Tired of his boring life, Lord Jaxom decides to secretly train his extraordinary dragon to take part in the desperate battles of dragons and their riders against the Threadfall that periodically threatens their planet.

At a time when the number of Dragonriders has fallen too low for safety and only one Weyr trains the dragons and their riders, the Red Star approaches Pern, threatening it with disaster.

With the dragons of Pern dying and the only person who can save them long dead, the grieving dragonriders find clues in the lyrics of an ancient ballad to long-forgotten knowledge and secrets hidden somewhere in Benden Weyr.

“[Anne] McCaffrey here adds yet another dimension to her colorful and vivid saga by focusing on the attractive dolphins and their highly believable society.”—Publishers Weekly
When the first humans came to settle the planet Pern, they did not come alone: intelligence-enhanced dolphins also crossed the stars to colonize Pern’s oceans while their human partners settled the vast continents. But then disaster

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When the deadly silver "threadfall" from an orbiting comet threatens to destroy the thriving human colony on the otherwise hospitable planet Pern, scientists and genetic engineers undertake a bold and risky experiment to change the tiny dragon-like winged reptiles called fire lizards into allies for mutual survival.

It's been two-hundred years since the deadly Thread fell like rain upon Pern, devouring everything in its path. No one alive remembers that first horrific onslaught and no one believes in its return--except for the dragonriders. For two centuries they have been practicing and training, passing down from generation to generation the formidable Threadfighting techniques. Now the ominous signs are appearing: the violent winter storms and volcanic eruptions...

Xhinna, the first female Weyrleader, and her group of young dragonriders struggle to rebuild the decimated dragon population and protect the world from a deadly alien spore by collecting dragon eggs and protecting baby dragons from predators and saboteurs.

Young Fiona, rider of the gold queen Talenth, has returned from the past, where she and a group of dragons and riders fled so that the wounded could heal from their previous battles with Thread and the younger dragons could safely grow to fighting age. Gone only three days, yet aged more than three years, Fiona is no longer a child but a woman prepared to fight against the Thread that threatens to destroy her world. Fiona's life takes a pivotal turn...