Moreta

Dragonlady of Pern: Dragonriders of Pern, Book 7

By: Anne McCaffrey

Narrated by: Sheila Hart

Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

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. Her dragon, Queen Orlith, would soon clutch; spring had made a glorious debut; the Gather at Ruatha Hold was extremely merry; and Moreta was enjoying the attentions of Alessan, the new Lord Holder of Ruatha Hold.

With only eight Turns remaining before the deadly Thread would cease to Fall, all seemed well on Pern. 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 dedicated, selfless Pern leaders. But of all their problems, the most difficult to overcome was time....

Pay another visit to Pern.

©1983 Anne McCaffrey (P)2005 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"Sheila Hart reads Moreta with a sensitivity and delicacy that reflect the magical, mythical quality of McCaffrey's dragon legends. Hart's characterization is subtle; vocal styles suggest, rather then impersonate, characters, and male voices are satisfying." ( AudioFile)

Really Enjoyable

This was the last Pern book I read as a youth. Now, as it was then, a story of a plague sweeping across Pern was not very interesting, but what was interesting was the characters and how they interacted with each other and with the dragons. That is what makes Pern so much more interesting than many other stories. The world created by Anne McCaffrey is a world rich in culture and character. It draws you in and makes you want to be a part of it. This story is no different than the others in that. It touches you to hear the losses from the plague and the fear and sorrow they bring. Then having your hope restored as the craft halls and dragon riders work together discovering the solution to the problem. Finally the poignant ending leaves you wondering if it is okay to be happy for the characters as they through their grief, start to rebuild their world.

Moreta

** spoiler alert ** I remember this being one of my favorite Dragonriders of Pern books. I wasn't sure that would remain the same, but as I got further into the book I realized that it was still a great book.

In this story we find Pern almost to the end of a thread pass, but stricken with a terrible sickness that is killing so many. There is no cure for beast or human. They must treat the symptoms and get through the sickness. They need to vaccinate all the humans as well as the runners since this sickness is spread through animals.

Moreta is a fantastic character who goes above and beyond to save Pern. She is a very likable character. There was joy and there was a lot of sadness. I wept at the loss. It is a beautiful book with an amazingly strong and willful female protagonist.

A wonderful story by a remarkable author

Anne McCaffrey did a truly epic job in constructing Pern and its complex society. Moreta fully lives up to the other works about this world.

Good Story, till the end. :-(

The story is interesting as I've come to expect in this series. Somehow I missed it the first time around through the series.
The reading is well done. But! I do not like the ending. I felt it lacked compassion for the reader. After having invested my interest, and yes my emotions, the ending showed a clear lack of compassion for the reader. Sure there is a nod to smooth it over. It seemed half hearted. The ending left me feeling empty after a wonderful journey.
Do I think one should not read it. No. If you like the series, enjoy the story.
The ending is not the entire story. Simply stated, be prepared.

So far I love this series...

I started at the beginning of this series with Dragonriders of Pern and I just keep going. I've only been listening to this for the first couple of hours but I find myself feeling out of breath, not because of the story which is good so far, but because the narrator sounds like she's hyperventilating! I don't know if she's that into the reading or just too close to the microphone. From here on out though I will be listening either in the car or over the speaker. No headphones please!

As for the story, it's taken me a bit to really become attached to the characters. I think I've just gotten so used to the start of the series all being joined together in one way or another. In this book she (Anne McCaffrey) has started in the same world but with completely new characters. It's a good listen so far though.

a Classic!

loved it! the audiobook kept me entertained for 700 miles. I was sad that the trip ended before the audiobook did.

Always one of my favorites.

this has been a favorite of mine ever since the day it was originally released in print.

Good Book, Horrible Narrator

The book is good, but it’s overshadowed by a narrator who never learned how to sound out unfamiliar words. Igen is pronounced Eye-gen not Iggen. The main character’s name is Mor-ee-ta, not Moretta. This is just the wrong narrator for this book. She makes it sound like a Victorian novel, not a sci-fi adventure.

I've read this book more times than I can remember

Singling out one character in a vast world called PERN is wonderful. It plays down through the PERN as history, so there is a point of reference. Not all books end happy

Reader is too fast

I ended up slowing it down to 85% speed on my player and it was fine. At that speed, she's not the best reader I've listened to, but at normal speed it's not possible to listen to her.