Dragonheart: Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern (The Dragonriders of Pern)
Although not a candidate on the Hatching Grounds, young Fiona, daughter of Fort Hold’s Lord Holder, impresses the only queen-dragon hatchling. She enters the frenzy of feeding, oiling, scratching, and tending the baby dragon as well as learning her responsibilities as a Weyrwoman. Then tragedy strikes as dragons begin to sicken and die. With the fall of Thread looming, will there be enough dragons to fight it? Even though the watch-whers guide and help the dragons fight Thread in the darkness, many dragons and riders are injured. And the threat of Thread is still imminent. The only solution is to send the injured back in time 10 Turns to heal in Ingen, the only empty Weyr. Those living in that past must not become aware of the visitors to avoid influencing events that for the latter have already occurred. When healed, the injured will return to their own time a few days after they left it. Anne McCaffrey’s son meticulously chronicles the creation of a new society at Ingen and maintains the series’ strong portrayal of human-dragon relationships. His second Pern novel further confirms that he is the one to carry the torch of the extremely popular ongoing saga. --Sally Estes