With their goals of peace and prosperity close at hand, the Rowan's descendants face the looming destruction of all they have suffered to achieve.

In Freedom's Landing, galactic invasion forced thousands of humans to colonize a new planet. In Freedom's Choice, human Kris Bjornsen and her comrades found new hope for rebellion. Now, in Freedom's Challenge, Kris and her Catteni lover Zainal prepare to face danger and pain, in the final fight...for liberty.

When Masterharper Zist takes over as Harper for Natalon's coal-mining camp, he takes with him his apprentice, the orphaned, mute Pellar, and Pellar's fire-lizard Chitter. Pellar has become a gifted tracker and Zist gives him his own mission - to find out if the recent thefts of coal are the work of the Shunned, criminals condemned to a life of wandering and hardship. Halla is one of the children of the Shunned. Though innocent of their parents' crimes, these children have inherited their cruel punishment. With no shelter when the lethal Thread falls again they will have no protection against it. Life is even tougher for Halla, all her family are dead and she must fend for herself. Yet Halla is kind and gentle, devoted to helping those more helpless than she, unlike Tenim, a fellow child of the Shunned. Tenim is in league with Tarik, a crooked miner from Camp Natalon, who helps him steal coal in exchange for a cut of the profit. But Tenim soon realizes there is a lot more to be made from firestone, the volatile mineral that enables the dragons of Pern to burn Thread out of the sky. Tenim doesn't care what he has to do, or whom he has to kill, in order to corner the market. Cristov is Tarik's son. Dishonored by his father's greed and treachery, he decides he must make amends somehow... even if it means risking his life by mining the volatile firestone, which blows up at contact with the slightest drop of moisture. When the last remaining firestone mine explodes in flames, a desperate race begins to find a new deposit of the deadly but essential mineral, for without it there can be no defence against Thread. But Tenim has a murderous plan to turn the tragedy to his own advantage, and only Pellar, Halla and Cristov can stop him - and ensure that there will be a future for all on the world of the Dragonriders.

The second in the Dragonriders of Pern trilogy.

HOW CAN ONE GIRL SAVE AN ENTIRE WORLD?

To the nobles who live in Benden Weyr, Lessa is nothing but a ragged kitchen girl. For most of her life she has survived by serving those who betrayed her father and took over his lands. Now the time has come for Lessa to shed her disguise—and take back her stolen birthright.

But everything changes when she meets a queen dragon. The bond they share will be deep and last forever. It will protect them when, for the first time in centuries, Lessa’s world is threatened by Thread, an evil substance that falls like rain and destroys everything it touches. Dragons and their Riders once protected the planet from Thread, but there are very few of them left these days. Now brave Lessa must risk her life, and the life of her beloved dragon, to save her beautiful world. . . .


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Award-winning fantasy author Anne McCaffrey returns with her bestselling Harper Hall Trilogy, wonder-filled imaginative classics now available in digest format.

Finally together in one volume, the first three books in the world's most beloved science fiction series, THE DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN, by Anne McCaffrey, one of the great science fiction writers of all time: DRAGONFLIGHT, DRAGONQUEST, THE WHITE DRAGON. Those who know these extraordinary tales will be able to re-visit with Lessa, F'lar, Ruth, Lord Jaxon, and all the others. And for those just discovering this magical place, there are incomparable tales of danger, deceit, and daring, just waiting to be explored..

The spacefaring Barque Cats are valued members of every vessel's crew, thanks to their special bond with humans. Then Pshaw-Ra, a mysterious cat with highly advanced knowledge, gives the felines the power of telepathy. When panic over a virulent plague drives the government to exterminate animals, Pshaw-Ra guides the cats and humans of the starship "Ranzo" to safety on his home planet, Mau. But Pshaw-Ra has a hidden agenda. His ultimate goal? Mate the Barque Cats with their godlike counterparts who rule on Mau and create a superior race to conquer the universe. His plans, however, may be doomed by his daughters' battle royal to become queen, by a suspicious Barque Cat with an equally curious human friend--and by something stirring deep beneath the city with a hunger to devour all life . . . and an undying hatred for cats.

"NEW YORK TIMES "BESTSELLER
Scores of dragons are dead after plague swept across the world of Pern, and now the Weyrs are struggling to rebuild before Threadfall destroys everything--and everyone--left alive. Their best hope lies with a group of new dragonriders who have volunteered to brave the dangers of an unexplored island populated by vicious wild felines and voracious tunnel-snakes to create a safe home for their young dragons, whose offspring will hopefully replenish Pern's decimated population. But their leader, Xhinna, the first female rider of a blue dragon, faces an uphill battle to win the respect of her peers, especially after tragedy leaves the new colony reeling. The way forward seems to lie with the awesome ability of the dragons to travel through time. But that power comes with risks: By venturing into the past, Xhinna may jeopardize the very future she has sworn to save.
"Memorable characters and a good balance of individual dramas and large-scale action make this a strong addition to the Pern saga."--"Library Journal"
"Longtime fans will enjoy the latest adventures of the cheerful dragonriders and their colorful mounts."--"Publishers Weekly"
"McCaffrey will be remembered, rightly, as one of science fiction's grand masters."--Tor.com

The third volume in a series of adventures in the land of Pern.

Anne McCaffrey's dragons are the stuff of which SF/fantasy legends are made. All of her dragon books have been national bestsellers. "The Girl Who Heard Dragons "is a feast for McCaffrey fans and for all readers--a big, satisfying compilation of her fiction. Best of all, it opens with an original short novel of Pern, "The Girl Who Heard Dragons." In addition, the book contains twenty-four beautiful black and white drawings by award-winning artist Michael Whelan. Romance, humor, colorful description, and affecting characters are Anne McCaffrey's hallmarks and the fifteen stories herein have these virtues in abundance. No wonder the "Chicago Sun-Times "described her as a "master of the well-told tale." "The Girl Who Heard Dragons" is the story of Aramina, a teenage girl of Pern who hears dragons--a skill which does not seem likely to help solve her family's problems. They are "holdless," and must constantly roam the land, trying to hide from bandits. Aramina's mother fears losing her daughter completely to the life of a dragonrider, but McCaffrey has another fate in mind for her young heroine.

Let Anne McCaffrey, storyteller extraordinare and New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author, open your mind to new worlds and new concepts: alien nations, psychic powers, telepathy and planetary systems. Perfect for fans of David Eddings, Brandon Sanderson and Douglas Adams. 'Anne McCaffrey, one of the queens of science fiction, knows exactly how to give her public what it wants' -- THE TIMES 'Marvellous from the beginning to the end, believable, spellbinding, mind-bending, truly magnificent' -- ***** Reader review 'Thrilling and exciting' -- ***** Reader review 'Fabulous from beginning to end' -- ***** Reader review 'Simply awesome' -- ***** Reader review ************************************************************************************************** The Talents were the elite of the Nine Star League. Their gifts were many and varied, ranging from the gently telepathic, to the rare and extremely valued Primes. On the Primes rested the entire economic wealth and communications systems of the civilised worlds. But Primes were scarce - only very rarely was a new one born. And now, on the planet Altair, in a small mining colony on the western mountain range, a new Prime existed, a three-year-old girl - trapped in a giant mud slide that had wiped out the rest of the Rowan mining community. Every Altarian who was even mildly talented could 'hear' the child crying for help, but no one knew where she was buried. Every resource on the planet was centred into finding 'The Rowan' - the new Prime, the first ever to be born on Altair, an exceptionally unique Prime, more talented, more powerful, more agoraphobic, more lonely, than any other Prime yet known in the Nine Star league...

There was a sudden stench of a dead sea creature. There was the sudden horror of a huge black shape closing over her. There was nothing... Then there were pieces of memory, isolated fragments that were so horrible her mind refused to accept them. Intense heat and shivering cold; excruciating pain; dismembered pieces of the human body. Sawn bones and searing screams. And when she awoke she found she was in a world that was not earth, and with a face and body that were not her own. She had become a Restoree...

Carla Murdoch had learned what it was to be alone, growing up on different army posts. But now her loneliness is terrible--for her officer father met a mysterious death on a foreign battlefield, and Carla has been sent to live in her new guardian's New England mansion . . . a remote, snowbound place where she finds she isn't really wanted. Together with her dog, Merlin, Carla must make a new start and face demons within and without--for her father's killer is now on her trail, too A thrilling novel of romantic suspense by one of the world's favorite storytellers.

The men who rode the dragons were a breed apart. Chosen when the dragons were first hatched, they became soulmates for life

with the huge, magnificent beasts they controlled — the green, blue, brown and bronzes — beautiful — terrible — the only creatures who could defend the planet Pern from the blood-red star. But without the Queen, the dragons would become extinct. Only the gigantic, golden Queen could breed the new flights. And the Queen was fading...dying...leaving behind one last, huge, golden egg.

DRAGONFLIGHT is the first book in Anne McCaffrey’s world-famous Chronicles of Pern.

OSF grand master McCaffrey and her son Todd combine their prodigious storytelling talents to craft a complex tale of desperation and sacrifice, love, and loss.O--"Library Journal, " starred review.

Award-winning fantasy author Anne McCaffrey returns with her bestselling Harper Hall Trilogy, wonder-filled imaginative classics now available in digest format.

Another Turn, and the deadly silver Threads began falling again. So the bold dragonriders took to the skies and their magnificent flying dragons swirled and swooped in space, belching flames that destroyed the shimmering strands before they reached the ground.

But F’lar knew he had to find a better way to protect the peoples and lands of Pern, and he had to find it before the rebellious Oldtimers could breed any more dissent...before his brother, F’nor, would be foolhardy enough to launch another suicide mission...and before the mercurial fire-lizards could cause even more trouble.

DRAGONQUEST is another superb adventure in Anne McCaffrey’s

world-famous Chronicles of Pern.

For millions of readers the world over, the name Pern is magical, conjuring up grand vistas of a distant planet whose blue skies are patrolled by brave dragons and their noble riders, a paradise threatened by the periodic fall of deadly Thread. But not all dangers descend from the skies. Now, in their third collaboration, Anne McCaffrey and her son, Todd McCaffrey, spin a tale of a mysterious illness that may succeed in doing what centuries of Threadfall could not: kill every last human on Pern.
Life in the Harper Hall is busy for best friends Kindan, Nonala, and Kelsa. As the only female apprentices, Nonala and Kelsa are the butt of jokes and easy targets for the bully Vaxoram and his cronies. But when Kindan springs to Kelsa's defense, he winds up in a fight for his life against the older, bigger Vaxoram-a fight that will lead to a surprising friendship.
Meanwhile, in nearby Fort Hold, a clutch of fire-lizard eggs is about to hatch, and Lord Bemin's beautiful young daughter, Koriana, is determined to Impress one of the delightful creatures. At the hatching, Kindan Impresses a fire-lizard of his own . . . and wins the heart of Koriana. But Lord Bemin mistrusts harpers and will not hear of a match between his daughter and the low-born Kindan.
Then fate intervenes in the form of a virulent plague as fast-spreading as it is deadly. Arising suddenly, as if out of nowhere, the contagion decimates hold after hold, paying no heed to distinctions of birth. In this feverish crucible, friendship and love will be tested to the breaking point and beyond. For with Threadfall scant years away, the Dragonriders dare not expose themselves to infection, and it will fall to Kindan and his fellow apprentices to bravely search for a cure and save humanity.
The price of failure is unthinkable. But the price of success may be even harder to bear.

"From the Hardcover edition."

Original short stories by talented new voices . . . selected by your favourite authors. Get to know tomorrow's brightest creative talents chosen by some of today's bestselling authors and celebrated artists including Kevin J. Anderson, Orson Scott Card, Larry Elmore, and Brandon Sanderson. Explore 12 diverse new universes of possibility through a variety of creative and fresh new ideas-all in one anthology. From dragons to mythical death dealers, from murder on the moon to deep space mystery, these stories bring you the hot new talent in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Discover the writers who push the boundaries-and break beyond them . . . the illustrators who envision the impossible-and render it real . . . the stories that challenge the way we see ourselves-and see the world in a new way. You'll love this anthology because of the diversity of stories, unexpected twists and turns, and 16 full color illustrations that bring the stories to vivid life. Get it now. Bonus short stories by L. Ron Hubbard, Todd McCaffrey, and Robert J Sawyer Art and writing tips by Anne McCaffrey, L. Ron Hubbard, and Larry Elmore.