Dragon Harper
Encyclopedia
Dragon Harper is a fantasy
or science fiction
novel
by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey
and her son Todd McCaffrey
, in the Dragonriders of Pern
series that she initiated in 1967. Published forty years later, it was the twenty-first in the series.
Dragon Harper may be considered the last of a trilogy by the McCaffreys, following Dragon's Kin
and Dragon's Fire
. Primarily the three books feature Kindan as a boy and young man, about 500 years after landing on Pern
(500 AL). They were the first collaborations by mother and son.
and Nerilka's Story
(near the end of the Sixth Pass), this book is set in a time of a pandemic
that threatens human life on Pern (just before the third return of Thread
, or Third Pass).
The story focuses on the character Kindan, featured in Dragon's Kin
, who has taken a position as an apprentice at the Harper Hall. In the school-like setting, Kindan has to deal with a bully, a blossoming forbidden relationship, and his role as a protector for new female apprentices after the Masterharper breaks the former taboo against female harpers. The book then deals with an influenza
-like pandemic that threatens the lives of holders, as the Weyrs must maintain a quarantine to keep their rosters healthy enough to fight the next Threadfall.
The story additionally explains the loss of many of the records kept prior, during and after colonization, further reducing the Pernese connection with its off-planet origins.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
or science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey
Anne McCaffrey
Anne Inez McCaffrey was an American-born Irish writer, best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. Over the course of her 46 year career she won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award...
and her son Todd McCaffrey
Todd McCaffrey
Todd J. McCaffrey is an Irish American author of science fiction best known for continuing the Dragonriders of Pern series in collaboration with his mother Anne McCaffrey.-Life:...
, in the Dragonriders of Pern
Dragonriders of Pern
Dragonriders of Pern is a science fiction series written primarily by the late American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey, who initiated it in 1967. Beginning 2003, her middle child Todd McCaffrey has written Pern novels, both solo and jointly with Anne. The series comprises 22 novels and several short...
series that she initiated in 1967. Published forty years later, it was the twenty-first in the series.
Dragon Harper may be considered the last of a trilogy by the McCaffreys, following Dragon's Kin
Dragon's Kin
Dragon's Kin is a fantasy or science fiction novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey and her son Todd McCaffrey. Published by Del Rey Books in 2003, it is the eighteenth book in the Dragonriders of Pern series and the first with Todd as co-author.Dragon's Kin may be considered the first...
and Dragon's Fire
Dragon's Fire
Dragon's Fire is a fantasy or science fiction novel novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey and her son Todd McCaffrey, Published in 2006, it was the twentieth book in the Dragonriders of Pern series that she initiated in 1967....
. Primarily the three books feature Kindan as a boy and young man, about 500 years after landing on Pern
Pern
Pern is a fictional planet created by Anne McCaffrey for the Dragonriders of Pern series of fantasy and science fiction books. It is said to be "Rukbat 3", the third planet in orbit around the star Rukbat, counting outward....
(500 AL). They were the first collaborations by mother and son.
Plot description
Similar to Moreta: Dragonlady of PernMoreta: Dragonlady of Pern
Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern is a fantasy or science fiction novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. It was the seventh book published in the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne or her son Todd McCaffrey....
and Nerilka's Story
Nerilka's Story
Nerilka's Story is a fantasy or science fiction novella by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. It was the eighth book published in the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne or her son Todd McCaffrey.-Plot summary:...
(near the end of the Sixth Pass), this book is set in a time of a pandemic
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
that threatens human life on Pern (just before the third return of Thread
Thread
Thread may refer to:*Thread , a kind of thin yarn used for sewing*Thread , a sequence of instructions that may execute in parallel with each other*Thread , a spore in the science fiction novels Dragonriders of Pern...
, or Third Pass).
The story focuses on the character Kindan, featured in Dragon's Kin
Dragon's Kin
Dragon's Kin is a fantasy or science fiction novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey and her son Todd McCaffrey. Published by Del Rey Books in 2003, it is the eighteenth book in the Dragonriders of Pern series and the first with Todd as co-author.Dragon's Kin may be considered the first...
, who has taken a position as an apprentice at the Harper Hall. In the school-like setting, Kindan has to deal with a bully, a blossoming forbidden relationship, and his role as a protector for new female apprentices after the Masterharper breaks the former taboo against female harpers. The book then deals with an influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
-like pandemic that threatens the lives of holders, as the Weyrs must maintain a quarantine to keep their rosters healthy enough to fight the next Threadfall.
The story additionally explains the loss of many of the records kept prior, during and after colonization, further reducing the Pernese connection with its off-planet origins.