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.
Episode 7: Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern (1983)
Surprise! If you have read some Pern books but haven’t read Moreta, we think it’s really good and weorth reading! If you haven’t already read any Pern, it’s probably not worth starting just for Moreta, and we don’t think it will work as well on its own, unfortunately.
If you’re interested in stories about living through a pandemic, Tequila Mockingbird recommends Ling Ma’s Severance.
If you’re interested in stories about rapid cultural change, epidemic (though not pandemic), and loss of historical and cultural knowledge, Lleu recommends Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk’s Sanaaq (translated by Peter Frost from Bernard Saladin d’Anglure’s French translation)
Episode 8: Nerilka’s Story (1985)
If you’re interested in an actual romance novel with a historical setting, Tequila Mockingbird recommends Courtney Milan’s The Countess Conspiracy and The Devil Comes Courting.
If you’re interested in heavily-implied lesbians during a major political crisis, with a real grasp of the relationship between history and present, Lleu recommends Gregory Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Episode 9: Dragonsdawn (1988) (part 1)
If you’re interested in literature actually by Irish Travellers, Lleu encourages you to check out Oein DeBhairduin’s short story collectionWhy the Moon Travels.
If you’re interested in stories about planetary colonization, racism, and societies in crisis, Tequila Mockingbird recommends Emma Newman’s Planetfall.
If you’re interested in a post-war society dealing with its trauma and confronting a crisis that brings that trauma to the fore, Tequila also recommends the film Godzilla Minus One.
If you like Godzilla movies and/or the idea of Godzilla, Lleu also suggests checking out Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again, a pair of short novels (published in one volume) by Kayama Shigeru, who wrote the screenplay for the original Godzilla movie.
Episode #10: Dragonsdawn (1988) (part 2)
If you are looking for a story about a community in space dealing with crisis and the ways that that can fracture or bring people closer together, and the way that it fundamentally changes a society, Tequila Mockingbird recommends Mary Anne Mohanraj’s The Stars Change.
If what seemed compelling was the portion at the beginning of this book, where we have our young protagonists exploring a new planet together and discovering fire lizards and being a little mini-slice of a mini middle grade novel, Tequila also recommends O.T. Nelson’s The Girl Who Owned a City.
If you’re interested in a story about an agrarian space colony that is dysfunctional in a variety of ways, and what it does when it encounters some kind of political crisis due to an outside force that challenges the fundamental premises of the community, Lleu recommends Sofia Samatar’s novella “Fallow,” published in her short story collection Tender.
Bonus episodes
Bonus Episode #6: “The Girl Who Heard Dragons” (1986)
If you’re interested in a young person being kidnapped by their family to serve a cause that they ultimately find themselves rebelling against, Lleu recommends Elaine Cuyegkeng’s “These Constellations Will Be Yours.”