A much-needed update to the classic companion to Anne McCaffrey's canonical novels and numerous short stories about Pern, this book includes a few recipes, information about knitting patterns, Craft and Hold badges, and more. As a reference, it is marred by the lack of cross-referencing within the book (though there is an index) and by the lack of scales with the drawings of various animals and places. It will be invaluable to readers like me who can't recall just where they read that name before, or what Weyr a rider is from, or where that small Hold is, and it provides a useful overview of the high points of Pernese history--though it's no substitute for the pleasure of reading the stories!

2003-10-26 a wonderful present for a fan of Pern

I received this as a present and it was a brilliant gift. It's not a book to read from cover to cover, but it has loads of interesting things about Pern in, it covers the whole crafthall and hold ethos, - if you are a bit of an anorak (or,umhuh young) it shows all the different shoulder knots used to define the different crafts, it has a military review of dragon flights when fighting thread, recipes for klah and numerous other interesting tidbits re Pern. A lovely present for someone who thinks YOU don't know what Pern is all about!!!!