasm. AFAIK "As Far As I Know" AIUI "As I Understand It" BTDT "Been There. Done That." BTW "By The Way" FWIW "For What It's Worth" HAND "Have A Nice Day." HTH "Hope This Helps."/"Happy To Help." IANAL "I Am Not A Lawyer (but)..." IIRC "If I Recall Correctly" IMHO "In My Humble/Honest Opinion" IMO "In My Opinion" IOW "In Other Words" ISTM "It Seems To Me" ISTR "I Seem To Recall" ITYM "I Think You Mean" OTOH "On The Other Hand" ROTFL "Rolling On The Floor, Laughing". (There are several variants on this.) RSN "Real Soon, Now" (usually translates to "At some point in the nebulous future".) TIA "Thanks In Advance" TTBOMK "To The Best Of My Knowledge" WADR "With All Due Respect..." YMMV "Your Mileage May Varry" (i.e. others may not have the exact same experience.) And now some specific to alt.fan.pern: MU*, M* Indicative of any of the family of MUD/MUSH/MOO/etc. NC PernMUSH (Which covers the Northern Continent during the 10th pass) SC SouConMUSH (Which contains the complementary Southern Continent for the same time period as NC) IC MU*-speak for 'In Character' - meaning behavior that the MU* characters would engage in. OOC MU*-speak for 'Out of Character' - Usually applying to information/behavior that the *player* of a MU* character knows/performs that the character would not, logically, be able to take advantage of. Book references: DLG _The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern_; see 'Pern in Print' below. (Also, the 2nd edition of the DLG is often referred to as 'DLG2', 'DLG 2.0', etc.) D1, D2, D3 The three books comprising the _Dragonriders of Pern _ trilogy. (_Dragonflight_, _Dragonquest_, and _The White Dragon_ respectively) H1, H2, H3 The three books comprising the _Harper Hall of Pern_ trilogy. (_Dragonsong_, _Dragonsinger_, and _Dragondrums_ respectively) [The above two sets are my personal shorthand, but I'm not the only one using them -- Quirk] HHT The above-mentioned Harper Hall trilogy. AtWoP, ATWOP, etc. _All the Weyrs of Pern_ CoP _The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall_ MoP, MHoP _The Masterharper of Pern_ Discussion of Pern in general: HAD "Hears All Dragons": Referrs to a character with the ability to hear/understand all dragons (e.g. Lessa, Brekke, Aramina.) Shiny Dragon/firelizard of metalic (bronze or gold) hue. 1h. Fan fiction NOTE: The following applies to fan fiction posted to the net. I do not have (nor do I desire) the authority to prevent any quasi/illegal acts on this newsgroup. The following is presented for informational purposes. You may heed or ignore as you wish, but I deny all responsibility for any legal problems you may encounter. (Those MU*s that have verifiable permission to exist are so indicated in section 4c. List of Pern-type MU*s. The other MU*s either did not have such permission listed online, or were not reachable at the time they were last visited.) Also, since Grolier UK purchased the computer game rights to Pern (which have since been transferred to UbiSoft), no further permission for new Pern-themed MU*s are being granted at this time. This also applies to attempts at resurrecting MU*s that were defunct at the time these rights were transferred. [Thanks to "Chris Croughton" (chris@keris.demon.co.uk) for relaying the following.] ---------- 08-Oct-92 11:39 BST Sb: InterNet Pern rules Fm: Anne McCaffrey The rules are that my characters may be referred to but not used. BUT there can be no adventure/stories set on Pern at all!!!!! That's infringing on my copyright and can bear heavy penalities - particularly right now when there's a film deal (yet another) which has bought and paid for the right to use the material - which, I fear, e-mail users have not. On CIS, I have asked people to limit Pern material to a discussion of their persona and dragons, fire-lizards, etc., in a diarist form. Fanzines have slightly more latitude as the zine is usually mailed only to members so that's limited publication, and a due copyright notice is included. As there is no such protection on electronic mail, we authors have to be insistent on these safeguards. I know this can be confusing since Paramount and Star Trek are handled differently, but that's the point: they are, and have been. Individual themes and characters of s-f/fantasy novels are not. And such indiscriminate usage of our characters, worlds, and concepts on a *public* media like electronic mail constitute copyright infringement AND, which many fans disregard, is ACTIONABLE! Both the e-mail company AND the person. My publishers are most insistent on that point! So it's to safeguard the interested e-mail user that I make these very strong, and perhaps unpalatable points. ---------- [Chris' commentary:] To repeat - it's not Anne who forbids this: it's her publishers - and they are NOT required to tell her of any such actions which they may be undertaking. The first she will probably know of it is when someone tells her, having heard over the net... [End commentary.] To expand on this a bit, this prohibition is meant to protect Ms. McCaffrey from legal problems along the lines that have prevented Marion Zimmer Bradley from publishing one of her books. (I'm not completely familiar with the specifics of this case; inquiries to rec.arts.sf.written will probably result in more information than you ever wanted to know. ;-) 1i. Anne McCaffrey on the net It is the understanding of the author of this document that, due to some of the concerns raised in the previous section, Ms. McCaffrey's lawyers have advised her not to read this newsgroup. Evidence to the contrary has also surfaced, so it is uncertain whether or not she actually reads alt.fan.pern, or has articles of interest forwarded to her by other parties. The URL of Ms. McCaffrey's "official" webpage is: http://www.annemccaffrey.org An older site may be found at: http://members.aol.com/dragnhld/index.html The personal email address associated with both pages is: AnnieMac@iol.ie Another way to get in touch with Ms. McCaffrey is to write an actual (i.e. pen and paper) letter via one of her publishers. If you plan to do this and expect a reply, including a self-addressed envelope with return postage -- Note: Since she lives in Ireland, you will probably have to make use of International Reply Cupons -- would probably be appreciated. 1j. Just who is this Quirk joker anyway? I am NOT... * ...Especially involved in Pern Fandom. (I collect the books, read this newsgroup, and play on PernMUSH between increasingly frequent and prolonged episodes of burnout during which I just kibitz. That's about it.) * ...A general McCaffrey fan. (Pern and Doona are the only McCaffrey worlds that I have found particularly engaging.) * ...A posting service. (Please do not send me email asking to post things for you.) * ...Free Tech Support. (If you have questions about contributing to the newsgroup, joining a MU*, etc., your best bet is to talk to your own admin/tech support people; since they, unlike I, ought to have some idea of how your system is set up.) * ...The "owner" of this newsgroup. (Despite my frequent gripes and occasional proprietary feelings to the contrary.) I'm just the poor slob who's volunteered to maintain this FAQ -- updating when I find the time and/or inclination -- and keep a cron table entry to post it once a month (and two reminders/pointers to the WWW version). Every once in a blue moon, I'll even post some articles of mild interest or complain about how people don't bother to read this document before asking questions already answered herein. _________________________________________________________________ 2. Pern in Print Since Pern is a fictional world, a complete listing of all related books would probably be a good idea. 2a. Book list (written by McCaffrey) [Date is of 1st printing. ISBNs are from the paperback editions in my personal library, obtained from copies in local bookstores or webstore inquiries. US Publisher is Del Rey books unless otherwise noted. UK edition publisher is Corgi Books unless otherwise noted. Random House/Del Rey eBook formats include Adobe eBook, Microsoft Reader, Palm, and Gemstar] The _Dragonriders of Pern_ trilogy (Also available in a single hardcover volume through the SF book club, and trade paperback in a few bookstores). _Dragonflight_ (Jul 1968) 0-345-33546-5 0-345-41936-7 (Trade P-back) 0-345-45395-6 (eBook) 0-552-08453-0 (UK Edition) _Dragonquest_ (May 1971) 0-345-33508-2 0-345-41937-5 (Trade P-back) 0-345-45396-4 (eBook) 0-552-11635-1 (UK Edition) _Dragonflight/Quest_ 0-345-45615-7 (eBook - combo) _The White Dragon_ (Jun 1978) 0-345-31336-4 0-345-41940-5 (Trade P-back) 0-345-45397-2 (eBook) 0-552-11313-1 (UK Edition) _The Dragonriders of Pern_ 0-345-34024-8 (Trade P-back) 0-345-45739-0 (eBook) The _Harper Hall of Pern_ trilogy (Available as a single hardbound edition through the SF book club). _Dragonsong_ (Mar 1976) 0-553-12044-1 Bantam Books 0-552-10661-5 (UK edition) _Dragonsinger_ (Feb 1977) 0-533-11835-8 Bantam Books 0-552-10881-2 (UK Edition) _Dragondrums_ (Mar 1979) 0-553-20722-9 Bantam Books 0-552-11804-4 (UK Edition) Others: _A Time When_ (1975) [1] 0-915568-07-2 NESFA Press _Get Off the Unicorn_ (Jun 1977) [2] 0-345-27464-4 0-345-45747-1 (eBook) 0-552-10965-7 (UK Edition) _Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern_ (Nov 1983) 0-345-29873-X 0-345-41957-X (Trade P-back) 0-345-45401-4 (eBook) 0-552-12499-0 (UK Edition) _Nerilka's Story: A Pern Adventure_ (Mar 1986) 0-345-33949-5 0-345-45402-2 (eBook) 0-345-41958-8 (Trade P-back) _Nerilka's Story & The Coelura_ (1987) [3] 0-552-12817-1 Corgi/UK _Dragonsdawn_ (Nov 1988) 0-345-36286-1 0-345-41956-1 (Trade P-back) 0-345-45398-0 (eBook) 0-552-13098-2 (UK edition) _The Renegades of Pern_ (Nov 1990> 0-345-36933-5 0-345-41939-1 (Trade P-back) 0-345-45404-9 (eBook) 0-552-13099-0 (UK Edition) _All the Weyrs of Pern_ (Dec 1991) 0-345-36893-2 0-345-41935-9 (Trade P-back) 0-345-45405-7 (eBook) 0-552-13729-4 (UK Edition) _Rescue Run_ [4] (Science Fiction Book Club Hardcover) _The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall_ (Oct 1993) [5] 0-345-36899-1 0-345-41959-6 (Trade P-back) 0-345-45399-9 (eBook) 0-552-13913-0 (UK Edition) _The Dolphins' Bell_ [7] (Science Fiction Book Club Hardcover) _The Girl Who Heard Dragons_ (May 1994) [8] 0-812-51099-2 TOR Books 0-552-14436-3 (UK Edition) _The Dolphins of Pern_ (Oct 1994) 0-345-36895-9 0-345-45406-5 (eBook) 0-552-14270-0 (UK Edition) _Red Star Rising (The Second Chronicles of Pern)_ (Aug 1996) [9] 0-552-142727-7 _Dragonseye_ (Feb 1997) [9] 0-345-41879-4 0-345-45400-6 (eBook) _The Masterharper of Pern (Jan 1998) 0-345-42460-3 0-345-45403-0 (eBook) 0-552-14247-3 (UK Edition) _Legends_ [Ed: Robert Silverberg] (Oct 1998) [10] 0-312-86787-5 TOR Books (Hardcover) 0-312-86863-4 TOR Books (Ltd. ed. Hardcover) 0-002-25667-3 Voyager (UK Edition -- Paperback) (The US Paperback edition has been split into 3 smaller volumes: Volume 2 contains the Pern sttory.) 0-812-57523-7 TOR Books (_Legends: Vol. 2_) _The Skies of Pern_ (Feb 2001) 0-345-43469-2 0-345-44713-1 (eBook) 0-552-14631-5 (UK edition) _A Gift of Dragons_ (Oct 2002) [11] 0-345-45397-2 (Hardcover) 0-345-45860-5 (eBook) 0-593-05151-3 (Bantam UK Hardcover) _On Dragonwings_ (Oct 2003) [12] 0-345-46565-2 (Trade paperback) _Dragon's Kin_ [w/ Todd McCaffrey] (Nov 2003) 0-345-46198-3 (Hardcover) 0-345-46199-1 (eBook) 0-593-05287-0 (Bantam UK Hardcover) _Legends II_ [Ed: Robert Silverberg] (Dec 2003) [13] 0-345-45644-0 (Hardcover) 0-345-47109-1 (eBook) 0-00715434-8 (Voyager UK Hardcover) Footnotes: [1] Details courtesy of: Robert A. Woodward (robertaw@halcyon.com) --- >Contains early versions of several chapters of _The White Dragon_. >Scenes are: Jaxom blowing up at the breakfast table, Jaxom at >Smithcrafthall school, Jaxom and Corana, Jaxom and the entire theft & >recovery of the Queen egg at Benden Weyr. --- [2] Collection of McCaffrey short fiction; contains "The Smallest Dragonboy" (Originally published 1973 for_Science Fiction Tales). Reportedly, the short story can also be found in_Visions of Fantasy: Tales From the Masters_(1989 Doubleday: ISBN 0-385-26359-7). [3] Also includes non-Pern novel. [4] Originally published in_Analog (Aug. 1991) and included in [5] below. [5] Contains short stories: "Survey: P.E.R.N." [6], "The Dolphins' Bell", "The Ford of Red Hanrahan", "The Second Weyr", and "Rescue Run" (ibid [4] above). [6] Previously published as "The P.E.R.N. Survey" in_Amazing Stories_(Sep. 1993). [7] Included in [5] ibid. [8] Collection of McCaffrey short fiction. Includes novella of same title originally published (limited edition - 100 signed copies) in 1985. [9] These are the same book under different titles. The UK edition was released first; Del Rey delayed their edition for supposedly editorial reasons. The change in title was allegedly due to concerns that the American audience wouldn't recognize a Pern book without a "Dragon" title. Thanks to Mark Haas (mhaas@onramp.net) for UK publisher data. [10] Anthology of short novels/novellas, containing "Runner of Pern" by McCaffrey. Other authors include Terry Pratchett (Discworld), Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea), Raymond Feist (Riftwar), etc. [11] Anthology of previously published "The Smallest Dragonboy", "The Girl Who Heard Dragons", "Runner of Pern", and the new "Ever the Twain". [12] Omnibus collection of_Dragonsdawn, Dragonseye, and_Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern. [13] Anthology of short novels/novellas, conaining "Beyond Between" by McCaffrey. Finally, the_Dragonlover's Guide to Pern_(see below) contains a short story, "The Impression" depicting F'lessan's impression of Golanth from a first-person POV. It should also be noted that this all started with the Hugo-winning novella: "Weyr Search" published in October 1967 in_Analog. This story now forms the first quarter of_Dragonflight. The Nebula-winning (1968) novella "Dragonrider" [serialized in Analog_in '67-68(?)] makes up the second half of Dragonflight. 2b. Latest Pern book news. On Dragonwings, published in Oct 2003, is an omnibus collection of_Dragonsdawn,_Dragonseye, and_Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern. A Gift of Dragons_was published by Del Rey books in late October 2002. It contains the previously-published "The Smallest Dragonboy", "The Girl Who Heard Dragons", and "Runner of Pern" along with a new story, "Ever the Twain". Another short story/novella, "Beyond Between", is included in an anthology edited by Robert Silvererg,_Legends II. The collection was published in December 2003. Todd McCaffrey (Anne's son and her "Designated Heir for Pern") and his mother have collaborated on a new Pern novel:_Dragon's Kin. It is set during the 2nd Interval (16 turns before the 3rd pass) and was published November 2003 in hardcover. Todd is also working on a solo Pern novel,_Dragonsblood. According to his website (http://www.toddmccaffrey.org>) a revised manuscript was sent to his US and UK editors on/about 27 April 2004. It is reported to be in excess of 800 pages long. 2c. Suggested reading order for newcomers. Ms. McCaffrey suggests that the books be read in order of publication (i.e. start with_Dragonflight_and go in published order). Alternatively, she suggests starting with_Dragonsong_as a 'gentler' introduction, completing the Harper Hall trilogy, and then going back to_Dragonflight,_Dragonquest, et. al. 2d. Chronological order of books/stories This is kind of tricky, as some books depict the same events from different points of view. Here's what the consensus seems to be: +--------------------+ Backwards | "Survey: P.E.R.N." | ^ +--------------------+ | +-------------+ Time 1st Pass-> |_Dragonsdawn_+----------------------+ | +-------------+ "The Dolphins' Bell" | v +----------------------+ Forwards +----------------------------+ | "The Ford of Red Hanrahan" | +----------------------------+ +-------------------+ | "The Second Weyr" | +-------------------+ 1st Int.-> +--------------+ | "Rescue Run" | +--------------+ +-------------------+ | _Red Star Rising_ | 2nd Pass-> +-------------------+ +------------------+ | "Ever the Twain" | +------------------+ 2nd Int.-> +----------------+ | _Dragon's Kin_ | +----------------+ 3rd Pass-> [...] 6th Pass-> +-----------+ +------------+ | | | | | _Moreta: | | +----------+ Dragonlady |_Nerilka's | | "Beyond | of Pern_ | Story_ | | Between" | | | +----------+------------+ | 6th Int.-> | | +-----------+ [...] 8th Int-> +--------------+ | _The | | Masterharper | +-----------+ | of Pern_ | | | +--------------+--------------+ +----------------+ | | | | |"Runner of Pern"| | | |_Dragonflight_| +----------------+ | | | | 9th Pass-> | | | | | | +--------------+ | | +--------------+ | | +-------------+ _Dragonsong_ | | | | +--------------+ | | |_Dragonquest_|_Dragonsinger_| | | | +--------------+ | | +-------------+ | +-------------+ | _The | +------------------+ | Renegades |_Dragondrums_| "The Impression" | | of Pern_ | +------------------+ | +-------------+ | | +---------------+ | | | "The Smallest | | | | Dragonboy" | | | +---------------+ +-----------+ | | | +----------------+ |_The White | | "The Girl Who | | Dragon_ | | Heard Dragons" | | | +----------------+ +-----------+ | | | +-----------+ | _All the | +-----------+ Weyrs | | _The | of Pern_ | | Dolphins +-----------+ | of Pern_ | +-----------+ +-----------+ |_The Skies | | of Pern_ | +-----------+ Notes: Horizontally connected 'boxes' indicate closely connected (i.e. same events from different points of view) stories. Boxes connected vertically indicate that the following story takes place immediately after the previous one. "Ever the Twain" does not have explicit indications of time-period, but the evidence suggests mid-to-late 2nd Pass or so. Nerilka's Story_starts 4 days before_Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern. "Runner of Pern" takes place in the spring just before the first Threadfall of the 9th Pass. Dragonsong_is shown to start previous to_Dragonquest based on the timelines provided in Karen Fonstead's_Atlas of Pern. Dragonquest_is shown to continue beyond the end of Dragonsinger_based on the reports on Canth's healing which suggest that considerable time has elapsed since Canth's jump to the Red Star. The White Dragon_is shown to start before "The Girl Who Heard Dragons" since_The Renegades of Pern_indicates that the latter takes place in late autumn, while the former tends to suggest that the weather is just starting to turn cool. 2e. Pern books on tape There are several audio adaptations of the assorted Pern books out in both abridged and unabridged forms. The performer, if known, is listed. [Many thanks to MIRRIM@delphi.com and griffon@ccrtc.com for doing the legwork to obtain much of this information. Publisher is indicated by bracketed numbers; Publisher key follows the list.] Dragonflight 1561005118 (Unabridged - Performer: Dick Hill) [1] 0787100722 (Abridged) [2] 1574535323 (Abridged - Performer: Adrienne Barbeau) [4] Dragonquest 1561005126 (Unabridged - Performer: Dick Hill) [1] 0787101117 (Abridged) [2] The White Dragon 1561005134 (Unabridged - Performer: Dick Hill) [1] Dragonsong 0787100757 (Abridged Cass. - Performer: Adrienne Barbeau) [2] 1556905882 (Unabridged Cass. - Performer: Sally Darling) [4] 0788795155 (Unabridged CD - Perfomer: Sally Darling) [4] Dragonsinger 0787100803 (Abridged - Performer: Adrienne Barbeau) [2] 155690617X (Unabridged Cass. - Performer: Sally Darling) [4] 1402514913 (Unabridged CD - Performer: Sally Darling) [4] Dragondrums 0787100676 (Abridged - Performer: Adrienne Barbeau) [2] 1558006400 (No additional data) [2] 1556906188 (Unabridged Cass. - Performer: Sally Darling) [4] 1402504624 (Unabridged CD - Performer: Sally Darling) [4] Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern 1561004928 (Unabridged - Performer: Sheila Hart) [1] Nerlika's Story 0394558170 (Abridged - Performer: Anne McCaffrey [5] Dragonsdawn 1561004898 (Unabridged - Performer: Dick Hill) [1] The Renegades of Pern 1561004936 (Unabridged - Performer: Dick Hill) [1] 0787100811 (Abridged) [2] All the Weyrs of Pern 1879371111 (Abridged - Performer: Anne McCaffrey) [3] 1879371928 (Unabridged - Performer: Mark Rolston) [3] The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall 1558008675 (Unabridged - Performer: Meredith MacRae) [2] The Girl Who Heard Dragons 078710258X (No additional data) [2] Dragonseye 156100734X (Unabridged - Performer: Dick Hill) [1] The Masterharper of Pern_Performed by Dick Hill [1] 1561007870 (Unabridged) 1567407625 (Abridged) The Skies of Pern_Performed by Dick Hill [1] 1587880652 (Unabridged) 1587880679 (Abridged) A Gift of Dragons 0739301845 (Perfomer: Lee Meriwether) [5] Dragon's Kin_Performed by Dick Hill [1] 1593551800 (Unabridged Cassete) 159355480X (Unabridged CD) 1593352557 (Unabridged MP3-CD) 1593551827 (Abridged Cassette) Legends II, Vol. 1_Perf. by Graeme Malcolm & Alyssa Bresnahan [5] 0739310828 (Unabridged Cassette) 0739310836 (Audio download) Dragonflight_and_Dragonquest 1558006370 (combo - Abridged) [2] Dragonsong_and_Dragonsinger 1558006389 (combo - Abridged) [2] Dragonsdawn_and_The Renegades of Pern 1558006419 (combo - Abridged) [2] 1574535331 (combo - Abridged - Performer: Adrienne Barbeau) [4] Anne McCaffrey Pern Collection: Dragonseye, The Masterharper of Pern, The Skies of Pern 1590865359 (combo - Abridged - Performer: Dick Hill) [1] Publisher info: 1. Brilliance Corp. 1810-B Industrial Drive P.O.Box 887 Grand Haven, Michigan 49417 1-800-222-3225 http://www.brillianceaudio.com 2. Dove Audio 301 N. Canon Drive Beverly Hills, CA 90210 1-800-328-DOVE or 1-800-DOVE007 http://www.doveaudio.com 3. The Publishing Mills P.O.Box 481006 Los Angeles, CA 90048 1-800-72-AUDIO http://www.pubmills.com/home2.html 4. Recorded Books Inc 270 Skipjack Rd. Prince Frederick, MD 20678 1-800-638-1304 http://www.recordedbooks.com 5. Random House Audiobooks http://www.randomhouse.com/audio 2f. Other Pern materials Comic books/Graphic Novels Eclipse Comics published a 3-issue graphical adaptation of Dragonflight_which was later collected into a single volume graphic novel. Drawings appear to be based on the artwork in_The People of Pern_(see below). Publishing data for the single-volume edition: _Anne McCaffrey: Dragonflight Published by Eclipse Graphic Novels, March 1993. ISBN: 0-06-105003-2 Reference books Several Pern-related "Reference Books" have been published. The most frequently mentioned on this newsgroup are: The Atlas of Pern_by Karen Fonstead -- Del Rey Books [ISBN: 0-345-31432-8 (HB) / 0-345-31434-4 (SB)] (Out of print, but still available if you look around for it. The Science Fiction Book Club apparently still has copies in stock.) The People of Pern sketches/paintings by Robin Wood, text by McCaffrey 1988, Donning Publishing -- ISBN: 0-89865-635-4 (HB) / 0-89865-751-2 (SB) [Out of print] (Actually, more of a 'photo album' for the major characters.) [Additional note from: "Michael Short" (mike@mail.robinwood.com) -- Robin's husband.] ------ Photoprints of F'lar, Lessa, Menolly and Sebell are available. 11"x14" prints go for $35 + S&H. Large-fomat (18"x24") run $150 + S&H. Robin's address is: Robin Wood 3319 Greenfield Road #102 Dearborn, MI 48120 877-ROBINWOod (877-762-6494) [*] - or - (734) 729-4281 http://www.robinwood.com/ [*] Personal Toll-free number: Please let Michael or Robin know that it was used when calling. ------ The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern by Jody Lynn Nye with Anne McCaffrey 1st ed.: Nov 1989, Del Rey Books 0-345-35424-9 (Hardcover) 0-345-37946-2 (Softcover) 2nd ed.: Mar 1997, Del Rey Books 0-345-41274-5 (Softcover) Considered by many to be the reference work on Pern...aside from the books themselves. Others have noted internal contradictions as well as conflicts with other published material and therefore do not consider it particularly authoritative. The 2nd edition adds material from books published since the 1st edition. Dragonholder by Todd McCaffrey Nov. 1999, Del Rey Books 0-345-42217-1 (Hardcover) Todd McCaffrey's biography of his mother. Pern from other Authors Jody Lynn Nye has also written two 'Choose your path' books set on Pern under the (now defunct) 'Crossroads' line from TOR books. Dragonharper_(ISBN: 0-812-56404-9) Journeyman Robinton's adventures as he travels to his first posting at Benden Hold. Dragonfire_(ISBN: 0-812-56423-5) Mirrim and Path look into strange happenings on the Southern Continent shortly after the events of_The White Dragon. Games There have also been two games published: The Dragonriders of Pern_(boardgame) from Mayfair Games. 1983 0-425-06624-X. This is set roughly during the time frame of_Dragonquest. Players represent the 6 Weyrleaders (and the Masterharper in the 7-player game) attempting to gain prestiege and power in an attempt at becomming the overal leader of the planet. There is also a solitaire variant, and an article about threadfighting and Weyr organization by Todd Johnson (Anne McCaffrey's son). Mayfair games has since gone out of business. Dragonriders of Pern: The Book Game_by Nova Games Designs. 1984 0-917037-05-7. Two riders on patrol try to outdo one another when they encounter threadfall -- but don't get scorred, and definitely don't let any of the thread reach the ground! The game mechanics involve two books which show pictures from the POV of each rider. Each player selects a maneuver and goes to a look-up page where the combination of that maneuver and the other player's choice determines the next view. (Very similar to the "Ace of Aces" WW I dogfighting game also from Nova.) Contact address is: Nova Games Designs, Inc. P.O. box 1178 Manchester, CT 06040 Computer games In August 2001, UbiSoft released the Pern PC game that Grolier Interactive (UK) had been developing. It appears to be more an adventure game/interactive story than a traditional Computer Role-Playing game as initially reported. It is sent toward the end of the 7th Pass. See: http://www.ubisoft.com/dragonriders/ for details. Epyx released a "Dragonriders of Pern" game for the C-64, Atari 8-bit, and Apple ][ around 1984. Second-hand reports inidcate that it was generally similar to the above-listed board game, but with occasional arcade-style threadfighting sequences. Inquiries to the appropriate comp.*.games newsgroup may prove useful to those looking for used copies of it. NOTE: There is a IBM-PC Dragonriders game floating around on BBSs and the net. Regarding this item, Justin Bradford jbradford@cctr.umkc.edu informed this newsgroup: >The computer game "The Dragonriders of Pern" by Everlasting Software is >not authorized by Anne McCaffrey and should not be player, uploaded, >downloaded, or distributed. We uploaded this game to an Internet FTP >site without understanding that it was a copyright and trademark >infringement and were contacted by her attorneys. We want >to apologize to Anne McCaffrey, and to urge all of her fans >to help eliminate this game from the Internet. Cover art Michael Whelan (cover artist for most of the Del Rey Pern books) has a web page located at: http://www.glassonion.com In addition to his Pern cover art, Whelan has done sevreal other McCaffrey covers, not to mention work for many other authors. Pern CD In conjunction with the publication of _Masterharper of Pern_, Ms. McCaffrey asked Tania Opland and Mike Freeman to produce music based on her Pernese verses. The project grew to something rather larger than anticipated, and the result is a 50-minute CD. A brief description and ordering infomration may be found at: http://members.aol.com/Opland/perncd.htm 2g. Obtaining hard-to-find books. As noted above, several books are available only through the Science Fiction Book Club. This book club provides a good selection of recent releases (albeit somewhat delayed) and classic SF in 'special edition' hardcovers and trade-paperbacks. The membership deal is something along the lines of "Must buy 4 books in the first year". Almost all of Ms. McCaffrey's SF works can be ordered in one form or another. Advertisments can be found in most of the usual Science Fiction and Gaming magazines (e.g. _Analog_, _Dragon_, etc.) or they can be contacted at: The Science Fiction Book Club 6550 East 30th Street PO Box 6369 Indianapolis, IN 46209-9492 They also have a webpage (as of 7 Sep 96, still a little buggy here and there.) located at: http://www.sfbc.com/ This page is the on-line equivalent of their introductory advertisment; the on-line catalog does not include very many McCaffrey titles. However, members should be able to use the page to order any book from the _SF Universe_ catalog that is sent out annually. Note to non-US readers: I am informed that the club also extends to Canada, but it is doubtful that it goes anywhere else. Readers in Europe, Asia, etc. will most likely have to arrange a special order with your local booksellers. -- Capt. Gym Z. Quirk (Known to some as Taki Kogoma) quirk @ swcp.com Just an article detector on the Information Supercollider.