Pellar is an orphan taken in by Masterharper Zist. Though born mute, Pellar is a gifted tracker, and when Zist sets off to take over as harper for Natalon’s coal-mining camp, Pellar - along with his fire-lizard, Chitter – joins him on a secret mission of his own: to find out if reported thefts of coal are the work of the Shunned, criminals condemned to a life of wandering and hardship. Halla is one of the children of the Shunned. Though innocent of their parents’ crimes, these children have inherited their cruel punishment. Lack of food, shelter, and clothes is their lot; hope is unknown to them. And what future would they hope for? Without a hold to call their own, there will be no protection for them when the lethal Thread inevitably falls again. Life is particularly tough for Halla. Her family gone, she must fend for herself. Yet despite the brutality of her surroundings, Halla is kind and gentle, devoted to those more helpless than she. As depraved as Halla is good, Tenim is in league with Tarik, a crooked miner from Camp Natalon, who helps him steal coal in exchange for a cut of the profit. But Tenim soon realizes there is a lot more to be made from firestone, the volatile mineral that enables the dragons of Pern to burn Thread out of the sky. Tenim doesn’t care what he has to do, or whom he has to kill, in order to corner the market. Cristov is Tarik’s son. Dishonored by his father’s greed and treachery, the boy feels he must make amends, even if it means risking his life by mining the volatile firestone, which detonates on contact with the slightest drop of moisture. When the last remaining firestone mine explodes in flames, a desperate race begins to find a new deposit of the deadly but essential mineral, for without it there can be no defense against Thread. But Tenim has a murderous plan to turn tragedy to his own advantage, and only Pellar, Halla, and Cristov can stop him - and ensure that there will be a future for all on the world of the Dragonriders.
Download and start listening now!
"Really liked how Brekke and F'nor got together. That was super cute :) It was really confusing when F'nor went to the Red Star though cause he went and he almost died, and then suddenly he was back. There was almost no description of the red star. Wish there had been more about Lessa and F'lar. "
— Amy (4 out of 5 stars)
" Just finished this next installment in the combo Mom/Son team. Loved it. Quick read. Nice to visit other worker classes in the old Pern colonial setup. "
— Teri, 2/20/2014" Pellar is a mute at Harper hall, huh. I've noticed a difference in the story line since Todd starting writing with his mother, Ms. McCaffrey. This one is more clack and dagger. I didn't feel much for Pellar. This story reminds me of the way the Valdemar series is going from Ms. Lackey. This story fleshed out more of the Pern world with how the firestones are mined. Mining is never pretty is it? But somebody has to do it. "
— ♆, 2/14/2014" I liked parts of this story pretty well but others seemed like he was just attempting to tie up loose ends. The end of the book came way too suddenly as I felt it was building some excellent relationships but then switched to an epilogue. "
— Uriah, 2/2/2014" Not the real thing but darn close and still enjoyable. "
— Pat, 1/26/2014" This is the second in the series, it's pretty good, but I just hated that Tenim the bad guy seems to just keep getting away and all the good guys just keep suffering for it. Guys like him make the death penalty truly worth it... to bad there's not one on Pern. "
— Gregory, 1/18/2014" I have read all of the books on Pern and love them all. Her son Tood, now carrying on the family tradition but writing from a slightly different perspective and it is great. "
— Andrea, 1/13/2014" This switched between the characters too much for any real connection to develop for me. I wanted to like it and it was okay but it could have been better. The ending felt rushed and there were too many subplots going on. But it was okay. "
— Nikki, 1/7/2014" Enjoyed as usual. Although I felt D'Gan came across as wrong. I had read a later book with him as a character & he was not as villianous to my mind. But then he was older so maybe had mellowed. "
— Angelique, 11/8/2013" It's a nice trip through Pern, but not really good on charactor development or logical plot development. However, I read the Pern books because they are what I call bubble gum for the mind - so I'm not really upset or bothered too much by some serious logical flaws. "
— Cecelia, 10/22/2013" This one skipped around a lot so it was hard to keep track on occasion. Its nice that it is still using many of the same characters - or at least ones you've heard of - from Dragon's Kin. "
— Becky, 10/4/2013" Couldn't put it down. Spent HOURS in bathtub trying to finish it. "
— Paula, 9/7/2013" There is nothing better than fighting thread on Pern with the dragonriders. Several evil characters made me sad as there weren't truly evil guys in the earlier works; however, justice prevailed, crystals healed and fire lizards helped. "
— Wendy, 6/16/2013" Had a fantasy binge for quite some time so I'll be handling these reviews with canned factory responses. Decent read. "
— Danny, 1/31/2013" It is a fun mccaffrey/pern book. I love them all. "
— Leah, 10/27/2012" I'd forgotten how much I like the "Pern" world! "
— LaDawn, 9/29/2012" Audio Book. The story takes place completely during an interval and is about finding fire stone. Firestone is eaten by the dragons so they can make flame. During the book they discover a less volatile form of the fire stone after several of their mines "
— Jake, 9/14/2012" Someone needs to sit Todd down and explain the virtues of continuity to him. "
— Kristin, 6/23/2012" This book returns us to the mining town of Camp Natalon and delves into the world of firestone mining. Reflecting her son Todd's influence, this book is more technical than some of the other Pern stories. "
— Sharon, 6/17/2012" A really good book. The beginning was interesting and the end it was hard to put down. It was just that middle just slowed down so much that I didn't know if I was even going finish it. I will not be keeping it. "
— Katrina, 4/23/2012" Several books in this period in Pern's history are interlocking. Plan on reading all of them in a short period of time, or some of the details will be fuzzy. Which will mean you'll have to go read all of them again, darn it. ;-) "
— Lin, 12/5/2011" Not as good as the first. It would get exciting, and then the characters would sit and talk. And talk and talk and talk. Still a decent book. "
— Katie, 5/29/2011" I am really enjoying this series. Lots of fun and surprises. "
— Max, 5/27/2011" Amazing. The world Anne McCaffrey created is just amazing and everybody should read her books. "
— Entu, 5/21/2011" Loved all the McCaffrey Pern novels I read years ago. "
— Ken, 4/11/2011" I have such a crush on F'nor it's riddiculous.<br/><br/>I enjoyed this installment and I'm looking forward to what happens next. "
— Jane, 4/10/2011" It was just as awesome as book one. Can't wait to read the next. "
— Suvi, 4/4/2011" Liked this so much that I named my cat after the heroine. "
— Jeff, 2/2/2011" The end of this book was sad. :'( But I loved it. Love Anne McCaffery's books. Going to read the whole series. "
— James, 2/1/2011" Continues the story of F'lar and Lessa. Very engaging story; it has everything you would want: intrigue, tragedy, heroism. "
— Angie, 1/29/2011" <br/>If you love dragon books and great characters McCaffrey is your author. These books in my opinion are for adults. The dragons and humans have unmoral habits. "
— Melissa, 1/15/2011" A very good sequel, the plot fills out more in this one and the story becomes a little more fast paced. "
— Emily, 1/7/2011" Wonderful book, quite riveting as are all the books of this series. "
— Brandi, 1/1/2011Anne McCaffrey (1926–2011), one of the world’s most popular authors, was 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 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.
Todd McCaffrey has written more than a dozen books, including eight in the Dragonriders of Pern universe.
Dick Hill, named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, is one of the most awarded narrators in the business, having earned several Audie Awards and thirty-four AudioFile Earphones Awards. In addition to narrating, he has both acted in and written for the theater.