Letter from Asta

Letter from Asta

Hi!
I have so far read most of the books about Pern, both those by your mother and yours.
I simply love them! The connection between a dragon and its rider is an amazing thought.
However I have a question, I have not been able to find an answer to:
How big are the dragons? (I am thinking about the dragons in the last fall)
I have found this website, but I do not know if it is correct…
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/50464261/
I hope that you (and your mother) will continue to write more amazing books about Pern?

Love
Asta

Hi Asta,

The answer to your question appears to be “how big do you want them?”

When I first read “Weyr Search” (the first part of Dragonflight) as published in Analog, the illustrations made it clear that dragons were sized on a par with brontosaurus — just huge. Mum wrote in “Weyr Search” about how Mnementh held Lessa in a cage of his claws and how Ramoth’s head was as tall as Lessa herself (I think she had to lean up to scratch Ramoth’s eyeridges).

In “The Dragonlover’s Guide to Pern”, there’s a size chart that compares Ramoth to an L-1011.

Since Dragonflight, dragons seem to have shrunk. Is there a connection between dragon size and Mum getting a horse?

I think that dragons are rather like Hagrid in Harry Potter — “too big to be allowed.” But that’s my opinion.

Cheers,
Todd

P.S.: I suspect that when a movie is made, dragons will be smaller — otherwise you wouldn’t see the riders on the screen at all!

Comments are closed.