MRC@PANDA@caip.RUTGERS.EDU (02/01/86)
From: Mark Crispin <MRC%PANDA@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA>
I dispute the comment about F'lar being about 60 at the end of THE
WHITE DRAGON. If F'lar was 19 when R'gul took over, then R'gul's decade
as Weyrleader plus Jaxom's age would make F'lar in his late 40's or early
50's. However, that is certainly old enough to make it unlikely that he
would see the end of Threadfall, 30+ years hence. Robinton would probably
be about 70, since his father was 90ish when he died at Half Circle Sea
Hold a few years earlier.
I doubt that McCaffrey will write a post-WHITE DRAGON story, but
here are some of my predictions: they will rediscover the telephone (a
primitive version already existed for short distances) but not flight.
The dragonriders will diverge into transportation, at rather stiff fares
to make up for the inevitable lost tithings. Mirrim will not be the last
female greenrider; the percentage of woman greenriders will continue to
increase until women became the majority. Increasingly, there will be
discrimination and oppression against male greenriders, only hinted at in
the Dragonrider series. Sebell will be MasterHarper, and Mennoly a
master, something will continue to raise opposition.
However, in general, there won't be much to write about. Pernese
future looks fairly well-established, after millenia of stagnation.
-------friedman@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU (02/05/86)
Mark Crispin writes: > I doubt that McCaffrey will write a post-WHITE DRAGON story, but.... > However, in general, there won't be much to write about. Pernese > future looks fairly well-established, after millenia of stagnation. McCaffrey has already answered some of these points. Thanks to Tim Smith, we have an edited transcript of the 1985 Anne McCaffrey conference on Compuserve. At the risk of some redundancy, here are some pertinent McCaffrey quotes about the post-WHITE DRAGON era on Pern: Yes, Joe, more Thread stories are coming... not immediately however. Hang in there. F'lar does eventually die in Threadfall but don't grieve for him yet. There will be more about Jaxom and Ruth. Later. Yup. [to the question:] Anne, do the Dragon Riders ever get to the colony ships in orbit? As to the notion that there won't be much to write about: My imagination's not that good, and maybe Mark's isn't either, but my bet is that McCaffrey's is. I'm looking forward to it. H. George Friedman, Jr. Department of Computer Science University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1304 West Springfield Avenue Urbana, Illinois 61801 USENET: ...!{pur-ee,ihnp4,convex}!uiucdcs!friedman CSNET: friedman%uiuc@csnet-relay.arpa ARPA: friedman@uiuc.arpa
jablow@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Eric Robert Jablow) (02/14/86)
Perhaps I should have sent this to net.rumor, but here goes: Anne McCaffery is one of the most prominent authors of "commercial science fantasy". You know what I'm talking about. In sf there are authors like "Lee Correy" and James Hogan who write industrial- grade science fiction, but Anne McCaffery is much more prominent in her chosen field. Look at all the teenagers running around at conventions wearing dragon dolls and thinking ONLY about dragons. (That's what I don't like--the obsession.) But she could make lots, lots, lots more money if she just takes my suggestion here. ^L Suggestion for a novel: THE SWORD OF SHARRA by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Anne McCaffery In the (chronologically) last Darkover novel, THE WORLD WRECKERS, the telepaths of Darkover made a telepathic call to all the other telepaths of the galaxy. Well, just imagine that Pern is in the same galaxy and same future history. The telepaths of Pern get the call. Who interpets it? What is the most powerfully telepathic race on Pern? And who is its most powerful telepath? Of course, the Dragons, and Ruth in particular. So, Ruth starts getting irrestible visions of a planet orbiting a red sun (Hee. Hee!). He tells Jaxom and Sharra (Remember that name?), and after much dithering they decide to go. They get there, look around in shock, have some adventures, and barely escape with their lives. They go back, consult with Ruatha and the Harpers, and Pern and Darkover start dealing in earnest. Watch out as Pernians start getting very confused by Darkover sexual mores. Darkoverans start getting very confused by Pern sexual mores. Someone decides to go Dragon-hunting, and comes to a very bad end. You can add whatever speculations you wish. It will sell big bucks, divided two ways of course, but it will be a greatly profitable book all the same. I expect to see it soon. Respectfully, Eric Robert Jablow MSRI ucbvax!brahms!jablow I may be a screwy little wabbit, but at least I'm not going to Alcatraz! --E. Fudd--
carl@proper.UUCP (Carl Greenberg) (02/21/86)
In article <11845@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> jablow@brahms.UUCP (Eric Robert Jablow) writes: >Perhaps I should have sent this to net.rumor, but here goes: > >Look at all the teenagers running around at >conventions wearing dragon dolls and thinking ONLY about dragons. Oh, come on. I have a nice dragon doll that is very good for boffing people about the head with when they make bad puns. The type is sewn by costuming maniacs (and good friends of mine) who are out of teenagerhood. >Suggestion for a novel: > THE SWORD OF SHARRA > by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Anne McCaffery > >In the (chronologically) last Darkover novel, THE WORLD WRECKERS, >the telepaths of Darkover made a telepathic call to all the other >telepaths of the galaxy. Well, just imagine that Pern is in the >same galaxy and same future history. Didn't you read the last story in _Sword of Chaos_? It was titled "A Recipe for Failure", by Millea Kenin, and the dragon Broth and his rider T'Spoon had appeared there... So why imagine??? >The telepaths of Pern get the >call. Who interpets it? What is the most powerfully telepathic >race on Pern? And who is its most powerful telepath? Of course, >the Dragons, and Ruth in particular. So, Ruth starts getting >irrestible visions of a planet orbiting a red sun (Hee. Hee!). And comes out in vacuum, orbiting Liriel. Great. Dragons meet explosive decompression. Try high mountains with a red sun at noon, better to go on... (Hmmm, now do dragons have a homing instinct so they won't come out in vacuum? Canth going the the Red Star would have been pretty high in the atmosphere..) >He tells Jaxom and Sharra (Remember that name?), and after much >dithering they decide to go. They get there, look around in shock, >have some adventures, and barely escape with their lives. They go >back, consult with Ruatha and the Harpers, and Pern and Darkover start >dealing in earnest. Watch out as > > Pernians start getting very confused by Darkover sexual mores. Since when did Darkovans have sexual mores? > Darkoverans start getting very confused by Pern sexual mores. Since when did the Pernese have sexual mores? > Someone decides to go Dragon-hunting, and comes to a very bad end. They have a fairy-tale on Darkover with some son of Hastur lamenting it, so I guess dragons would be a bit more popular than THAT... But with all them Comyn conservatives.... Actually, seems a bit of a parallel with the oldies thinking queens can't chew firestone and ride in Fall and Keepers must be virgins... > >You can add whatever speculations you wish. It will sell big bucks, >divided two ways of course, but it will be a greatly profitable book >all the same. I expect to see it soon. > Ack! Phhht! Carl Greenberg