Mostrando resultados por autor "Anne McCaffrey" en Todas las categorías

The kinetically gifted, trained in mind/machine gestalt, are the most valued citizens of the Nine Star League. Using mental powers alone, these few Prime Talents transport ships, cargo, and people between Earth's Moon, Mars' Demos and Jupiter's Callisto.

For more than 30 years, Pern has conjured visions of brave men and women mounted upon the backs of dragons. As anyone knows who has been touched by the storytelling magic of Anne McCaffrey, to hear of the exotic world of Pern is to inhabit it - and to experience its extraordinary dragons is to soar aloft with them and share their dazzling adventures. A Gift of Dragons brings together three beloved stories and a thrilling new tale of Pern, published here for the first time, in a single volume.

A huge space station on the fringes of human space, SSS-900 is controlled by the brain of Simeon, a shellperson who relieves his daily monotony by replaying computer simulations of great battles. When a battered, jury-rigged ship appears to threaten the station, they rescue the people who are fleeing from the vicious Kolnari pirates. As the Kolnari take over the station, the stationers and the Bethelites from the rescued ship must devise ways to work together to fight the invaders. Will Simeon become the only thing standing between ruthless alien pirates and total destruction?

Thread: deadly silver strands that fall from the sky like rain, devouring every organic thing in their path - animals, plants, and people alike. Who could believe that such a horrible thing could exist? After all, it's been 200 years since Thread supposedly fell on Pern. No one alive remembers that first onslaught. There's no sign of it anywhere in the world.

Pellar is an orphan taken in by Masterharper Zist. Though born mute, Pellar is a gifted tracker, and when Zist sets off to take over as harper for Natalon's coal-mining camp, Pellar - along with his fire-lizard, Chitter - joins him on a secret mission of his own: to find out if reported thefts of coal are the work of the Shunned, criminals condemned to a life of wandering and hardship.

Because he is too young, Lord Jaxom is not allowed to fight the dreaded Thread, so he and his white dragon—Ruth—train themselves in secret. Their delightful, illicit flight leads them into danger—and the chance to prevent unimaginable disaster.

Thomas's Duchess is no ordinary cat. She's a purebred Barque Cat, trained to patrol the ship on which she serves, sniffing out oxygen leaks and spotting other problems. But when a corrupt government announces it has found an epidemic that requires the impounding and possible destruction of animals across the galaxy - Barque Cats included - two young people, a kitten, and a mysterious, powerful cat with a hidden agenda, are all that stand between the galaxy's animals and total destruction.

The beautiful planet Pern seemed a paradise to its new colonists - until unimaginable terror turned it into hell. Suddenly deadly spores were falling like silver threads from the sky, devouring everything - and everyone - in their path. It began to look as if the colony, cut off from Earth and lacking the resources to combat the menace, was doomed.

In this sequel to Ride the Pegasus, Anne McCaffrey continues the story of the Talents—psionic beings who were once feared and despised, but have become necessary to the comfort and conduct of society. As director of a parapsychic center, telepath Rhyssa Owen coordinates the job assignments for the psychically gifted Talents in her group. She is always ready to welcome new Talents. When an extraordinary man with no measurable Talents appears, however, Rhyssa realizes that she will need to reassess the potential of all Talentkind.

Now that Pern can look forward to a future without the threat of Threadfall, the people are free to leave their protective stone holds and spread across more of the planet, as well as improve their lives with the newly discovered ancient technology. Not everyone is happy, though. Some resist the change, and consider anything new to be an "abomination".

Killashandra Ree has spent ten grueling years in musical training, anticipating interstellar celebrity as a vocal soloist. She is young, beautiful—and still without prospects. After learning that a flaw in her voice will prevent her from singing lead, she hears of the mysterious Heptite Guild on the planet Ballybran, where the fabled Black Crystal is found. Mining this strange form of crystal is a dangerous occupation but to Killa, the risks are acceptable. Remarkably, her adaptation to crystal mining is unusually easy. The problem is—few people who land on Ballybran ever leave.

When the first humans came to settle the planet Pern, they did not come alone: intelligence-enhanced dolphins also crossed the stars to colonize Pern's oceans while their human partners settled the vast continents. But then disaster struck. The deadly silver spores called Thread fell like rain from the sky, and as human colonists' dreams of a new, idyllic life shattered into a desperate struggle for survival, the dolphins were forgotten.

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. Then, without warning, a runnerbeast fell ill.

As long as the people of Pern could remember, the Holds had protected them from Thread, the deadly silver strands that fell from the sky and ravaged the land. In exchange for sanctuary in the huge stone fortresses, the people tithed to their lord Holders, who in turn supported the Weyrs, whose dragons were Pern's greatest weapon against Thread.

From Anne McCaffrey comes a collection of captivating short stories that focuses on everything from spaceship adventure and shifting time-storms to ghosts and romance. The title story, set in the world of the Dragonriders of Pern series, tells of Aramina, a teenage girl who hears dragons and is relentlessly pursued for her ability. 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.

The sole survivor of a noble ruling family, Lessa is an outcast—a strong young woman who has never stopped dreaming of revenge for her murdered parents. 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. Now Lessa must risk her life, and her dragon, to save her world.

In the world of Pern, there are few things more important than the ability to sing and write songs. But when Piemur's voice changes, he is given a new task. Pern is in danger once again, and Piemur is assigned a bold mission to the Southern Hold. He must learn the Oldtimers' secret and help Pern rediscover its lost heritage.

The beautiful planet Pern seemed a paradise to its new colonists—a return to an agrarian way of life—until unimaginable terror turned it into hell. Lethal spores began to fall like silvery thread-like rain from the sky, vaporizing everything—and everyone—in their path. The colony, cut off from Earth and lacking the resources to combat the menace, was doomed.

Strange things are happening on the icy planet of Petaybee. Unauthorized, genetically engineered species have been spotted, and the locals may be deliberately hiding something—perhaps even plotting rebellion. As a combat veteran and a medical retiree, Yana is the ideal person to get close to the natives. She is quickly adopted by the people of Petaybee, who feed her a home remedy that soothes her ragged lungs. Her strength and health return, and she becomes determined to protect her new home and her people from a greedy and increasingly ruthless corporation.

Parallel Earth, Resources Negligible, recommended for colonisation. Before Thread, Dragons and Holds the Yokohama, Bahrain and Buenos Airies, three mighty colony ships from earth, delivered nearly six thousand colonist to their green, beautiful new home. But just as the settlers started to adapt to their new home the world would change forever with the arrival of an unknown terror from the skies - the first thread falls that would consume everything in their part.