I have started The White Dragon, volume three of Anne McCaffrey's The Dragonriders of Pern

I have started The White Dragon, volume three of Anne McCaffrey's The Dragonriders of Pern.

Never before has Pern seen a White Dragon grace its skies, so Jaxom and Ruth will have their work cut out for them finding their way in the world where Holders and dragonriders have always been separate. Tradition and peace matter, but Thread cares naught for either... and if my long experience in Fantasy is any judge, white Ruth may just save Pern's skies despite everyone saying he and Jaxom cannot.

Honor those the dragons heed,
In thought and favor, word and deed.
Worlds are lost or worlds are saved
From those dangers dragon-braved.

Rise in glory,
Bronze and gold.
Dive entwined,
Enhance the Hold.

There is news on the wind, blowing in the red ship's sails.

I have finished Dragonquest, volume two of Anne McCaffrey's The Dragonriders of Pern

I have finished Dragonquest, volume two of Anne McCaffrey's The Dragonriders of Pern.

Leaders and dragonriders adapt (or not, in some cases) to changing times even as time grows short - for Thread follows no timetable but those set by the stars Red and otherwise. F'lar, Lessa, F'nor and their friends delve into the past while innovating to save the present and future, and while this does not prevent all tragedy, salvation may be found in the smallest and most unlikely of forms.

Holder, watch; Holder, learn,
Something new in every Turn.
Oldest may be coldest too.
Sense the right; find the true!

Wheel and turn or bleed and burn.
Fly between, Blue and Green.
Soar, dive down, Bronze and Brown.
Dragonmen must fly when threads are in the sky.

Truth is stranger than fiction

51 years ago today, on September 2, 1973, J.R.R. Tolkien died at age 81.

1973

3 for the Elven-kings under the sky,
7 for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
9 for Mortal Men doomed to die,
1 or the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

"In those days the smiths of Ost-in-Edhil surpassed all that they had contrived before; and they took thought, and they made Rings of Power. [...] Now the Elves made many rings; but secretly Sauron made One Ring to rule all the others, and their power was bound up with it, to be subject wholly to it and to last only so long as it too should last." – The Silmarillion, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"

My father and I just finished rereading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

My father and I just finished rereading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Sometimes one needs to go back to their roots, walk familiar roads even they be filled with doubt and danger with a Dragon at the end laying upon stolen, hoarded gold. Such was our need, to travel again with Mr. Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, who went on a most extraordinary adventure with thirteen dwarves and the wizard Gandalf. 

"If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck), here is a record of such a journey and such a traveler. The period is the ancient time between the age of Faerie and the dominion of men, when the famous forest of Mirkwood was still standing, and the mountains were full of danger. In following the path of this humble adventurer, you will learn by the way (as he did) – if you do not already know all about these things – much about trolls, goblins, dwarves, and elves..." - J.R.R. Tolkien.

I have started Dragonquest, volume two of Anne McCaffrey's The Dragonriders of Pern

I have started Dragonquest, volume two of Anne McCaffrey's The Dragonriders of Pern.

The Threads fall and dragonriders fly against their ancient foe, yet all is not well as what could be called a generational gap - or chasm, better yet - stirs tension where there should be unity. It will take a different kind of jump to solve this; perhaps one to the Red Star itself.

Weyrman, watch; Weyrman, learn,
Something new in every Turn.
Oldest may be coldest, too.
Sense the right; find the true!

The Finger points,
At an Eye blood-red.
Alert the Weyrs,
To sear the Thread.

I have finished Dragonflight, volume one of Anne McCaffrey's The Dragonriders of Pern

I have finished Dragonflight, volume one of Anne McCaffrey's The Dragonriders of Pern.

A book that lives up to its dragon-sized reputation as Lessa of Ruatha flies golden Ramoth and becomes Weyrwoman of Benden Weyr... and not a moment to soon as the Red Star that heralds death bloodies the skies of Pern. Of course, time and space are connected - which made the job of finding a way to save Pern from the Threads far more manageable. But the world is not won yet, nor will it ever be so long as the spores fall from their alien world.

Drummer, beat, Piper, blow,
Harper, strike, Soldier, go,
Free the flame and sear the grasses
Till the dawning Red Star passes.

From the Weyr and from the Bowl,
Bronze and brown and blue and green,
Rise the dragonmen of Pern,
Aloft, on wing; seen, then unseen.