When thinking about the favourite classic fantasy authors of my youth, so many come to mind. These authors penned classics that have become almost permanent fixtures on bookshop shelves for decades, and they will continue to march off the shelves and be instantly replenished for decades to come. If you are looking for fabulous fantasy you won’t go wrong with the early works of Stephen Donaldson, David Eddings, Raymond E Feist, Terry Brooks or the master, J R R Tolkien, to name just a handful. Another author who still stands out from the crowd is Anne McCaffrey (1926–2011). Her ‘Pern’ series, of which Dragonflight was the first, started in 1968.

McCaffrey’s work often explored the theme of humans being forced to leave Earth because of overcrowding.

This series, which began as two novellas, is set in the future on the planet Pern. Humans colonise the planet in an attempt to escape the claustrophobic crush of human life on Earth. It seems, at first, like a refuge, a place where they can live a peaceful life. But then Thread, a deadly spore falling from the sky that eats organic matter, rains down death and destruction upon them. To fight off the spore they join with the dragons that inhabit Pern. Each dragon would join with a human, communicating with them telepathically to fight the spore in the most effective way and ensure survival.

The first two trilogies set on Pern are not to be missed. Anne McCaffrey was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction and the first to win a Nebula Award. These prizes are a testament to her imaginative powers and her worldbuilding talent.

Reviewed by Rowena Morcom