Dragonriders of Pern Books in Order
Anne McCaffrey's long-running science-fantasy saga set on the colony world of Pern, where telepathically bonded humans and dragons battle the deadly spores known as Thread. Spanning over two millennia of Pernese history, the series was later continued by Todd McCaffrey and Gigi McCaffrey.
Publication order
In the order the books were originally released.
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Buy on Amazon1968 · Anne McCaffrey
On the world of Pern, the deadly silver Thread falls from the sky to devour all living things, held back only by fire-breathing dragons and their…
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Buy on Amazon1971 · Anne McCaffrey
Years after Pern's dragonriders reunited to fight Thread, old rivalries and generational tensions threaten their fragile alliance. F'lar and F'nor…
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Buy on Amazon1976 · Anne McCaffrey
Menolly has a gift for music in a Sea Hold where Harper craft is forbidden to her because she is a girl. Stifled and injured, she flees rather than…
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Buy on Amazon1977 · Anne McCaffrey
Now taken in at the Harper Hall to train as a musician, Menolly must navigate the jealousies, rules, and rivalries of formal apprenticeship. Talented…
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Buy on Amazon1978 · Anne McCaffrey
Jaxom is a young lord holder burdened by an accident of fate: he Impressed the small white dragon Ruth, an oddity no one believes will amount to…
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Buy on Amazon1979 · Anne McCaffrey
Piemur, a gifted boy singer at the Harper Hall, loses his treasured voice to adolescence and is quietly redirected into the craft's more secretive…
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Buy on Amazon1983 · Anne McCaffrey
Set generations before Lessa's time, this tale follows Moreta, a beloved queen rider, during an age when a deadly plague sweeps across Pern's people…
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Buy on Amazon1986 · Anne McCaffrey
During the same devastating plague that threatens Pern in Moreta's era, Nerilka, a dutiful holder's daughter overshadowed in her own family, abandons…
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Anne McCaffrey
This prequel returns to the very beginning, when colonists from a distant Earth settle the seemingly idyllic planet Pern. Their carefully planned new…
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Buy on Amazon1989 · Anne McCaffrey
This installment follows the outcasts, wanderers, and dispossessed of Pern who live outside the protection of the great Holds and Weyrs. Weaving…
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Buy on Amazon1991 · Anne McCaffrey
When the rediscovered artificial intelligence of the original colonists, AIVAS, awakens, it offers the people of Pern knowledge their ancestors lost.…
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Buy on Amazon1994 · Anne McCaffrey
Readis, a holder's son, forms a bond with the intelligent dolphins of Pern's seas, creatures that have waited generations for humans to remember…
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Buy on Amazon1996 · Anne McCaffrey
Set during an Interval when Thread has not fallen for many years, this story finds Pern's people complacent and some doubting the menace will ever…
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Buy on Amazon1998 · Anne McCaffrey
This novel chronicles the life of Robinton, who rises to become Pern's beloved Masterharper. From his musically gifted but difficult childhood…
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Buy on Amazon2001 · Anne McCaffrey
With AIVAS's plan changing Pern forever, the dragonriders face an uncertain new purpose and unforeseen natural dangers, including catastrophic events…
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Buy on Amazon2003 · Anne McCaffrey
Set in Pern's early generations, this story follows Kindan, a boy in a mining Hold who loses his family to a tragic underground disaster. Apprenticed…
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Buy on Amazon2005 · Todd McCaffrey
Centuries after the colonists settled Pern, a mysterious illness begins killing the dragons the planet depends upon. As the disease spreads, a healer…
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Buy on Amazon2006 · Anne McCaffrey
In Pern's early days, this tale follows several young people, including Pellar and Halla, against the threat posed by Tenim, a dangerous and…
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Buy on Amazon2007 · Anne McCaffrey
Young Harper apprentice Kindan returns as Pern faces a deadly outbreak of plague that threatens both Harper Hall and the wider population. Amid…
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Buy on Amazon2008 · Todd McCaffrey
Fiona, a young weyrwoman, Impresses a queen dragon while still very young and finds herself shouldering responsibilities beyond her years. As a…
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Buy on Amazon2010 · Todd McCaffrey
Continuing Fiona's story, this novel follows the young weyrwoman and her companions as they cope with the ongoing dragon sickness and the strain it…
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Buy on Amazon2011 · Anne McCaffrey
Fiona and the dragonriders confront the continuing crisis of too few dragons and riders to hold back Threadfall. Drawing on the dangerous ability of…
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Buy on Amazon2012 · Anne McCaffrey
In this conclusion to the trilogy following Fiona's generation, the young riders work to rebuild their depleted strength by traveling through time to…
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2018 · Gigi McCaffrey
Set during the momentous era when AIVAS guides Pern toward ending Threadfall, this story follows the harper and former spy Piemur. As…
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Companion & related books
Short-story collections and companion titles in this series.
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Buy on AmazonThe Girl Who Heard Dragons (Pern #8.5)
1985 · Anne McCaffrey
A young girl discovers an extraordinary gift when she hears the thoughts of dragons, a connection forbidden in her isolated seaside holding. As she…
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Frequently asked questions
What order should I read the Dragonriders of Pern books in?
Publication order — Anne McCaffrey, who said the books are best read in the order they were written Start with “Dragonflight.”
How many books are in the Dragonriders of Pern series?
We list 24 books by Anne McCaffrey , published between 1968–2018.
Where can I buy the Dragonriders of Pern books?
Each title above links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Reading order compiled from author/publisher guidance and verified bibliographic data. Spotted an error? We continuously correct the catalog.