Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Del Rey (1983), Edition: 1st, Hardcover, 286 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML:Anne McCaffrey draws the reader back in time to an earlier Pern to tell the story of one of Pern's great and true heroines. An air of pleasant anticipation hung so thickly over the Halls, Holds and Weyrs of Pern that it had affected even the businesslike ways of Moreta, the Weyrwoman of Fort Weyr, where her dragon, Queen Orlith, would soon clutch. Then without warning, a runnerbeast fell ill. Soon myriads of holders, craftsmen, and dragonriders were dying; and the mysterious ailment had spread to all but the most inaccessible holds. Pern was in mortal danger. For, if dragonriders did not rise to char Thread, the parasite would devour any and all organic life it encountered. The future of the planet rested in the hands of Moreta and the other deicated, lelfless Pernese leaders. But of all their problems, the most difficult to overcome was time. . . .… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Krumbs
I'm dissatisfied with this book, but having a difficult time identifying why. I think it comes down to a few things:
1. I like a happy ending. If it's not going to be a happy ending, I want there to be a good reason why, not just have it happen for shock value (which is what this seemed like to me).
2. I had a hard time putting this one in the context of the world of Pern. This story is set hundreds of years earlier than the first three books, but it was really difficult for me to get that sense of place. A follow-up tie-in to the more "present" earlier books could have helped with this. I also didn't get a sense of how these people tie-in with those who are brought forward in the first book.
3. Some of the characters seemed to be there to be unpleasant for no particular reason, and I had a hard time keeping the unnecessary peripheral characters straight. If you're going to spend that much time talking about a character, let me learn more about him or her other than "they're just really annoying".
I did enjoy the story, and contrary to other reviewers I was fine having the cure found in the middle of the story; there was plenty more to go through and learn after a cure was identified.
1. I like a happy ending. If it's not going to be a happy ending, I want there to be a good reason why, not just have it happen for shock value (which is what this seemed like to me).
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I get that things don't always turn out well, but this was just a festival of grief and depression and the fate of Moreta as it was written seemed unnecessary.2. I had a hard time putting this one in the context of the world of Pern. This story is set hundreds of years earlier than the first three books, but it was really difficult for me to get that sense of place. A follow-up tie-in to the more "present" earlier books could have helped with this. I also didn't get a sense of how these people tie-in with those who are brought forward in the first book.
3. Some of the characters seemed to be there to be unpleasant for no particular reason, and I had a hard time keeping the unnecessary peripheral characters straight. If you're going to spend that much time talking about a character, let me learn more about him or her other than "they're just really annoying".
I did enjoy the story, and contrary to other reviewers I was fine having the cure found in the middle of the story; there was plenty more to go through and learn after a cure was identified.
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LibraryThing member emrya
One of my favorite books in Pern, because it isn't just about a disaster, it is also about daily life for a queen rider. And the end always makes me cry.
LibraryThing member rakerman
I enjoyed the original Pern books, but once it got deep into sequelitis, the stories got much weaker and less interesting. Yet another series that should have stopped after the first set of inspired, mysterious books.
LibraryThing member jshillingford
The first book that ever made me cry. Dragons would seem so far out of realm of experience, yet McCaffrey makes them so real I imagine myself on Pern. Pern is being devastated by a plague - Moreta takes to the skies to help ferry medicine, despite the risks. Perhaps the best of the Pern series.
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
I'm a fan of McCaffrey's Pern novels by and large, particularly the earlier ones and this is one of my favorites. There is a reference to Moreta's ride in the original trilogy. This tells that story celebrated in song and occurring centuries before the time of Lessa and F'Nor. Set at the height of
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the Dragonriders' prestige just as that "pass" is ending and they have peace to look forward to, it's about a worldwide pandemic--so not a lighthearted read. It was interesting coming from those other books to see this time in Pern's history. The characters, particularly Moreta, are appealing and I enjoyed this visit to McCaffey's Pern and its dragons. I wouldn't start with this book--I think Dragonflight, the first published book, makes the best introduction even though this is earlier chronologically. However, this book makes for a well-paced, gripping read. Show Less
LibraryThing member humouress
The premise of the 'Dragons of Pern' series is that dragon riders are telepathically linked to their dragons, and they fly to burn Thread (a space-traveling mycorrhizoid spore that devours anything and everything organic) from the skies of Pern, to protect the planet.
In 'Moreta', the people of the
Though it's the sixth book written, the story is set centuries before the original trilogy (starting with Dragonflight), in which time Moreta is a legend of Pern. It is a well written story, with a lot of attention to small details which really set the atmosphere. There are twists in the story (though, since I've read this book a few times over many years, they were no longer a surprise to me) that click into place differently for us, reading from our modern-day perspective (the concept of vaccines, for example), than they do for the characters.
The series in general is well written (especially, I think, the first eight or ten books), with a fairly unique premise of telepathic dragons. It doesn't hurt, either, that there are so many strong female characters - especially with the first story being written as far back as 1967. The dragons of Pern are some of my 'old-reliable, comfort' books.
In 'Moreta', the people of the
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planet have to deal with a pandemic outbreak of a mysterious disease, against which they have no immunity - the disease having been eradicated before migration to the northern continent.Though it's the sixth book written, the story is set centuries before the original trilogy (starting with Dragonflight), in which time Moreta is a legend of Pern. It is a well written story, with a lot of attention to small details which really set the atmosphere. There are twists in the story (though, since I've read this book a few times over many years, they were no longer a surprise to me) that click into place differently for us, reading from our modern-day perspective (the concept of vaccines, for example), than they do for the characters.
The series in general is well written (especially, I think, the first eight or ten books), with a fairly unique premise of telepathic dragons. It doesn't hurt, either, that there are so many strong female characters - especially with the first story being written as far back as 1967. The dragons of Pern are some of my 'old-reliable, comfort' books.
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LibraryThing member TheCrow2
An epic, sad story of the legendary Moreta from the deep past of Pern. The plus short story from the viewpoint of Nerilka adds a nice touch to a great legend.
LibraryThing member Karlstar
While this book was good, this is where the series really started to slip, both writing and the plot. The plot has become tangled when it is discovered that some dragons can go 'between' back to the past, and Moreta does that to save her desperate Hold. Once that happens, things get all messed up.
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This book is more about personalities, namely Moreta, than it is about Pern or dragons or Thread. Still good, just not my favorite. Show Less
LibraryThing member salimbol
I wanted to read one of the Dragonrider books in honour of Anne McCaffrey's passing, and curiously enough, settled on one that I haven't actually read all that often. I'd forgotten what an enjoyable read "Moreta" is, with its appealing main characters and a strongly-conveyed sense of the
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desperation, peril and urgency of the situation that I think only "Dragonflight" can match. Plus, it never fails to make me cry :-). It was a real pleasure to read it again. Show Less
LibraryThing member Pabkins
I remember reading this while on deployment - wishing I had a dragon...
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
Gift from sister in 1983. Signed by author when she came for the Mid-Can Con in Winnipeg. What a treat to meet her and hear her read from The Ship Who Sang.
LibraryThing member Stevil2001
With this book, I jump back to the Sixth Pass, a set of events occasionally alluded to in the Ninth Pass books through the epic song "Moreta's Ride"; this were McCaffrey's first attempts at telling stories outside of the framework of the original Ninth Pass. Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern tells the
Moreta is an unintentionally familiar read in the COVID era, a story about a respiratory disease that can kill you, quarantines, defiant leaders, and vaccine distribution. It's fairly effective, mostly because of its main protagonist, the eponymous Moreta. She is an older woman, one who has had children and as Weyrwoman, has had a lover, but has clearly never known love. The scenes between Moreta and Alessan are the emotional core of the book and its most effective. Moreta is a Weyrwoman: she must manage her weyr and assist her Weyrleader. Alessan is a Lord Holder; recently widowed, he needs to remarry to ensure the continuation of his bloodline. The two fall in love over runnerbeast (i.e., horse) racing and dance together, but then duty pulls them as the epidemic worsens across Pern. Yet, they manage to snatch moments together. There's an effective feeling of doom layered across the whole thing, and some decent uses of the time travel abilities dragons were revealed to have in the original trilogy. I like that McCaffrey was trying something a little bit different here, and I overall found it an enjoyable, occasionally moving, read.
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story of a plague that swept across Pern and the desperate attempts to stop it, particularly by the Weyrwoman Mortea, her lover Alessan, and the Masterhealer Capian.Moreta is an unintentionally familiar read in the COVID era, a story about a respiratory disease that can kill you, quarantines, defiant leaders, and vaccine distribution. It's fairly effective, mostly because of its main protagonist, the eponymous Moreta. She is an older woman, one who has had children and as Weyrwoman, has had a lover, but has clearly never known love. The scenes between Moreta and Alessan are the emotional core of the book and its most effective. Moreta is a Weyrwoman: she must manage her weyr and assist her Weyrleader. Alessan is a Lord Holder; recently widowed, he needs to remarry to ensure the continuation of his bloodline. The two fall in love over runnerbeast (i.e., horse) racing and dance together, but then duty pulls them as the epidemic worsens across Pern. Yet, they manage to snatch moments together. There's an effective feeling of doom layered across the whole thing, and some decent uses of the time travel abilities dragons were revealed to have in the original trilogy. I like that McCaffrey was trying something a little bit different here, and I overall found it an enjoyable, occasionally moving, read.
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LibraryThing member jdavidhacker
Did a recent re-read of this, one of many childhood favorites by Anne McCaffrey, because I acquired a nice first edition hard cover. However, it turned out being very timely/topical. I almost entirely forgotten that it centers around a zootonic pandemic, and both responsible and irresponsible
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responses and thought processes of the people effected. America could have stood to learn a few lessons from Pern here. And lets not forget the tragic ending. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novel — 1984)
Original publication date
1983
Physical description
286 p.; 8.4 inches
ISBN
0345298748 / 9780345298744