hirty years ago Anne McCaffrey published the first story set in Pern, her famous world of genetically-engineered fire-breathing dragons and their telepathically-linked human riders. To celebrate the anniversary, as well as the release of the 11th Pern novel, Del Rey Books has created a Web site that is chock full of Pern and McCaffrey information, contests and more.
The site is divided into two broad sections: The Anne McCaffrey Archives and The World of Pern. In the Archives there is a short biography of McCaffrey, a page with a form to send a message to her, a preview chapter of her next non-Pern novel (Black Horses for the King, an Arthurian tale for young adults), and a short list of other Pern/McCaffrey resources. The gem of this section is a page called "Building a World: the Invention of Pern," an essay by McCaffrey that tells how she came to create Pern and how she feels about its evolution over the years.
The World of Pern contains sample chapters of the next two Pern novels: Dragonseye, and Masterharper of Pern. Pern 101 introduces the major concepts of the Pern universe, and there's also a page about the second edition of The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern, a nonfiction atlas and almanac. Additionally, Del Rey has created "The Anne McCaffrey Award" for best first novel dealing with genetic engineering. Readers can submit their e-mail address to have contest information sent to them. There is also a Pern Art Contest for non-professionals running through April 30.
A dragon's treasure trove
This site is an absolute treasure trove for Anne McCaffrey and Pern fans. The enormous number of things to read and do make the site much more than a typical promotion page. It's a truly informative resource. In particular Del Rey is extremely generous with yet-to-be-published chapters and other writings by McCaffrey. Anyone who hasn't yet discovered Pern should definitely check them out. Also there are free books for the first 25 people who visit the site each day!
The only serious disappointment here is the Pern 101 section. The title implies a basic introduction, but the page is actually an alphabetized glossary of Pern terms. Listed in a row like that, the terms have no context, and a newcomer trying to get into the series for the first time will likely be more confused after reading this page, not less.
Navigation is exceptionally clear, something that can't be overlooked in a site this large. Unfortunately, the artwork and graphics are rather sparse, with only a few small book covers -- practically thumbnails -- and a few dragon sketches. There is one nifty animated GIF of falling Thread, though. (What's Thread? See Pern 101.)
