A gift of dragons
(Book)

McCaffrey's legions of fans will warmly welcome this delightful, handsomely illustrated collection of four stories set on the planet Pern. "The Smallest Dragonboy," a heartwarming tale first published in 1973 in Science Fiction Tales, leads off. It centers on young Keevan, who is desperate to impress a dragon during his first time in the Hatching Ground because then no one in the Weyr will taunt him again for being small. In "The Girl Who Heard Dragons," the only Pern story in a 1994 collection to which it gave its title, Keeven, now K'van, and his dragon, Heth, answer Aramina's call for help in eluding the holdless Thella and her band of renegades, who want to use Aramina's ability to communicate telepathically with dragons. The story is a follow-up to The Renegades of Pern (1989). "Runner of Pern," which debuted in the short-novel anthology Legends (1998), discloses another facet of life on Pern in the romantic story of Tenna, one of the express runners who crisscross the land carrying messages from one settlement to another. With "Ever the Twain," first published here, McCaffrey returns to the Hatching Ground to follow the adventures of the twins Nevu and Nian on their way to impressing dragons. --Sally Estes

Bestseller Anne McCaffrey (The Skies of Pern) collects four tales of Pern in A Gift of Dragons, including a new adventure written especially for this volume, "Ever the Twain." Tom Kidd's illustrations of cuddly dragons and their human companions add extra value. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

A dragon-hatching at Ista Weyr provides twin brother and sister Neru and Nian with their first crisis of love and duty in "Ever the Twain," original to this illustrated collection of four Pern stories by McCaffrey. Also included are "The Smallest Dragonboy," about a young boy's fervent desire to bond with a baby dragon; the author's classic "The Girl Who Heard Dragons," the story of a girl with an unusual talent; and "Runner of Pern," a tale involving one of Pern's most important and least glamorous occupations. Tom Kidd's moody, atmospheric illustrations give a visual focus to these tales and help create a work of the imagination that belongs in most libraries. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

McCaffrey's legions of fans will warmly welcome this delightful, handsomely illustrated collection of four stories set on the planet Pern. "The Smallest Dragonboy," a heartwarming tale first published in 1973 in Science Fiction Tales, leads off. It centers on young Keevan, who is desperate to impress a dragon during his first time in the Hatching Ground because then no one in the Weyr will taunt him again for being small. In "The Girl Who Heard Dragons," the only Pern story in a 1994 collection to which it gave its title, Keeven, now K'van, and his dragon, Heth, answer Aramina's call for help in eluding the holdless Thella and her band of renegades, who want to use Aramina's ability to communicate telepathically with dragons. The story is a follow-up to The Renegades of Pern (1989). "Runner of Pern," which debuted in the short-novel anthology Legends (1998), discloses another facet of life on Pern in the romantic story of Tenna, one of the express runners who crisscross the land carrying messages from one settlement to another. With "Ever the Twain," first published here, McCaffrey returns to the Hatching Ground to follow the adventures of the twins Nevu and Nian on their way to impressing dragons. ((Reviewed October 15, 2002)) Copyright 2002 Booklist Reviews

A dragon-hatching at Ista Weyr provides twin brother and sister Neru and Nian with their first crisis of love and duty in "Ever the Twain," original to this illustrated collection of four Pern stories by McCaffrey. Also included are "The Smallest Dragonboy," about a young boy's fervent desire to bond with a baby dragon; the author's classic "The Girl Who Heard Dragons," the story of a girl with an unusual talent; and "Runner of Pern," a tale involving one of Pern's most important and least glamorous occupations. Tom Kidd's moody, atmospheric illustrations give a visual focus to these tales and help create a work of the imagination that belongs in most libraries. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Bestseller Anne McCaffrey (The Skies of Pern) collects four tales of Pern in A Gift of Dragons, including a new adventure written especially for this volume, "Ever the Twain." Tom Kidd's illustrations of cuddly dragons and their human companions add extra value. #