I read a LOT of books. Being that I am a scientist, the
vast majority of what I read is termed ‘non-fiction’ and is almost always hard
science, natural history, or, lately, history. For instance, the last
non-fiction books I read are “The Third Horseman” (about the Spanish flu
epidemic), “Spooky Action at a Distance” (regarding quantum physics and
entanglement) and “A Genetic Switch” (precisely what it says: the mechanics of
a genetic switch. The last two being so thick and chewy that I had to read the
first several chapters of both of them three times before I ‘got it’. )
My husband reads, too. His specialties are anything
natural history and photography. Consequently, most of our furniture consists
of good reading lamps, some comfortable and well worn easy chairs under them,
and 14 or 15 bookshelves stuffed with (at last count) over 3000 books. Any
burglar breaking into my house is going to be sorely disappointed as there is
nothing to steal.
After the New Year, tired of having to swallow a diet of
shock, disgust and dismay at the destruction wrought by President Moron and his
Republican suckups, I needed a break. As a kid and young adult, I read a lot of
fiction, most of it devoted to animals in general, horses in specificity, some
historical fiction, and science fiction. “Shogun” was my favorite, but
Kipling’s “Kim” and “The Jungle Books” will probably be three of the five I
intend to have cremated with me. Got to have something to read in the Great
Beyond, right?
Thinking that I’d enjoy retreating from this insanity of
real life, I picked up a trilogy I’d not read in years…Anne McCaffrey’s
“Dragonriders of Pern”. Then I found that she’d written a finale volumn titled
“All the Weyrs of Pern.” A Trilogy Plus One.
I immersed myself in the four books. Oh, my, what a
wonderful vacation!
You know that the book was a good one when you miss the
characters (and their world) when you finish the book(s).
I miss the dragons. I miss the agrarian world that is
Pern. I miss a world that has plenty of technology but no guns.
My stars, if I could, I’d live on Pern. I don’t care if
girls aren’t supposed to ride anything but goldens or green dragons, I’d want a
brown. Big enough..like my horse..to be effective but not so silly or
hormonally addled as a green, and not a breeding female like a gold. I’m picky
as to who I sleep with and I’m not interested in being Weyrleader.
That, and I’d want a fire-lizard, too.
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| This is Ruth, a mutation of the regular dragon. The others are much larger. |
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| These are the relative sizes of dragons. A horse is just about the same size as the white. |
Can't you just imagine what it must be like to be telepathically bonded to an intelligent creature like a dragon? Honestly, McCaffrey took a lot of what horses are now and added wings and telepathy to create her dragons.
Ultimately, were I able to live in a fictional land, it would be Pern.
Ultimately, were I able to live in a fictional land, it would be Pern.
So here is my question to you:
Considering the fiction you’ve read, if it were possible
to dive into the pages and into that world, where would YOU want to live?
And why?
