The end story of the dragonriders of Pern, who guide their magnificent beasts into battle against the menacing, life-devouring Thread, has been told.

The saga that began with the first novel, Dragonflight, ended in epic fashion in All the Weyrs of Pern. But while we may know how the story ends, we're just learning how it began.

We've known the story of this science fiction/fantasy classic for years. The first settlers of Pern found it to be a remarkable, remote planet with few mineral resources that seemed custom made for their planned agricultural, low-tech lifestyle.