Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy . In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as grounded by the laws of nature and comprehensible by science, while a conventional fantasy story contains mostly supernatural elements that do not obey the scientific laws of the real world. The world of science fantasy, however, is laid out to be scientifically logical and often supplied with hard science -like explanations of any supernatural elements.
53-411: Dragonriders of Pern is a science fantasy series written primarily by American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey , who initiated it in 1967. Beginning in 2003, her middle child Todd McCaffrey has written Pern novels, both solo and jointly with Anne. The series (as of 2024) comprises 24 novels and two collections of short stories. The two novellas included in the first novel, Dragonflight , made McCaffrey
106-468: A pre-industrial society , with lords, holds, harpers (musicians, entertainers, and teachers), and dragons, with occasional examples of higher technology (like flamethrowers, the telegraph, chemical fertilizers , and powerful microscopes and telescopes ). There are four basic social classes: Weyrfolk (centered on Dragonriders) who live in Weyrs, Holders who rule Holds (cities, towns and farms), Crafters, and
159-634: A space opera ". Dragonflight (novel) Dragonflight is a science fiction novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey . It is the first book in the Dragonriders of Pern series. First published by Ballantine Books in July 1968, it was a fix-up of two novellas which between them had made McCaffrey the first woman writer to win a Hugo and a Nebula Award . In 1987, Locus ranked Dragonflight at number nine among
212-421: A blue dragon, who must earn the respect of all who follow her and solve the problem of how to get sufficient numbers of dragon eggs, all while protecting her people and baby dragons from the predators and, worse, traitors! (ii) Barnes & Noble lists a CD "Dragon's School by Anne McCaffrey" expected December 2011. [1] . Confirmed 2011-10-09. Soon after release of Dragon's Time , Todd corrected that early date for
265-440: A chance to meet the authors in person. Anne was originally scheduled to attend the 2011 Dragon*Con, but had deferred her appearance until the 2012 event due to heart problems, just a few months before her death in late November of that year. In 2013, Weyrfest was folded into Dragon*Con's Fantasy Literature track, along with Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Leadership of these dragons and riders falls to Xhinna, female rider of
318-533: A cover story illustrated by Schoenherr. "Weyr Search" features a young woman named Lessa being recruited to establish a telepathic bond with a queen dragon at its hatching, thus becoming a dragonrider, and the leader of a Weyr community on the fictional planet Pern . "Dragonrider" features the growth of Lessa's queen dragon, Ramoth, and their training together. Analog editor John W. Campbell asked "to see dragons fighting Thread", Pern's menace from space, and he also suggested time travel. In response, McCaffrey wrote
371-409: A leading position among the dragons, and his rider automatically becomes the leader of the human dragon riders. The passion of the male dragon and queen mating up in the air can telepathically transfer itself to their male and female human partners, inducing them to a passionate human lovemaking (at least, that is how it happens in the case described in the book). Dragonflight is the story of Lessa ,
424-471: A mixture of science fiction and fantasy in Startling Stories magazine. Critic Judith Murry considered science fantasy as works of fantasy in which magic has a natural scientific basis. Science fiction critic John Clute chose the narrower term "technological fantasy" from the broader concept of "science fiction". The label first came into wide use after many science fantasy stories were published in
477-410: A part of science fiction that was not plausible from the point of view of the science of the time (for example, the use of nuclear weapons in H.G. Wells' novel The World Set Free was a science fantasy from the point of view of Newtonian physics and a work of science fiction from the point of view of Einstein's theory). In 1948, writer Marion Zimmer (later known as Zimmer Bradley) called "science fantasy"
530-491: A popular discussion forum and chat (The Kitchen Table) for fans to interact with each other and with the author. After its discontinuation in January 2005, several fan-organized discussion forums have taken its place as an outlet for fan activity. Offline, the largest Pern fan gathering was WeyrFest, held yearly at Dragon*Con beginning in 1992. Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey were frequent attendees at WeyrFest, offering fans
583-476: A process called Impression . Tradition, established thousands of years before the narrative, dictates that selected young humans with empathetic and telepathic talents are taken to the Hatching Grounds as candidates for Impression. The dragons come in several colors which generally correlate with their sizes; blue males, green females, brown males, bronze males, and golden females – queens. Bronzes,
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#1732772207373636-406: A third story titled "Crack Dust, Black Dust", which was not published separately, but provided crucial material for the novel. Dragonflight takes place in the far future on Pern , a planet colonized by humans. The colonists had originally intended to gradually adopt a low-technology agrarian lifestyle, but were forced to move more quickly after they encountered the deadly Thread raining down from
689-454: Is a watch-wher, a somewhat telepathic animal related to dragons, that guards the Hold. Lessa psychically influences other Hold workers to do less than their best work, or to become clumsy or inefficient, in order to sabotage Ruatha as part of her strategy to make it economically unproductive, so that Fax will renounce it and she can retake her Hold. F'lar , wingleader at Benden Weyr, and rider of
742-428: The best novel Hugo Award . In 1991, Dragonflight , the first Pern book published, was released as a set of three graphic novels by Eclipse Books of Forestville, California . The story was adapted across all three graphic novels by Brynne Stephens . The first two graphic novels were illustrated by Lela Dowling and Fred Von Tobel, the third by Lela Dowling and Cynthia Martin . There are two CDs of music relating to
795-496: The 1950s and 1960s. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction points out that as a genre, science fantasy "has never been clearly defined", and was most commonly used in the period between 1950 and 1966. The Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry is sometimes cited as an example of science fantasy. Writer James F. Broderick describes Star Trek as science fantasy because it includes semi-futuristic as well as supernatural/fantasy elements such as The Q . According to
848-516: The 33 "All-Time Best Fantasy Novels", based on a poll of subscribers. Two components of Dragonflight were award-winning novellas published by Analog science fiction magazine. The first segment, "Weyr Search", illustrated by John Schoenherr , had been the cover story for the October 1967 issue. The second segment, "Dragonrider", appeared in two parts, beginning in December 1967, and was also
901-613: The American pulp magazines , such as Robert A. Heinlein 's Magic, Inc. , L. Ron Hubbard 's Slaves of Sleep , and Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp 's Harold Shea series. All were relatively rationalistic stories published in John W. Campbell Jr. 's Unknown magazine. These were a deliberate attempt to apply the techniques and attitudes of science fiction to traditional fantasy subjects. Distinguishing between pure science fiction and pure fantasy, Rod Serling argued that
954-709: The Dragonriders, who have a planet-wide organization and to whom a tithe is due – though they are in no way sworn to celibacy (rather the reverse). The series as a whole covers over two and a half millennia. There are 24 Dragonriders of Pern novels and two story collections, the latest published in 2018. Anne McCaffrey once requested reading the works in the order they were written. That differs greatly from Pern historical order, for several reasons. The McCaffreys have published stories set in several different periods of Pern's history from initial exploration to more than 2,500 years after landing (AL). Multiple stories feature
1007-602: The Holdless who have no permanent home (including traders, displaced Holders, and brigands). The society resembles feudal Europe, but with some significant differences – especially, farmers are organized in their own guild, independent of the Holders – rather than being serfs as in historical feudal societies. Also, there is no formal religion and nothing like the Medieval Church , the closest equivalent being in fact
1060-579: The Internet. Soon after, fanfiction sites such as FanFiction.net started offering the opportunity to post and read fanfiction based on Anne McCaffrey's works. The relaxing of the rules also resulted in the appearance of message board–based games as another popular club type. Fan sites no longer require approval and are not bound to the formerly strict canon rules, resulting in fan clubs testing out alternatives such as new dragon colors or off-Pern scenarios. From 2000 until 2005, Anne McCaffrey's website offered
1113-531: The Pern world. The Pern fandom consists of a large variety of fan communities. The largest part of the fandom is made up by clubs that allow their members to 'play' Pern by creating original characters within the setting of Anne McCaffrey's world. To avoid conflicts with Pern canon and trademarks, each club typically chooses a particular location and timeline as a unique setting different from Anne McCaffrey's established history of Pern. Most commonly, clubs are named for
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#17327722073731166-503: The Teaching Ballads and the works of Masterharper Robinton and Menolly. The Masterharper of Pern was made in 1998 by Anglo-Alaskan duo Tania Opland and Mike Freeman in collaboration with Anne McCaffrey at her request, and features the music of Robinton. The project began as an idea to include written music in the book of the same name, printed on the inner faces of the cover. By the time the composers had written and auditioned
1219-702: The Weyrwoman, the new co-leader of the last active Weyr. On Ramoth's first mating flight, Mnementh catches her, and by Weyr tradition, this makes F'lar the Weyrleader. One Weyr by itself is not enough to defend the planet; there had been six, but the other five Weyrs are now empty, deserted since the last Pass centuries before. In a desperate attempt to increase their numbers, a new queen, Prideth, and her rider, Kylara, are sent back between times (a recently rediscovered skill) ten turns, to allow Prideth time to mature and reproduce. Lessa travels four hundred turns into
1272-497: The actual world does not supply', with the stuff of desires, dreams, and dread." Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore published novels in Startling Stories , alone and together, which were far more romantic . These were closely related to the work that they and others were doing for outlets like Weird Tales , such as Moore's Northwest Smith stories. Ace Books published a number of books as science fantasy during
1325-449: The ballad "Four Hundred Turns" written by Anne McCaffrey shortly after she completed Dragonflight . It was placed in a desk drawer where it lay forgotten for almost forty years until the author rediscovered it just as the CD project was underway. It had never been seen or published before. Songbooks are also available containing the music from the first CD, with a similar book for the second in
1378-465: The big screen. In April 2011, Copperheart signed David Hayter as screenwriter and Don Murphy as executive producer for a film version of Dragonflight ; the production was expected to begin in 2012. In July 2014, Warner Bros. optioned all 22 volumes of the series for a feature live-action film. Later in November, Warner Bros. hired author-screenwriter Sarah Cornwell to adapt the first installment of
1431-570: The bronze dragon Mnementh, finds Lessa while searching for candidates to impress a new queen dragon. The current queen has a batch of eggs due to hatch shortly, including a crucial golden egg. After killing Fax in single combat, following the rules of the Pernese code duello , he realises that she manipulated him emotionally to kill Fax and engineered Fax's renouncement. F'lar recognizes that Lessa possesses both unusually strong psychic abilities and great strength of will. He recognizes her potential to be
1484-432: The dragon's hatching. The bonding instantly creates a very close, lifelong relationship – the dragon almost invariably commits suicide at the rider's death, and a rider whose dragon died bears a deep emotional wound which can never be fully healed. Later books deal with the initial colonization of Pern and the genetic modification of small native animals into creatures capable of carrying humans in flight. The Pernese live in
1537-550: The early drafts at the author's table it was clear that making the songs a reality to their creator's satisfaction was finally possible. The CD project was completed some eighteen months later (1998) and released to the approval of the author and fans of the series worldwide. The second CD pertaining mainly to the work another Pernese harper, Menolly, was completed in December 2008. Entitled Sunset's Gold , this features Opland and Freeman with other musicians, and comprises twelve tracks of music recorded from 2006 to 2008. The CD includes
1590-460: The first woman to win a Hugo Award for writing fiction as well as the first to win a Nebula Award . Humans have colonized the planet Pern in the Rukbat star system, but have lost much of their technology and history (including their origin on Earth ) due to periodic onslaughts of Thread, a mycorrhizoid spore that voraciously consumes all organic material, including humans and their crops, given
1643-416: The former was "the improbable made possible" while the latter was "the impossible made probable". As a combination of the two, science fantasy gives a scientific veneer of realism to things that simply could not happen in the real world under any circumstances. Where science fiction does not permit the existence of fantastical or supernatural elements, science fantasy explicitly relies upon them to complement
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1696-414: The general population to dismiss the threat as myth and gradually withdraw support from the Weyrs where dragons are bred and trained. By the time of this narrative, only one Weyr remains (the other five having mysteriously disappeared at the same time in the last quiet interval), maintaining a precarious existence. Dragons are telepathic and are capable of forming a lifelong bond with one particular human in
1749-524: The history immediately before and during the Third Pass, about 500 Turns after landing (AL): " Weyr Search " won the inaugural Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1968 and "Dragonrider" won the Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1969 (both were finalists for both awards). Dragonquest , The White Dragon , Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern and All the Weyrs of Pern were among the five annual finalists for
1802-435: The largest males, are by tradition the only ones who compete to win the queens in their mating flights. The green females are banned from breeding as they produce only small, less talented dragons. The golden queens are not only the largest dragons, they also hold a subtle control over their dragon communities Weyrs. The Queen sets out on a Mating Flight, pursued by several bronze males; the one who wins and mates with her assumes
1855-400: The late science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke , many purists argue that Star Trek is science fantasy rather than science fiction because of its scientifically improbable elements, which he partially agreed with. The status of Star Wars as a science fantasy franchise has been debated. In 2015, George Lucas stated that " Star Wars isn't a science-fiction film, it's a fantasy film and
1908-460: The main Weyr chosen as playing location. Historically, the first clubs started out publishing printed fanzines containing fanfiction and artwork. With the advent of the internet, clubs using online technology such as roleplay via chat or email ( PBeM ) became popular. Text-based online virtual reality games, primarily MUSH and MUCK variants such as PernMUSH , have modeled Pern since the early 1990s. In
1961-568: The mid '90s, stringent rules were placed on the creation of new clubs and the governance of existing clubs, resulting in legal action against some fans. For example, no new fan-created MU* games were allowed while the game rights were licensed to Ubisoft for the development of the Dragon Riders: Chronicles of Pern computer game (released in 2001). In November 2004, Anne McCaffrey relaxed her fandom rules significantly and allowed Pernese fanfiction to be posted freely throughout
2014-479: The name got changed to "Sky Dragons" and it will be out 26 June 2012. Science fantasy During the Golden Age of Science Fiction , science fantasy stories were seen in sharp contrast to the terse, scientifically plausible material that came to dominate mainstream science fiction, typified by the magazine Astounding Science Fiction . Although science fantasy stories at that time were often relegated to
2067-541: The next book to 2012 and did not comment on its title or completion of the epoch. See responses 18, 20, 24, 29, and 30 on Todd McCaffrey (16 January 2012). "Newsletter" . Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. {{ cite web }} : CS1 maint: unfit URL ( link ) • On March 13, 2012 , Todd corrected information about the title and release date of the previously-named Dragonrider . See "Dragongirl, Dragon's Time, and Dragonrider" . Todd McCaffrey . 8 July 2011 . Retrieved 29 September 2024 . March 13, 2012 ...
2120-674: The novellas "Weyr Search", which won the 1968 Hugo Award for Best Novella (voted by members of the annual World Science Fiction Convention ) and "Dragonrider", which won the Nebula Award for Best Novella (voted annually by the Science Fiction Writers of America ) in 1969. McCaffrey was the first woman writer to win either award. In 1999, the American Library Association cited the two early Pern trilogies ( Dragonriders and Harper Hall ), along with The Ship Who Sang , when McCaffrey received
2173-471: The opportunity. Thread comes from the Red Star, actually another planet. The Red Star has a 250-Turn (Pernese year) elliptic orbit around Rukbat, and when its orbit brings it close enough, Thread rains down on Pern at predictable intervals over about 50 Turns. The Pernese use intelligent firebreathing dragons to fight Thread. A human rider has a telepathic bond with their dragon, formed by Impression at
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2226-482: The past to bring the five 'missing' Weyrs forward to her present. This is a huge strain for both her and Ramoth. She convinces the dragonriders of the five Weyrs to go with her to their future, and they use the Red Star as a guide to make smaller, less strenuous hops forward in time. This not only provides much needed skilled reinforcements in the battle against Thread, but explains how and why the five Weyrs were abandoned: they came forward in time. Dragonflight includes
2279-448: The project to Warner Brothers Network . In 2002, Warner Brothers Network and writer Ronald D. Moore had completed sets and casting for a pilot episode, and were within a few days of filming. Moore had sent the pilot episode to Warners for final approval. It was returned with so many changes to the basic structure of Pern - making it more like Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Xena: Warrior Princess - that it no longer much resembled
2332-721: The same events from different viewpoints. Some stories feature travel between times, even across centuries. Todd McCaffrey, writing alone or with his mother after 2002, has specialized in an early time period. These stories take place immediately before and during the Ninth Pass, about 2,500 years after landing (AL): The trilogy was released 1978 in omnibus edition titled The Dragonriders of Pern by Nelson Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club. These stories take place immediately before and concurrently with those depicted in Dragonquest and The White Dragon . The Harper Hall trilogy
2385-492: The scientific elements. In explaining the intrigue of science fantasy, Carl D. Malmgren provides an intro regarding C. S. Lewis 's speculation on the emotional needs at work in the subgenre: "In the counternatural worlds of science fantasy, the imaginary and the actual, the magical and the prosaic, the mythical and the scientific, meet and interanimate. In so doing, these worlds inspire us with new sensations and experiences, with [quoting C. S. Lewis] 'such beauty, awe, or terror as
2438-464: The series. There have been several games released based on the Pern series: McCaffrey threatened legal action against unauthorized text-based, online, role-playing game communities based on the Pern world. She approved of strict rules for the communities that cleared some of these MUDs . In the 1990s, PernMUSH was one such community. The community's rules discouraged straying out of character from
2491-620: The sky. By harnessing and riding the indigenous, flying, fire-breathing dragons (with genetic alterations to make them larger and telepathic), the colonists destroyed the Thread in the skies over Pern, creating pockets of safety over its surface, before it was able to burrow into the land and breed. Humanity finally managed to find equilibrium and began to create a thriving culture, society, and economy, eventually expanding right across Pern's northern continent. However, when this narrative begins, an unusually long interval between Thread attacks has caused
2544-428: The sole survivor of the noble ruling family of Ruatha Hold on the northern continent of Pern. When the rest of her family is killed by a cruel usurper, Fax , she survives by disguising herself as a drudge (a menial servant), partly through simply adopting a slovenly appearance, but also by using her hereditary telepathic abilities to make others see her as far older and less attractive than she actually is. Her only friend
2597-483: The status of children's entertainment, their freedom of imagination and romance proved to be an early major influence on the "New Wave" writers of the 1960s, who became exasperated by the limitations of "Hard Science Fiction" . The term "science fantasy" was coined in 1935 by critic Forrest J. Ackerman as a synonym for science fiction. In the 1950s, the British journalist Walter Gillings considered science fantasy as
2650-486: The strongest Weyrwoman in recent history, and the path to his own leadership at Benden Weyr. F'lar convinces a reluctant Lessa to give up her birthright as Lord Holder of Ruatha Hold for the larger domain of the dragonweyr and she agrees to pass the title on to Fax's newborn son (who later features in The White Dragon ). F'lar takes Lessa to Benden Weyr, where she Impresses the queen hatchling Ramoth and becomes
2703-745: The works. Prior to 1995, the motion picture and ancillary rights to the literary property were optioned by various entities, including Robert Mandell (for a cartoon series adaptation that was eventually redeveloped into Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders ) and Kerry Skogland. In 1996, McCaffrey sold the motion picture rights to an Irish company, Zyntopo Teoranta, who entered into a co-production agreement with Alliance Atlantis , covering development including advanced 3-D animation and compositing effects for television budgets. Distribution pre-sale efforts failed, and Zyntopo Teoranta entered into an agreement with Ronald D. Moore as showrunner to present
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#17327722073732756-484: The world created by Anne McCaffrey. As a fan of the Dragonriders of Pern series, Moore refused to continue. Filming was canceled, and rights ownership remained with Zyntopo Teoranta's assign, Kua Media Corporation (Canada). In May 2006, rights to the entire Dragonriders of Pern series were optioned by Oscar-winning production company Copperheart Entertainment. Copperheart announced their intention to bring Pern to
2809-498: Was released 1984 in omnibus edition titled The Harper Hall of Pern by Nelson Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club. Dragonsong was subtitled "Volume One of The Harper Hall Trilogy" on the front cover of the Bantam Spectra edition, March 1986. "On Dragonwings", an omnibus containing Dragonsdawn , Dragonseye and Moreta , was published in 2003. Since 2003, Anne McCaffrey and her middle child Todd McCaffrey have developed
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