The planet Pern has been colonized for centuries by humans. When humans first settled on this world, they did not take notice of its sister planet, which had an indigenous life form that attempted to land on Pern when it came within reach. These silver "threads" fell in a destructive wave on the temperate lands of Pern once every 200 years, destroying all life they encountered. To combat this menace, the inhabitants of Pern developed a species of dragon that could burn these threads out of the sky before they touched down.
Casting aside her duty as the heir to the Ambassador of her world, Lady Caissa refuses to marry a man she despises and flees into the Forbidden Zone, where she meets a handsome injured man and sets a world-changing series of events in motion.
When the space liner on which she is traveling is attacked by the infamous planet pirates, Lunzie Mespil escapes to a lifeboat where she plans to sleep in cryogenic stasis until she is rescued, but she is unaware of how long she will wait.
The fate of the galaxy is placed in the hands of Lunzie, who discovers the true nature of a new friend; Fordeliton, who is dying of a mysterious poison; Dupaynil, who is exiled; and Aygar, who tries to prove himself.
In bestsellers McCaffrey and Scarborough's charming first of a new trilogy, Khorii, the adolescent daughter of Acorna ("the unicorn girl"), has her share of problems while at school on an asteroid that serves as a refuge for war orphans after her parents go off to use their Linyaari healing powers against a deadly plague. Khorii's roommate doesn't like her feline companion; a bully doesn't care for her android foster brother, Elviiz; and she learns about human nudity taboos the hard way.
