This page collects all of our reading recommendations in one convenient location, sorted by episode! We broadly do not recommend reading Pern (unless...), so here are our alternative recommendations of better books that you should read instead.
Main episodes
Episode 1: Dragonflight (1968)
If you’re interested in stories about ugly and violent revenge involving magic and power fantasy and the messy ways in which society can turn in on itself, Tequila Mockingbird recommends Blood Debts, by Terry J. Benton-Walker.
If you’re interested in some of the theoretical questions McCaffrey’s world-building is interested in (power, gender, sex and sexuality, social organization), Lleu recommends Samuel R. Delany’s Return to Nevèrÿon series (first book Tales of Nevèrÿon), the second book of which (Neveryóna) is in fact dedicated to McCaffrey and includes an homage to Lessa’s first ride on Ramoth.
If you’re interested in violent revenge stories with complicated romantic relationships in which power dynamics are going back and forth at fast pace, Tequila Mockingbird recommends The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage (重生之将门毒后), a webnovel by Qian Shan Cha Ke (千山茶客).
Episode 2: Dragonquest (1971)
If you liked these complicated political tensions and people trying frantically to avert giant, potentially world-ending political crises, as well as the ideas about social transformation, with some wild sexual politics and interesting ideas about alien gender and sexuality (and multiple explicitly gay characters), Lleu recommends Eleanor Arnason’s Ring of Swords.
If you’re interested in a tortured, messy, ugly female villain whose psychological decline is compelling and tragic, and at the same time you also want to watch her get her face stomped into the dirt, Tequila Mockingbird recommends the animated TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender, because Azula is so much better than Kylara in every possible way.
Episode 3: Dragonsong (1976)
Surprise: we pretty wholeheartedly recommend reading Dragonsong itself! If you only read one book in the series, it should be this one.
If you like(d) stories where a child feels misunderstood at home and so runs away and lives in the wilderness satisfactorily, Tequila Mockingbird also recommends Mandy, by Julie Andrews (yes, that Julie Andrews).
Episode 4: Dragonsinger (1977)
If you enjoyed Dragonsong, we would also recommend (though with some reservations, especially re (dis)ability) Dragonsinger as a companion and immediate sequel.
If you’re interested in the way Dragonsinger immerses you in a community of musicians — and especially if you’ve ever written a dissertation, or a novel — Lleu much more heartily recommends Patricia A. McKillip’s The Bards of Bone Plane.
If you’re interested in more of a school story about a character entering an academic community and building a social community for themselves there, Tequila Mockingbird recommends Claribel Ortega’s Witchlings series (first book Witchlings).
If you’re interested in stories about characters who by rights should be Mary Sues but are effectively hamstrung by their trauma-induced profound self-doubt, Lleu suggests you consider Tamora Pierce’s Immortals quartet (first book Wild Magic) alongside Menolly.
Episode 5: The White Dragon (1978)
If you’re interested in a space archaeology story that engages critically with colonialism and the relationship between past and present / history and new technology, Lleu recommends Leigh Brackett’s short story “The road to Sinharat” (available through Project Gutenberg), published in her short fiction collection The Coming of the Terrans.
If you wanted a science fiction coming-of-age story whose protagonist isn’t trapped by the narrative, Lleu recommends Samuel R. Delany’s Nova.
If you’re interested in a coming-of-age story that engages more substantively with questions of identity, sexuality, and race, Tequila Mockingbird recommends Mark Oshiro’s Anger Is a Gift.
Episode 6: Dragondrums (1979)
If you were interested in a coming-of-age narrative about a young person coming into a new world and going on a coming-of-age quest to figure out their identity and their role while dealing with a complicated relationship with a somewhat dubious mentor figure, Tequila Mockingbird recommends two books:
Dhonielle Clayton’s The Marvellers
Graci Kim’s The Last Fallen Star
If you were interested in a critique of narratives about a person arriving in a new world and setting out to reestablish civilization from first principles, Lleu recommends Joanna Russ’s We Who Are About To..., a sharp takedown of the Robinsonade genre.