Letter from Rachel
Hi Todd,
I was so excited when I found out that you were going to continue with the Pern legacy. I first read Dragonsong when I was a teen and couldn’t read the series fast enough. I had made my way through all of them shortly before Dragon’s Kin came out, so I was thrilled that I didn’t have to give up Pern.
I’ve always had a little bit of trouble wrapping my mind around Timing it. It’s not the timeline that bothers me, but the way that the dragons get there. Lessa used the Red Star to guide her way, but what’s to say that she didn’t end up at a time when the Red Star was making another Pass? Or when the weyrlings drill on recognition points, those are what they use for the rest of their lives. How come they don’t end up in the same time whenever they arrive? What if they’re going somewhere and there’s a Gather? It would be impossible to picture everyone. Does it take really extra details in order to travel across time?
That’s it, really. The Pern books hold a special place on my bookshelf and I look forward to reading everything that you and your mother continue to gift us with.
Rachel
Hi Rachel,
I’m glad you like the new books.
As for timing it — it’s one of those magical things. Given that space and time are one in the same, it makes sense that if dragons can go from one place to another, they can just as easily go from one time to another.
As for Lessa, she had the night stars along with the Red Star. It didn’t bear mentioning but the night stars move enough in hundreds of Turns (just as the night sky changes with the season) that there’s a distinct difference between the position of those distant stars between Passes.
Cheers,
Todd