Hey,

Good job with the Pern series so far. Keep it going please!

I have been a fan of the Pern series for a long time but I have always had one question that I assume has already been established, but I will ask it anyway.

Are dragons affected by inbreeding? I ask this because looking at the parentage of various famous dragons, and there only being about a maximum of 5 queens per weyr it seems that dragons tend to inbreed with astonishing regularity. For example, Ramoth and Mnemeth are both children of Nemorth, if I remember correctly and all of their children are fine, but some of them end up inbreeding as well. Seeing as all seem in good condition, I assume they can inbreed without harm, and probably with regularity seeing as no Pernese reacted with alarm, but I thought I’d ask anyway.

Thank you kindly sir,

Devin

Hi Devin,

I’ll be glad to keep it going as long as there are readers who want what I write and I have ideas I want to explore. That said, I am hoping this year or next to take some time to write and/or finish some works of my own which having been begging for attention for a good long time now!

As for your question on inbreeding, I think the answer is a resounding no. Remember that PNA (Pernese Nucleic Acid) is a triple-helix and much different from DNA. In particular, it’s much more conservative that which makes it less likely to mutate. I’m sure that Kitti Ping took this into account when designing the dragons and used it as a method to ensure that mutations were slow and orderly. She knew that the gene pool for dragons would always be small and made allowances for that (not all of which I’ll detail here).

The short answer is: no, it’s not a problem. (Or as a programmer would say: “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!”)

Cheers,
Todd

I just finished your book, Dragonsblood and as a longtime fan and part-time resident of Pern (I go there every time I read a Pern novel) I was absolutely enthralled from start to finish. I cried when Arith went Between and was amused at some of the references of other Pern books – like the weyrling and his dragon who were found encased in solid rock and how it happened.

Have you ever considered turning Pernese Tradition its ear by having a girl Impress a Bronze or a boy Impress a Queen?

Also, the Blue Dragon and Green Dragons seem to be little more than “extras”. I think it would be
interesting to give them a story unless they are just too boring.

Also, I’ve often wondered what it would be like if Menolly revisited Half-Circle Sea Hold since she is now Masterharper and her father was such a hidebound arse about his daughter and her talents.

Anyway, thank you for filling your mum’s very large wherry-hide boots.

I’m looking forward to reading every one of Pern’s new adventures. Thank You!!!!

Aloha from Hawaii.
Michel G.

Hi Michel!

Halo from LA!

As for boys getting queens and girls getting bronzes — nope, never EVER going to happen. That’s Mum’s firm, inalterable decision on the matter.

On the other hand, I think you’ll find things interesting enough without that.

When it comes to stories, however, they have to have meaning for me. I don’t think there’s much of interest in Menolly going back and doing a “nyah-nyah” at her father. In fact, if there were a story at all, it’d be a short introspective peace where Menolly, the wise kind person that she is, explains to her mother on the occasion of her father’s funeral why she didn’t return while he was still alive — because she knew it would have humiliated him to admit his error more than it would have pleased him to acknowledge her success and she was bigger than that.

Cheers,
Todd

Todd,

You have done an excellent job of following on with the Pern series. I have enjoyed them very much. I really enjoyed Dragonsblood, even though it seemed a bit “bitty” to start with.

I do have one problem with Nuella. She starts by taking over Green Kisk to become Nuelsk, then without any explanation, Nuelsk appears in Dragon’s Blood as a gold! Is this because the last gold dies and one of the greens has to become gold to carry on the species? Or did I miss something in one of the earlier books?

Ruth,

First, I believe that you’ll find Nuella’s gold is Nuellask in Dragonsblood and how she gets her is answered in Dragonheart which you can’t have read yet as I’ve only just today sent it to the editor! But there is a reason for the change as you’ll find out.

Cheers,
Todd

I am so happy to see the Pern series getting new books! I have gotten my bf attached to the series too, and have been trying to explain the pieces he doesn’t understand.

Anyway, I know you are writing the series now, but I have a question. How can I find where all the short stories are published? I have some of them, but I found a listing and much to my distress, I have found several short stories listed that I have never read! My sister got me started on the series and she is freaked she has missed some too. She has a terminal kidney disease and I would love to find the stories and give her something to read to distract her from other things.

Please let me know the best place to find the short stories?

Thank you,
Kim

PS: I am finishing re-reading the boks so I can read Dragon Harper, but I LOVE all of them! Keep up the good work and I will buy each one as they come out… in hard back and paperback

Hi Kim,

I’m so sorry to hear about your sister. The place place to get that info is probably Mum’s website although I wouldn’t be surprised if there aren’t also several very excellent lists on amazon.com or