A Gift of Dragons (2002) is the 17th book written in the Dragonriders of Pern series, a short story collection – one of which is published here for the 1st time. In chronological order the 1st 3 stories are set during the ninth pass (approx 2500 years after landing), the last story is undatable.

A Gift of Dragons brings together three beloved stories and a thrilling new tale of Pern in a single volume illustrated with beautiful artwork by Tom Kidd.

In “The Smallest Dragonboy,” (1973) Keevan is the youngest dragonrider candidate, determined to impress a dragon when the next clutch of eggs hatches. But what transpires will surprise everyone—Keevan most of all.

In “The Girl Who Heard Dragons,” (1994) a young girl’s rare ability to communicate with dragons puts her family in danger and will bring her face to face with her greatest fears—and with her most secret desire.

The “Runner of Pern” (1999) is a girl named Tenna, who follows family tradition by delivering messages—and who will find her destiny on the mossy traces that runners have used for centuries under the dragon-filled sky.

And finally, an exciting new Pern adventure, published here for the first time, fresh from the imagination of Anne McCaffrey. Ever the Twain (2002) is the story of a pair of twins, one of whom desperately wants to become a dragonrider, but the other is selected to be a candidate at the next hatching.

Author Biography

Anne McCaffrey was one of the world's leading science-fiction writers, and won both the Hugo and Nebula awards as well as the Margaret A. Edwards' Lifetime Achievement Literary Award. Born and raised in the US, although of Irish extraction, she spent the last years of her life in Ireland, in the heart of the Wicklow Mountains. She died in 2011 at the age of eighty-five. She is the creator of the Dragons of Pern series.