Dragonsdawn

Dragonriders of Pern, Book 9

By: Anne McCaffrey

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

The beautiful planet Pern seemed a paradise to its new colonists - until unimaginable terror turned it into hell. Suddenly, deadly spores were falling like silver threads from the sky, devouring everything - and everyone - in their path. It began to look as if the colony, cut off from Earth and lacking the resources to combat the menace, was doomed.

Then, some of the colonists noticed that the small, dragon-like lizards that inhabited their new world were joining the fight against Thread, breathing fire on it and teleporting to safety. If only, they thought, the dragonets were big enough for a human to ride and intelligent enough to work as a team with a rider...

And so they set their most talented geneticist to work to create the creatures Pern so desperately needed - Dragons!

Pay another visit to Pern.

©1989 Anne McCaffrey (P)2005 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"Newcomers will find McCaffrey's latest an accessible introduction to the world of Pern." ( Library Journal)

Absolutely wonderful!

Love the book! Dick Hill's performance (and it was most definitely a performance and NOT just a narration) was absolutely superb!!!

Love this, book and audiobook

This was my first audiobook; I borrowed a copy on CD from the library five or six years ago for a long commute. Dick Hill's mellifluous voice is a pleasure to listen to. I own the book and have read it multiple times, but I still remember the moment when Dick's emotive narration punched me in the gut and made me realize that a *good* audiobook is so much more than listening to someone read to you. It's a whole new way to experience a book. This was the clear choice for first download when I got Audible.
As far as the story goes, I love this one. Personally, I agree with and recommend Anne McCaffrey's suggestion of reading the Pern series in publication order. If you do that, this story is a prequel. You come across names that are familiar and it's fun to see where they came from; you realize the origins of some of the traditions and practices you already know. This book explains a lot of the beginnings of things; personally, I enjoy it more because it's backstory on people and places we already love.
Anyway, if you're new to Pern, I say don't start here, start with Dragonflight. But once you get to this story, Dick Hill's reading is a wonderful way to experience this well-written blend of space colonization story, fantasy adventure, and the origin story for some of the most beloved dragons of all time.

excellent

I have read it before but had never heard it and my son has never read it or heard it and we enjoyed it immensely

loved this book thoroughly enthralled wow amazing.

I can't wait to know what happens next. narrator kept my full attention the entire time.

My favorite one by far

Fascinating, I like all of the books, but this one was so intense and the stakes were much higher than all the other ones I've read- I actually got choked up at one point. so good.

Really like this book

I have read the series before, but wanted to hear it. Was not disappointed. Have been looking for the book where they rediscover rooms from the antiquity of the planet in an old cave with many products that were no longer remembered. Why does it say a headline is optional if you won't take it without?

A wonderful prequel to the series.

This is the perfect book to start with IF you have read books from her series that take place after the events in this book.
I read most of the Drangonriders of Pern books many years ago and decided to revisit. This time chronologically. I really enjoyed reading the very beginning of dragon kind and Pern's inhabitants, especially knowing how it evolved later on.
It was a great plot hole filler for the series. Many times, I would think, "Oh, that's why!" for various questions I may not have even known I had, from the series. Names of Holds, for example.
However, had this been my very first dragonrider book, I may have been a little bored in the beginning, even though the ending left me wanting more!

loved it

I always loved this story and where It All began, I adored the narrator

The narrators emotion. A great voice actor.

Fun and serious. This book had me laughing and crying. The biology and universe of pern and it's people are really interesting while remaining familiar enough to relate to.

The origin of Pern and the dragonriders

The story is great, with characters you can love. It answers a lot of questions, even those you didn't know you had. After reading this book and the short stories in Dragon's Eye, you will be an expert on the origins of Pern and its society.