Product Description

Bringing fresh wonders and dangers to light in the skies of Pern, Anne McCaffrey and her son, Todd, who demonstrated his writing talents in the bestselling novels Dragon’s Kin and Dragonsblood, return with their second collaboration: a thrilling adventure of discovery and fate.

Pellar is an orphan taken in by Masterharper Zist. Though born mute, Pellar is a gifted tracker, and when Zist sets off to take over as harper for Natalon’s coal-mining camp, Pellar–along with his fire-lizard, Chitter–joins him on a secret mission of his own: to find out if reported thefts of coal are the work of the Shunned, criminals condemned to a life of wandering and hardship.

Halla is one of the children of the Shunned. Though innocent of their parents’ crimes, these children have inherited their cruel punishment. Lack of food, shelter, and clothes is their lot; hope is unknown to them. And what future would they hope for? Without a hold to call their own, there will be no protection for them when the lethal Thread inevitably falls again. Life is even tougher for Halla. Her family gone, she must fend for herself. Yet despite the brutality of her surroundings, Halla is kind and gentle, devoted to those more helpless than she.

As depraved as Halla is good, Tenim is in league with Tarik, a crooked miner from Camp Natalon, who helps him steal coal in exchange for a cut of the profit. But Tenim soon realizes there is a lot more to be made from firestone, the volatile mineral that enables the dragons of Pern to burn Thread out of the sky. Tenim doesn’t care what he has to do, or whom he has to kill, in order to corner the market.

Cristov is Tarik’s son. Dishonored by his father’s greed and treachery, the boy must make amends somehow, even if it means risking his life by mining the volatile firestone, which detonates on contact with the slightest drop of moisture.

When the last remaining firestone mine explodes in flames, a desperate race begins to find a new deposit of the deadly but essential mineral, for without it there can be no defense against Thread. But Tenim has a murderous plan to turn tragedy to his own advantage, and only Pellar, Halla, and Cristov can stop him–and ensure that there will be a future for all on the world of the Dragonriders.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #94580 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-11
• Released on: 2006-07-11
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The McCaffreys' second fire-breathing collaboration (after 2003's Dragon's Kin) again proves why these fabled dragons still cast a spell. Pellar, a mute Apprentice Harper; Halla, a homeless girl; and Cristov, a miner's son, learn invaluable life lessons as the planet Pern prepares for the return of the deadly Red Star and its annihilating "Thread," which can only be destroyed by firestone-fueled dragonfire. But mining firestone is dangerous work, often carried out by children of disenfranchised criminals called the Shunned. Accompanied by his new fire-lizard Chitter, Pellar joins Masterharper Zist in a search for Moran, a missing Journeyman Harper who's involved with the Shunned. Pellar finds his fate intertwined with Halla, but his tangle with Tenim, a ruthless thief, almost keeps them apart. Their friend Cristov learns about the Shunned firsthand after a terrible mine explosion. Fortunately, events lead to dragon-riding wish fulfillment and a remarkable discovery. While it allegorizes the risks of mining fossil fuels and the horrors of slave labor, this coming-of-age fantasy offers suitable dragon play for all ages. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up–The McCaffreys return to Pern. The story is set in the same time period as Dragon's Kin (Del Rey, 2003), the second Interval after landing, but has a different focus. The colonists are preparing for the next 50-year pass of the Red Star and the start of Thread, a mindless killer that falls from the skies destroying all organic material in its path. To combat this threat, the dragons must chew firestone to burn Thread from the sky. However, the mining of the firestone is difficult–any drop of moisture makes it explode, and it has killed countless dragons and miners. The other problem is what to do with the Shunned. They are holders who have committed crimes that have banished them from the holds but with Thread coming, they will die if they are holdless. The story is brought to life by a mute harper's apprentice, Pellar, and a miner's son, Cristov, who take it upon themselves to save the Shunned and the dragonriders alike. This novel reintroduces readers to well-known characters such as Kindan and Master Zist and introduces new characters and concepts of the world of Pern. A companion volume, it also stands on its own.–June H. Keuhn, Corning East High School, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
The sequel to Dragon's Kin (2003) is another successful McCaffrey mother-and-son collaboration. The deadly Thread has not fallen on Pern for nearly 200 turns, but it is due to in another 18, and the firestone needed by the dragons to breathe fire and fight Thread is in short supply. On top of that, mining the volatile firestone is very dangerous and is usually done by the Shunned, people who have been ousted for committing crimes. When the last firestone mine explodes, killing virtually every miner, young Cristov, son of a miner who was Shunned for causing a coal mine to collapse, volunteers to find and work a new mine. But will that be enough to save Pern? On another front, apprentice harper Pellar, the mute, adopted son of a masterharper, is involved in searching for the Shunned and their children to help them survive the coming Thread. A number of well-limned major characters move the plot forward with the long series' expected momentum, and as usual, the interactions between humans, dragons, fire lizards, and whers put the richly detailed story on a par with the rest of the Pern canon. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Are they starting to tire?
I think this is a good book for Pern book lovers like me. I do NOT however think it is up to the McCaffrey of old, It feels like it could have taken another rewrite. The characters didn't quite come to life, somehow.
The story's entertaining, and the pace is at times, fast. To kill off a major character, then re-awaken him later in the story reminds me of the film end-of-season cliffhangers.

Nice addition to the Pern series
Just finished this book and must say I really enjoyed it. I was hoping for some novels about the time of Lessa and the days after the last Thread fall, but it is really nice to see some of the events that happened earlier in the history of Pern. If you love the Pern series, then get this book.

Protecting the Shunned
Dragon's Fire (2006) is the second SF novel in this subseries of the Dragonriders of Pern, following Dragon's Kin. In the previous volume, at Camp Natalon, Kindan trained Natalon's blind daughter Nuella to direct his green watch-wher Kisk. After a cave-in in the mine, Kindan taught her to take Kisk between to the trapped miners and then to bring them back with her.

During the rescue, the watch-wher rebonded to Nuella and changed her name to Nuelsk. Kindan was not very surprised about loosing the watch-wher, for Nuella and Nuelsk made an ideal pair. Besides, he had been asked to tryout at Harper Hall.

In this novel, the Shunned are outcasts from normal society. Many have done evil deeds and so their Holders have Shunned them. But many more among the outcasts are the spouses and children of the Shunned. While innocent of any wrongdoing themselves, they go with their relatives into exile.

The Harper leaders are concerned about the Shunned. The thread will be coming soon and the Shunned will be without shelter. Earlier, they had sent out Journeyman Moran to contact the Shunned, but have not heard anything back from him.

Pellar is the adopted child of Master Zist and Cayla. They are Harpers and he is also a Harper in the eyes of everyone except himself. Pellar excels at instrument making and other Harper skills. He is a graphic artist and can directly contact the mind of dragons. He even has a bronze fire-lizard, Chitter. Yet he is mute and thus cannot sing.

Zist, Cayla and their young daughter Carissa leave Pellar behind when they venture into the wilds to contact the Shunned. He would have been too obvious, but he still wants to go. While Zist and Cayla find the Shunned, they also discover that a disease is killing off many outcasts. Cayla and Carissa catch the disease and die of it.

After Master Zist returns from the disastrous journey, he takes the position of Harper at Camp Natalon. Pellar accompanies him, but stays out of sight. On the journey, Pellar notices someone among the Shunned who leaves yellowtop flowers on the graves of their dead. This person is small and wears bark sandals.

Once they reach the vicinity of the Camp, Pellar hides out while he keeps an eye on Zist and the surrounding countryside. He notices the same footprints and tracks the child. He discovers her hanging from one of his snares and learns that her name is Halla. Pellar also finds the Shunned camp.

In this story, Pellar discovers that Moran has collected a group of Shunned children and is trying to take care of them. Moran has been begging for food -- or money to buy food -- for the children, but sometimes he spends the money on hard drinks. He is well meaning, but is just not a good parent for the children.

Tenim was one of the children raised by Moran. Unfortunately, he has grown up to be a bully. Moreover, he has a falcon that he has trained to attack on order. And he has plans to steal enough coal from Camp Natalon to become rich.

Tarik is the uncle of Natalon -- the chief miner at the camp -- and the father of Cristov. Tarik is allied with Tenim in the plot to steal coal from the mine. He is also going to get rich and then boss his own mine.

This story tells of the circumstances of the Shunned. Even some Lords who had Shunned them are beginning to worry about their fate. The Harpers find that bands of children from Shunned parents are roaming the countrysides. Most of these children won't reach adulthood, dying from untreated diseases and accidents.

Another theme is the dangers of firestone. This ore is especially sensitive to water, exploding or outgassing toxic fumes on contact. Then Kindan begins to research the issue and discovers that firestone may have been different in the far past.

This novel continues the story began in Dragon's Kin and adds new characters. The tale is convoluted and exciting, a good read. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for McCaffrey fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of fire-breathing dragons, valiant heroes and heroines, and a touch of romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin