About the Author

Anne McCaffrey, one of the world’s most popular authors, is 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 also given the American Library Association’s Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement in Young Adult Fiction, 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. She died in 2011.

Todd McCaffrey is the bestselling author of the Pern novel Dragonsblood, as well as Dragon’s Kin, which he co-wrote with his mother, Anne McCaffrey. A computer engineer, he currently lives in Los Angeles. Having grown up in Ireland with the epic of the Dragonriders of Pern, he is bursting with ideas for new stories of that world, its people, and its dragons.

Reviews

Praise for Dragon’s Kin by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey

“Superb storytelling . . . Essential for Pern fans of all ages.”
–Library Journal (starred review)

“A guaranteed pleaser [in] one of sf’s most splendid and longest-lived sagas.”
–Booklist

Praise for Dragonsblood by Todd McCaffrey

“Todd McCaffrey does something I didn’t think anyone could do: he writes Anne McCaffrey’s Pern. . . . May the saga continue!”
–David Weber, author of The Shadow of Saganami

“The torch has been passed and burns more brightly than ever. . . . [Dragonsblood] fits beautifully into the existing history and style of earlier books while still breaking new ground.”
–Publishers Weekly

As in Dragon's Kin, only the Pern's young people seem to be motivated enough to find solutions to problems surrounding the deadly space confetti called "Thread." Though colonists are anxious to fuel Pern's dragons with firestone (which they then use to destroy Thread), mining for the hazardous substance comes to a standstill after a devastating collapse. A meandering plot eventually finds Apprentice Harper Pellar drawing back outcasts (the "Shunned") into civilization to survive the looming Threadfall; meanwhile, Cristov, son of a shunned miner, starts a new mine. Batches of dragons, fire lizards, and whers for which the series is known are here; unfortunately, so is shallow characterization and crass dispatching of Shunned children. Though narrator Dick Hill's voice lends amiability, nothing can overcome the deadly dullness of the story. Listeners unfamiliar with the fantasy realm of Pern will quickly tire of the slow pace and lack of action; order on request only. Douglas C. Lord, Connecticut State Lib., Middletown Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Gr 7 Up-Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey's companion fantasy (Del Rey Books, 2006) to Dragon's Kin (Del Rey Books, 2003) is set in the colony of Pern where the colonist are preparing for the Red Star to pass over the planet and destroy everything in its path. The dragons of Pern defend the colony by chewing firestone and stopping the "thread" as it drops from the sky. The problem is that firestone is in short supply. Mining the volatile firestone is dangerous work and done by the Shunned-those ousted from society for committing crimes. Pellar, a mute tracker, makes it his business to determine if the Shunned are actually stealing from the mines. He befriends Halla, a caring soul, and with another friend they work to defend their homeland. The plot suffers from both a lack of passion and a lack of adventure. Dozens of characters enter and leave the story, and only the most stalwart Pern fans will be able to endure the 12 hours of narration by Dick Hill.-Tricia Melgaard, Centennial Middle School, Broken Arrow, OK Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Praise for Dragon's Kin by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey

"Superb storytelling . . . Essential for Pern fans of all ages."
-Library Journal (starred review)

"A guaranteed pleaser [in] one of sf's most splendid and longest-lived sagas."
-Booklist

Praise for Dragonsblood by Todd McCaffrey

"Todd McCaffrey does something I didn't think anyone could do: he writes Anne McCaffrey's Pern. . . . May the saga continue!"
-David Weber, author of The Shadow of Saganami

"The torch has been passed and burns more brightly than ever. . . . [Dragonsblood] fits beautifully into the existing history and style of earlier books while still breaking new ground."
-Publishers Weekly