#Moreta

[threadfall]

Now this is one I haven't seen before! (Scan taken from CayCayShay on Ebay.)

Things to Come was a Science Fiction Book Club leaflet/newsletter shoved into the backs of books tell people about their next big titles. It doesn't credit this illustrator, like most of them don't – if anyone knows who it might be, I'd love to be able to credit!

[2lim3rz]

I've read the books of Dragonriders of Pern and heard of the tragedy Moretas ride was, but reading it hit me so hard on a gut level. Holth just doggedly determined to return back to Leri and Moreta just as much to return to Orlith. The description of Orlith bound by her impending motherhood to protect her clutch but wailing in despair

Sh'Gall, who Moreta disliked but admired as a leader in Fall, who already was crumbling in the face of a pandemic now devastated by the loss of his Weyrlady

Allessan who loved Moreta as much as she loved him

Capiam who cherished her skills

K'Lon who was supported by her

Leri, who fought for her to the end to do what's right

Moreta and Holth, who saved Pern

[dmmdipodcast]

Episode #7: Moreta, Dragonlady of Pern

In this episode, we reminisce over pandemics, evaluate what it means to truly pass the Bechdel-Wallace test, and relish finally getting to spend time with a protagonist who's an actual adult.

Transcript is available on our website!

[phantomstatistician]

Fandom: Dragonriders of Pern

Sample Size: 193 stories

Source: AO3

[emblazonet]

Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern

THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD!! It's so good! This is 100% my favourite Pern book so far. The characters are all great. The setting felt alive and interesting. The stakes were fucking high. I knew Moreta was going to die, in the way you know Vanyel is going to die in The Last Herald-Mage trilogy, because we're going back in time to explore the life of a characters from an in-universe ballad, and it made me love her more.

It's also about a pandemic, but in a soothing way? Honestly it was SUCH a relief to read a story about people just fucking doing the work of Dealing With A Contagious Flu without much of the bullshittery we've all had to live through these past three years.

This got long, so more under the cut!

There are no psycho anti-vax cults in Pern. The small population scattered over a continent that's constantly being besieged by Thread does not, generally, have the luxury of either the greed we've gotten to witness IRL nor the misinformation campaigns. Characters that hoard are stolen from; characters who try to prevent vaccination are villains in the narrative and the good guys go into their territory to vaccinate—that's Moreta's final heroic moment! She dies, not from the disease but from exhaustion, to ensure everyone gets vaccinated to PREVENT A SECOND WAVE.

I expected to feel re-traumatized by the pandemic conflict. Instead, it felt healing to read about these characters. It felt affirming. It made me feel better about my choice to continue wearing a mask in public. It felt invigorating: ok, so my world isn't as sensible as Pern's, but it's still worth it to fight disease, to fight the depression and apathy—in short, it did exactly what a fantasy book is supposed to do. Inspire. I don't know that this will be everyone's take away, but it was mine.

This book gets so much right, I can't even believe this is the same author who wrote all those other Pern books I've read so far. (How did we jump from the crap of The White Dragon into this? HOW?) All these things:

Despite there being SO MANY characters, the book largely juggles its cast well, and while I often forgot names, the context usually helped me out. Every character actually felt unique and distinct and like they had different lives they were living.

Moreta and Alessan's relationship was so well done. You know it's not a romance that will go anywhere, so it feels precious when they snatch some time together. Also, Alessan is just an attractive dude character? Unlike any other of the male leads in a Pern book, Alessan appeals to me.

The relationship between Moreta and the older queen rider, Leri—UGH MY HEART. At the beginning of the book I was worried Moreta would have the 'not like other girls' vibe... I needn't worried. Leri as mentor, accomplice and friend is everything I could have asked for in a female friendship. And Moreta has other relationships and positive experiences with women, and it's so good, but what she has with Leri is so special.

The way the book builds this yearning for Moreta to be able to fly Orlith again, and then at the end she's with Leri's exhausted Holth, and they die away from their partners in the line of duty—I CRIED OK. It was so much. It was so good.

Only small bits of time travel, smart avoidance of paradoxes, thank you.

I was super invested in Moreta's healing of the Thread-damaged dragon wings. The whole process of healing dragons was super interesting!

Loved that Threadfall kept on happening throughout, it made the stakes even higher in the best way possible.

There were things I think could have been better:

I didn't enjoy Moreta's introduction and it made me feel like the book was gonna suck lol, she was arguing with Nesso and then talking about her body in a way that just felt dated and weird.

Everyone on Pern must have the same blood type I guess? Because they're just using extracted blood to make the vaccine, and the vaccine appears to have no ill effect. Honestly, the book had so much going on I'm pretty grateful it didn't go into Accurate Medical Science, but it did feel incredibly oversimplified.

Telgar Weyr's Weyrleader just sort of like decides everyone's not allowed into his territory and fuck you guys but I didn't really get a feel for that character at all or where he was coming from? So it undermined Moreta's end sacrifice a bit, because the ending felt rushed.

I really wanted Sh'gall to do something so egregiously annoying that someone yelled at him. Sh'gall was basically the comic relief though, I generally enjoyed how useless he was lol.

Overall? 11/10 and I REALLY hope the rest of the Pern books are this good! I'm going to pick back up in January with Nerilka's Story.

[liopleurodean]

They call me Moreta the way I multitask to the point of burnout and then die

[readers-folly]

Chapters: 1/4 Fandom: 전지적 독자 시점 - 싱숑 | Omniscient Reader - Sing-Shong Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kim Dokja/1863rd Regression Yoo Joonghyuk Characters: Kim Dokja, 1863rd Regression Yoo Joonghyuk, Other Character Tags to Be Added Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mental Instability, Mental Breakdown, Blood and Injury, AU: reverse isekai Summary:

Kim Dokja was having a normal, albeit terrible day at office when blood covered stranger walks out of the room he had no way of getting into. But it's not really a stranger when that's your favourite character, right? So he tells himself as he tries to take the feral man home.

[auntieoneandauntietwo]

To second other people, harper hall are definitely the most “normal” of all of the books. Least culty and most solid middle grade fantasy. (Also the least questionable content) And they’re a super nice intro to the world if the main series feels too info dumpy and world building y

I honestly never loved moreta but like. Might just be me.

people who have read the dragonriders of pern books in any real capacity:

which ones would you say are the best? least terrible?

I only read 1 and I don't remember what it was called or anyone's names. all I know is some servant girl bonded with a queen dragon and people kept insisting queens couldn't fly and she took multiple baths a day just because she could and yeah Idk. it was pretty boring.

I need more books to add to my reading list when I get done what I have so far.

Bonus points if they're already available on the web archive, but not necessary.

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern Cover Art by Michael Whelan

[cheffettuccinealbedo]

Is anyone active here a fan of the band Hey Violet? It’s just, tomorrow is their last concert ever and I’m bummed about it and I was wondering if there was anyone else here to be bummed with..

(Also like is anyone going to record the stream of the concert so I can save it👀)

[patchoulism]

this one still haunts me

[threadfall]

Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern (竜の貴婦人), published by Hayakawa Publishing as 2 volumes in 1991. Translation by Miki Yōko (幹遙子), cover art by Kijima Shun (木嶋俊).

I've put the images above so that Volume 1 is on the right and Volume 2 on the left, so you can see how the Red Star aligns on the cover. (Images sourced from Paisley Books on Ebay; here and here)

Dragonriders of Pern has been translated as パーンの竜騎士 (Pern).

[memorydragon]

When you sit down to read an old childhood favorite book and expect covid flashbacks, but don't expect very Loud subtextual commentary about the AIDS epidemic that only put up the most token attempt to camouflage it so the book could actually be published.

[dragongirl-casca]

Context: I'm reading the Dragonriders of Pern series, having recently restarted and then finally finished Dragonsdawn after a long hiatus from the series.

Renegades of Pern is not a very artful book, in terms of realistic decisions, clever dialogue, or compelling narrative. The arguments characters have make little sense, and it frequently feels very expository.

But it is a very functional book, in that it introduces characters, introduces places, and creates a reasonable framework for those characters to explore those places, leading to the rediscovery of ancient knowledge.

I hope All The Weyrs of Pern is better, though.

[kihaku-gato]

A REALLY lucky Thrift haul today!

There were a LOT of gems at the thrift for books (I'll later make a separate post on those which I didn't buy cause GODDAMN some rarities were on the shelves!) but what I got is still damn good in itself;

From the one thrift I got Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel (it is the lowest rated book and the last book from the Earth's Children series but I've never read it and it would help complete the series collection) and Guide to the Flowering Plants and Ferns of Iceland by Hordur Kristinsson (do I need a book on a place I'll never go to? No. BUT I GOT IT ANYWAYS. I'm a sucker for ID/guide books that come with range/location maps).

From the second thrift I would've gotten the cute wooden carved cat first but said to msyelf "I'm only gonna get it if I find a good book here" AND HO BOY DID I EVER. Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel (I already own a newer print but its paperback, THIS one is an oldie hardcover!), and more importantly I also got Moreta Dragonlady of Pern by Anne McCaffrey!!!! So with those fortunes the wooden kitty came home with me too. Sis/mom said it is very much a knick knack that fits me.

Bonus is that since it's made of wood Alice can't obliterate it by knocking off the shelves like she would with a more fragile material.

[emblazonet]

Oh my god runnerbeasts are just horses.

I thought they were some kind of funky cool weirdly-jointed animal like something out of No Man's Sky or whatever.

No, they're fucking normal ass horses???!!!!!!