The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
Harpers strike a stirring chord and beat a triumphant cadence – the original dragons are finally coming to life! Warner Brothers has announced its next movie franchise: it is bringing Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Anne McCaffrey’s beloved Dragonriders of Pern series to the big screen.
Now that Harry Potter is out of school and the hobbits back in the Shire, it’s time for the next big multi-part fantasy series. Besides, dragons have never been hotter. And, whether or not you know it, most of those beloved dragons are intentional (or unintentional) homages to the noble beasts on Pern. In Dragonriders, McCaffrey transformed the dragon from villain to hero, and helped create the science fiction/fantasy sub-genre. The medieval-like fantasy world of Pern, with its low-tech agrarian society and dragons filling the sky, is actually a futuristic story about humans facing and conquering the dangers of an alien planet.
McCaffrey was also instrumental in transforming women in science fiction, creating dimensional, dynamic female protagonists at a time when women characters were largely decorative and sexual, and rarely important to the plot. Without her heroines, there might not be Katniss Everdeen, River Song or Beatrice Prior.
We want to live on Pern and fly on a dragon, telepathically sharing with it our deepest longings and desires. And we want to see those dragons heroically “searing Thread” in the skies of Pern in partnership with the brave men and women who ride them. And we want it all in 3D!
McCaffrey’s influential and prolific series has a legion of faithful followers who immerse themselves in the world of Pern, There are role-play groups, a separate Weyrfest that takes place at DragonCon just for McCaffrey fans, CDs of the music in the novels and fan-created merchandise. For years the fandom has been begging to see their beloved world on film. The big mystery is really why it has taken so long.
Fans have known for 40 years how special the world is that Anne McCaffrey created. And now, thanks to Warner Brothers, the rest of the world is going to know it, too. The dragon’s time has come. We can’t wait!
I love books, so I just hope they don’t ruin the movies.
Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern is my all-time favorite sci-fi/fantasy series! If Warner Bros. messes this up, I will be extremely disappointed.