Энн Маккефри «Dragon's Time (The Dragon Books Book 20)»

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Автор Энн Маккефри

By Todd McCaffrey

Published by Ballantine Books

DRAGONGIRL

DRAGONSBLOOD

DRAGONHEART

By Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey

DRAGON’S KIN

DRAGON’S FIRE

DRAGON HARPER

Nonfiction Works

DRAGONHOLDER

Dragon’s Time is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously.

Published in the United States by Del Rey, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. , New York.

DEL REY is a registered trademark and the Del Rey colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

McCaffrey, Todd

Dragon’s Time/Anne McCaffrey, Todd McCaffrey.

p. cm.

eISBN: 978-0-345-52641-0

1. Dragons—Fiction. 2. Pern (Imaginary place)—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3563. A25525D68 2010

813′.

54—dc22 2010014672

Jacket design: David Stevenson

Jacket illustration: © Les Edwards

v3. 1

For

Eliza Oriana Johnson

first granddaughter, first niece:

gentle, loving, brave heart

LETTER TO READERS

Dear Readers,

When Todd and I were casting about for ideas for our next collaboration, we tossed around working on my novel, After the Fall Is Over, together, but contractual obligations took that out of the running—and, I must confess, I still am a bit possessive when it comes to the futures of F’lar and Lessa. Still, I did talk over some of my ideas with Todd, and he sent me a long list of questions in response that proved thought-provoking, inspiring, and challenging.

I had read and enjoyed his Dragonheart and Dragongirl, and the truth is, the excitement was catching. And so I said: “You know, Todd, how hard it is for me to share. … Maybe you could show me how?”

Todd got the message and quickly agreed. And it’s been a lot of fun. Not only have I enjoyed helping Todd wrap up this very dramatic part of Pernese history, but my own creative juices have been flowing thick and furious: I’ve been writing up a storm on my own, too. I think that Dragon’s Time is one of our best, and we’re both eager to get started on the next one, Dragonrider. Already we know that Dragonrider will break new ground and old tradition; still, Todd’ll do most of the writing and I’ll do the tweaking and critiquing, just as before.

And after that, who knows? He’s been so good about allowing me to take part in moving his characters around the playing board … maybe I’ll finally let him play with my characters!

Ciao,

Annie

FOR READERS NEW TO PERN

Thousands of years after man first developed interstellar travel, colonists from Earth, Tau Ceti III, and many other origins settled upon Pern, the third planet of the star Rukbat in the Sagittarius sector.

They found Pern idyllic for their purposes: a pastoral world far off the standard trade routes and perfect for those recovering from the horrors of the Nathi Wars.

Led by war hero Admiral Paul Benden, and Governor Emily Boll of war-torn Tau Ceti, the colonists quickly abandoned their star-traveling technology in favor of a simpler life. For eight years—“Turns” as they called them on Pern—the settlers spread and multiplied on Pern’s lush Southern Continent, unaware that a menace was fast approaching through space.