Dragonsblood (简装)

Book Description
In Dragon's Kin, bestselling author Anne McCaffrey did the unthinkable: for the first time ever, she invited another writer to join her in the skies of her most famous fictional creation. That writer was her son, Todd McCaffrey. Together, they penned a triumphant new chapter in the annals of the extraordinarily popular Dragonriders of Pern. Now, for the first time, Todd McCaffrey flies alone. And Dragonsblood is proof that the future of Pern is in good hands. After all, dragons are in his blood...

Never in the dramatic history of Pern has there been a more dire emergency than that which faces the young dragonrider Lorana. A mysterious fatal illness is striking dragons. The epidemic is spreading like wildfire...and the next deadly cycle of Threadfall is only days away. Somehow, Lorana must find a cure before the dragons — including her own beloved Arith — succumb to the sickness, leaving Pern undefended.

The lyrics of an all-but-forgotten song seem to point toward an answer from nearly five hundred years in the past, when Kitti Ping and her daughter Wind Blossom bred the first dragons from their smaller cousins, the fire-lizards. No doubt the first colonists possessed the advanced technology to find the cure for which Lorana seeks, but over the centuries, that knowledge has been lost.

Or has it?

For in the distant past, an aged Wind Blossom worries that the germs that affect the fire-lizards may one day turn on larger prey — and unleash a plague that will destroy the dragons, Pern's only defenders against Thread. But as her people struggle to survive, Wind Blossom has neither the time nor the resources to expend on a future that may never arrive — until suddenly she uncovers evidence that her worst fears will come true.

Now two brave women, separated by hundreds of years but joined by bonds transcending time, will become unknowing allies in a desperate race against sickness and Threadfall, with nothing less than the survival of all life on Pern at stake.

From Publishers Weekly
The torch has been passed and burns more brightly than ever in this latest chapter of the venerable Pern saga, the first of what one hopes will be many solo efforts by the son of series creator Anne McCaffrey (Dragons of Pern). The narrative shifts smoothly between Wind Blossom, one of the original colonists of Pern, who's struggling to create a legacy for future generations before she dies, and Lorana, a young dragonrider born 450 years later with unusual talents for healing and telepathy. A genuinely spellbinding set of time travel puzzles and paradoxes is set against the moving backdrop of two populations struggling to survive: the children of the colonists, learning to live in a new world as they lose the technology of the old one, and the dragons of Lorana's time, who are dying of a mysterious plague just when they're needed to protect Pern. The strength of the two women and the mysterious connection between them is gradually revealed through a number of surprising and sometimes heartbreaking parallel occurrences. This stand-alone tale fits beautifully into the existing history and style of earlier books while still breaking new ground. Despite being geared toward the existing fan base, it will be quite accessible to new readers. In her introduction, the elder McCaffrey writes, "son, you done did good and me proud!" Even the most nepotism-wary will concur and eagerly look forward to the next installment. FYI:McCaffrey co-wrote the previous Pern novel, Dragon's Kin (2003), with his mother.

From Booklist
After coauthoring Dragon's Kin [BKL S 15 03] with his mother, Anne, McCaffrey smoothly accepts the torch from her to further chronicle the world of the Dragonriders of Pern, her most famous creation. The story alternates between two times--the immediate present, more than 500 turns since the first landing on Pern, and 400 turns earlier, when geneticist Wind Blossom, whose mother had created the dragons, was still alive. The situation in the later period is dire: thread is falling, and the dragons are sickening and dying. Only Wind Blossom can save the dragons, and that seems impossible. Time is the literal cure, however, and making the impossible possible is the bond that Lorana, a marvelous young woman of the present, makes with Wind Blossom by reaching back in time to come up with the cure. McCaffrey convincingly spins a dramatic, thoroughly captivating tale, steeped in the lore and well-drawn characterizations of the people and the dragons for which the Pern novels are prized. Fans old and new will be delighted by his continuance of a beloved saga.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Sally Estes

Back Cover copy
A deadly plague has begun to wipe out the dragons and fire-lizards, leaving mankind no defence against the deadly Thread which has just begun to fall in the Third Pass. Tantalized by a song that seems to suggest that Lorana can find out how to heal the dragons, the Harper Kindan and Lorana race against time to solve the clues that Wind Blossom left behind.
Can they find the cure in time to save Lorana's queen, Arith, and the rest of the dragons?If they don't, there will be no dragons left, and all life on the planet will be devoured.

And how could Wind Blossom, Pern's last geneticist, know of a peril 400 Turns after her death?

From AudioFile
Anne McCaffrey's son has written this newest book in the Dragonriders of Pern series. Danger threatens as dragons fall ill with an unknown sickness that is devastating the weirs and thus depleting Pern's primary defense against Threadfall. The search for a cure lies in the knowledge and skill of a geneticist who was one of the original settlers over 500 years earlier and who was instrumental in the creation of the dragons and the fire lizards. Dick Hill returns to the series, and his narration is familiar and comfortable. He draws out the personalities of the characters, as well as their relationships and conflicts. Gentle reverberation is used to set apart the speech between dragon and rider. J.E.M.

About Author
Todd McCaffrey was born in the United States, but he spent his teenage years in Ireland, where his mother moved in 1970. After a stint in the U.S. Army, he followed his love of computers to build a career as a computer engineer. His true love is writing, though. Having grown up with the Dragonriders of Pern, he is bursting with ideas for new stories of that world, its people, and its dragons.

Book Dimension :
length: (cm)17.8 　　　 　　　　　 　 width:(cm)10.8