A Gift of Dragons
Kidd cover of first editions
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| Author | Anne McCaffrey |
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| Illustrator | Tom Kidd |
| Cover artist |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Dragonriders of Pern |
| Genre | Fantasy short story collection |
| Published | 2002 (Del Rey Books) |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 291 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 50817877 |
| 813/.54 22 | |
| LC Class | PS3563.A255 G54 2002 |
| Preceded by | The Skies of Pern |
| Followed by | Dragon's Kin |
A Gift Of Dragons is a 2002 collection of short fiction by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. All four stories are set on the fictional planet Pern; the book is one of two collections in the science fiction series Dragonriders of Pern by Anne and her son Todd McCaffrey.
The stories are not united by any theme, but three of four are set about 2500 years "After Landing", the beginning of human settlement on Pern. That is just before or during the "Ninth Pass" of the "Red Star", an erratic planet that periodically brings a biological menace from space. Those three stories therefore share a Pernese historical period with most of the previous books in the series (11 of 16).
The seventeenth Dragonriders of Pern book, A Gift of Dragons was the last one in the series written by Anne McCaffrey alone, before the entry of her son Todd (see Dragon's Kin). It was published first in the US and four months later in the UK with the same cover art, by Del Rey Books and Bantam UK, two imprints of Random House. Three of the four stories were previously published, one as a small book.
"The Smallest Dragonboy" is set during the Ninth Pass. It tells of Keevan, a boy who is a candidate for Ramoth's latest clutch in Benden Weyr. Keevan is shorter than the other candidates, and is teased about this by Beterli, a boy who has stood for eight Impressions and has not been chosen. Keevan works hard but his size downgrades his abilities to most. When he overhears some of the senior dragonriders talking about dropping some of the younger candidates from the Impression, Keevan automatically thinks he will be dropped. The next day, when shoveling coal, Keevan gets in a fight with Beterli, who says he will be dropped. Keevan is badly injured and is assured by Lessa that he will have other Hatchings. When the Hatching occurs, Keevan manages to find his way to the Ground and Impresses a bronze dragon named Heth.
"The Girl Who Heard Dragons" is set during the Ninth Pass. It tells of Aramina, a holdless girl who is pursued by Lady Holdless Thella for her ability to hear dragons. She is continually chased, briefly held, and rescued by K'van and Heth after being held hostage.
"Runner of Pern" is set shortly before the Ninth Pass. It tells of a runner (messenger) named Tenna, who is new to the craft her family has been in for generations. After being accepted as an apprentice runner, Tenna begins her career, running from one end of Pern's Northern Continent to the other. During her first run to Fort Hold, Tenna is almost to her destination, running on the "trace" (paths marked by moss that are reserved for runners only) when a rider on a fast runner beast runs her off the trace. Tenna falls into a sticklebush, which are covered in sharp spines at this time of the year. The spines of the sticklebush can be dangerous as they can cause infections or enter the bloodstream. She manages to get to a runner station, where she recovers from the fall.
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Wikipedia