Dragonriders of Pern Reading Order: Complete Series Guide

By Anna Marie CarrollFantasy

There are three useful ways to read the Dragonriders of Pern books in order. For a first read, I recommend starting with Dragonflight and following the publication-based reading order below. Anne McCaffrey created the series, and her son Todd McCaffrey and daughter Gigi McCaffrey later added stories to the same world.

Dragonriders of Pern blends science fiction and fantasy. Pern looks like a traditional world of dragons, riders, Holds, and Crafts, but its history is rooted in space travel, colonization, and lost technology. That long timeline is what makes the series so rewarding, and it’s also why choosing the right reading order matters.

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Where to Start with Dragonriders of Pern

Start with Dragonflight. It introduces Lessa, F’lar, the dragonriders, and the threat of Thread without giving away the deeper history of Pern.

For the opening books, I recommend reading Dragonflight, Dragonquest, Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums, and then The White Dragon. The Harper Hall books overlap with the original trilogy, and this order gives several characters and events more context.

I wouldn’t begin with Dragonsdawn, even though it happens first in Pern’s history. It explains mysteries that are more satisfying when you discover them after the earlier-published books.

Dragonriders of Pern Books in Publication Order

Publication order is the simplest way to experience Pern as the world expanded. This list uses the first U.S. publication year and includes the two dedicated Pern short-story collections.

  1. Dragonflight (1968)
  2. Dragonquest (1971)
  3. Dragonsong (1976)
  4. Dragonsinger (1977)
  5. The White Dragon (1978)
  6. Dragondrums (1979)
  7. Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern (1983)
  8. Nerilka’s Story (1986)
  9. Dragonsdawn (1988)
  10. The Renegades of Pern (1989)
  11. All the Weyrs of Pern (1991)
  12. The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall (1993)
  13. The Dolphins of Pern (1994)
  14. Dragonseye (1997) Published in the UK as Red Star Rising
  15. The Masterharper of Pern (1998)
  16. The Skies of Pern (2001)
  17. A Gift of Dragons (2002)
  18. Dragon’s Kin by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey (2003)
  19. Dragonsblood by Todd McCaffrey (2005)
  20. Dragon’s Fire by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey (2006)
  21. Dragon Harper by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey (2007)
  22. Dragonheart by Todd McCaffrey (2008)
  23. Dragongirl by Todd McCaffrey (2010)
  24. Dragon’s Time by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey (2011)
  25. Sky Dragons by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey (2012)
  26. Dragon’s Code by Gigi McCaffrey (2018)

This is the order I’d use for a first read. It keeps the opening storylines together, places the Harper Hall trilogy before The White Dragon, and then continues through the rest of the books in publication order.

  1. Dragonflight
  2. Dragonquest
  3. Dragonsong
  4. Dragonsinger
  5. Dragondrums
  6. The White Dragon
  7. Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern
  8. Nerilka’s Story
  9. Dragonsdawn
  10. The Renegades of Pern
  11. All the Weyrs of Pern
  12. The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
  13. The Dolphins of Pern
  14. Dragonseye
  15. The Masterharper of Pern
  16. The Skies of Pern
  17. A Gift of Dragons
  18. Dragon’s Kin
  19. Dragonsblood
  20. Dragon’s Fire
  21. Dragon Harper
  22. Dragonheart
  23. Dragongirl
  24. Dragon’s Time
  25. Sky Dragons
  26. Dragon’s Code

The two story collections can be skipped without losing the main novel sequence, but they add useful history and smaller character stories. I’d keep them in the order above for a complete read.

Dragonriders of Pern Books in Chronological Order

Chronological order works best as a reread. Several books overlap, and time travel makes a perfectly strict sequence impossible. I’ve grouped the stories by Pern’s historical eras and noted the major overlaps.

Before Landing

  1. “The Survey: P.E.R.N.” in The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall

First Pass

  1. Dragonsdawn
  2. “The Dolphins’ Bell” in The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
  3. “The Ford of Red Hanrahan” in The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
  4. “The Second Weyr” in The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
  5. “Rescue Run” in The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall

First Interval

The opening sections of Dragonsblood occur during the First Interval. Most of the novel takes place during the Third Pass, so I recommend reading the full book there.

Second Pass

  1. Dragonseye (Red Star Rising in the UK)

Third Pass

  1. Dragon’s Kin
  2. Dragon’s Fire begins during the events of Dragon’s Kin
  3. Dragon Harper
  4. Dragonsblood most of the novel
  5. Dragonheart overlaps with Dragonsblood
  6. Dragongirl
  7. Dragon’s Time
  8. Sky Dragons

Sixth Pass

Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern and Nerilka’s Story cover many of the same events from different perspectives. Read Moreta first, then Nerilka’s Story.

  1. Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern
  2. Nerilka’s Story overlaps with Moreta
  3. “Beyond Between” in Legends II follows the events of Moreta

Ninth Pass

Most of the best-known Pern stories take place shortly before or during the Ninth Pass. Some books cover the same stretch of time, so the notes below matter more than the exact numbering.

  1. The Masterharper of Pern begins decades before the Pass and continues into the opening of Dragonflight
  2. “Runner of Pern” in A Gift of Dragons
  3. Dragonflight
  4. Dragonquest
  5. Dragonsong overlaps with Dragonquest
  6. Dragonsinger
  7. Dragondrums ends before The White Dragon is complete
  8. Dragon’s Code overlaps with The White Dragon
  9. The White Dragon
  10. “The Impression” in The Dragonlover’s Guide to Pern
  11. “The Smallest Dragonboy” in A Gift of Dragons
  12. “The Girl Who Heard Dragons” in A Gift of Dragons takes place early during The Renegades of Pern
  13. The Renegades of Pern
  14. All the Weyrs of Pern
  15. The Dolphins of Pern overlaps with and follows All the Weyrs of Pern
  16. The Skies of Pern

Undatable Pern Story

“Ever the Twain” appears in A Gift of Dragons. Its exact place in Pern’s timeline isn’t firmly established.

Pern Short Stories and Collections

Pern has two dedicated short-fiction collections. Several of the stories were first published elsewhere, but these books are the simplest way to keep the shorter works together.

  1. The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall (1993)
  2. A Gift of Dragons (2002)

The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall

This collection includes:

  • “The Survey: P.E.R.N.”
  • “The Dolphins’ Bell”
  • “The Ford of Red Hanrahan”
  • “The Second Weyr”
  • “Rescue Run”

A Gift of Dragons

This collection includes:

  • “The Smallest Dragonboy”
  • “The Girl Who Heard Dragons”
  • “Runner of Pern”
  • “Ever the Twain”

Other Pern Short Fiction

“Weyr Search” and “Dragonrider” were incorporated into Dragonflight. “A Time When” was incorporated into The White Dragon. You don’t need to track down the earlier magazine versions to complete the story.

“The Smallest Dragonboy” also appears in Get Off the Unicorn (1977), which is a general Anne McCaffrey collection rather than a Pern-only book. “The Impression” appears in The Dragonlover’s Guide to Pern, and “Beyond Between” appears in Legends II (2003).

Companion Books

These books expand Pern through maps, artwork, worldbuilding details, and interactive stories. They aren’t required for the main series, but there are only a few substantial companion titles.

  1. The Atlas of Pern by Karen Wynn Fonstad (1984)
  2. Dragonharper by Jody Lynn Nye (1987) interactive gamebook
  3. Dragonfire by Jody Lynn Nye (1988) interactive gamebook
  4. The People of Pern by Robin Wood and Anne McCaffrey (1988)
  5. The Dragonlover’s Guide to Pern by Jody Lynn Nye and Anne McCaffrey (1989; expanded second edition 1997)

Dragonflight Graphic Novel

Dragonflight: The Graphic Novel (1991) adapts the first Pern novel in comic form. The collected edition combines the three-part Eclipse Comics adaptation into one volume.

About Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey created Pern with “Weyr Search,” a 1967 story that later became part of Dragonflight. She built the series around powerful relationships between dragons and riders, while grounding the world in science fiction rather than magic.

McCaffrey was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction and the first woman to win a Nebula Award. She also received the Margaret A. Edwards Award, was named a Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association Grand Master, and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. You can read more about her work in her Penguin Random House author profile.

McCaffrey was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1926 and moved to Ireland in 1970. She lived there until her death in 2011. Todd McCaffrey later wrote Pern novels both with his mother and on his own, and Gigi McCaffrey continued the series with Dragon’s Code.

Looking for more books in order?

If you want more fantasy authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Fantasy Books in Order index.

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