A Month of Literary Gratitude, Day 18 - The Pern Stories, by Anne McCaffrey

Friday, November 18, 2016

Anne McCaffrey's The Dragonriders of Pern stories started coming out when I was 3 years old. Being such a prolific writer, these books continued to be published well into my adulthood, and I read them all.






My favorite series was probably the Harper Hall books, because I was a singer in my youth, and felt empathy for a young, gifted, awkward girl trying to make her way in a man's world.

I loved them all, though, and would disappear for hours in these stories, reading them again and again. They taught me that a formidable woman could succeed in spite of not coddling men's egos (thanks, Lessa!). They taught me that even the most egregious of emotional injuries could be survived, and that you could build a life worthy of your loss in the aftermath (thanks, Brekke and Lytol!). They taught me that it was possible to define your own life and still fulfill your duty (thanks, Jaxom!).

Those are a lot of lessons for a fantasy series, and I'm grateful to Ms. McCaffrey for taking the time to teach them.

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