McCaffrey Questions

[Princess Ivy]

I guess that would mean the browns and occasional bronzes who fly the greens would also be of the same leaning. Or they would have to swing both ways. How interesting. They do imply there is more sexual freedom in the Weyrs than in the holds.

actualy, when the dragons first came about, the greens were impressed by women. however, when thread ended, the women became needed to re-populate, and gradualy started to stay home rather than going to impress. And When greens, with male parters rose to mate, they would have their own partner on hand to quell their lust, the bronze riders would keep their partners similarly to hand, as the weyr was not at stake, it didn't really matter.

 

[mzarynn]

Thank you for that explanation Princess Ivy. It hasn't gone into much detail about that particular area in the first two and a half books I've read, so I had to come to my own conclusions.

 

[Princess Ivy]

it goes into it during brekkies story, when her queen becomes involved in the queens battle. also in red star rising

 

[lazygun]

A question for AM fans....

Was there ever a,"The Ship Who Cried" novel in the Brainship series?.
Read a few of that series and all of the Planet Pirates/Sassinak series.

Anyone?.....

 

[Cheryl]

There is a short story called The Ship Who Mourned, which was incorporated into The Ship Who Sang. Here's a complete listing of the books and short stories in the Brainship series. Numbered stories indicate sub-series.

1. The Ship Who Sang (contains following short stories)

"The Ship Who Sang"
"She Ship Who Mourned"
"The Ship Who Killed"
"Dramatic Mission"
"The Ship Who Disappeared"​

2. "Honeymoon"
3. "The Ship Who Returned"

Partnership (w/ Margaret Ball)

The Ship Who Searched (w/ Mercedes Lackey)

1. The City Who Fought (w/ SM Stirling)
2. *The Ship Avenged (SMS only)

1. The Ship Who Won (w/ Jody Lynn Nye)
2. *The Ship Errant (JLN only)

 

[Milena]

Re: Are green dragons all female?

Are green dragons all female? I was under the impression that Mirrim was the first girl to impress a fighting dragon, so I would conclude the other green riders are male. I couldn't remember specifically if there were dragons and riders of the opposite sex paired together. Does anyone know?

If you want to try a another thread (tee hee) of AMC's writing, her first Crystal Singer is my all time favourite. I've read all the Pern titles, and Restoree. In the Crystal Singer, a failed opera student chooses a new career 'singing' crystal. The premise is that specially cut crystal from a single planet can be 'tuned' in order to create immediate communication links from planet to planet. So far so possibly unscientific, but the stoy is really about Killashandrs's new life on a strange and well-described place. She's quite a fiesty and not always sympathetic character, so I liked her at once. No dragons, but worth a diversionI reckon

 

[lazygun]

Thanks for the info,Cheryl.I thought(?) it might have been a renamed story for a different country/market or something,as I've seen a few instances of this in my time.

But from what I've read here you would know these things.And i can put this niggle to rest.

 

[manephelien]

actualy, when the dragons first came about, the greens were impressed by women. however, when thread ended, the women became needed to re-populate, and gradualy started to stay home rather than going to impress. And When greens, with male parters rose to mate, they would have their own partner on hand to quell their lust, the bronze riders would keep their partners similarly to hand, as the weyr was not at stake, it didn't really matter.

It's true green dragons were originally ridden by women, but stand-ins are not an option in the 9th Pass. If they were, Brekke would never have had any problems with loving F'nor, as he could've been her stand-in when Wirenth rose.

Face it, even such masculine men as F'lar have had sex with men in mating flights. You don't think Mnementh was celibate until Ramoth first rose, when there were green dragons to mate?

From today's viewpoint Anne writes very traditional women. Some are shrews like Lessa, just waiting to be tamed by a hunk. Kylara was what could only be termed a scarlet woman, and she got her just deserts when she lost her mind, while the traditional Brekke got what she really wanted more than her dragon, F'nor.

Don't get me wrong, I really like these stories, but they're not feminist by a long stretch! In fact, the only truly liberated woman Anne's written IMO is Killashandra, but when you've been modified by a spore to live longer and recuperate quickly, while becoming sterile, the rules aren't quite the same as for the rest of us, are they?

Now, I'm not saying every woman should sleep around or even be a serial monogamist, but Anne's many female characters become much less interesting when they settle down and have children. Those who don't want a traditional family life are usually labeled as freaks of some kind.

 

[Toraspanda]

Greens are female, but infertile because they chew firestone. Mirrim was the first female Green Rider in the 9th Pass, but in previous passes women had also ridden Greens (see Deberaone of the major characters in Red Star Rising/Dragonseye, and her Green Monarth). For some reason women had stopped impressing Greens, and that was why Mirrim was the first woman in living memory to do so.
Golds are only ridden by women, and Bronzes, Browns and Blues are ridden by men. Blue Riders and male Green Riders are always, or nearly always homosexual or bi-sexual.

 

[manephelien]

It's interesting to note that the first woman to Impress in the 9th Pass, Mirrim, was fathered by a blue rider.

And bronze riders are basically straight even though they do have sex with other men during mating flights. Apparently the sex drive of the dragons overwhelms personal preferences so strongly that it doesn't matter.

 

[ghost8772]

that kinda points that blue riders can be hetero or bi- then doesn't it?

so here's an imponderable. if greens are rendered sterile by chewing firestone, how did the dragons ever get past the first generation?

reading dragonsdawn, ALL the riders tried giving their dragons firestone, but the golds couldn't produce flame. yet fire-lizards of all colors can chew firestone and produce flame, as well as both gold and green fire-lizards produce eggs. now its possible this is an inconsistency, or at the least an unwritten thing Anne put in when she made the dragons genetically engineered, that the greens were encoded to be sterile, and the golds could not fight in the traditional method, and somehow the dragonriders over the centuries made it into an adage, legend, what have you, that firestone is what sterilizes greens, and also why golds could NEVER chew it. for the propogation of the species. any thoughts opinions or otherwise?

 

[manephelien]

It's one point that's been argued by fans all over the net. My personal view is that Kitti Ping Yung tinkered with the greens so that they are rendered sterile by chewing firestone. The golds lack some enzyme that acts as a catalyst for the flame reaction, and the phosphine just makes them sick. Dragonlore through the ages has ensured that they just think the firestone does it, because they've forgotten that humans engineered the dragons in the first place.

 

[ghost8772]

well the easiest explanation would be that the engineering rendered the greens sterile, and golds unable to chew firestone at all. yeah I recall the accusation by the queen riders of Sean who knew most of the code... that they felt Kit Ping had decided the golds were to do a traditional role of staying at home with the eggs etc..... just doesn't add up that firestone sterilizes dragons when bronze and an occasional brown can fertilize a queen's eggs, but they chew firestone. I didn't put the blue in that statement because the blue dragons are never given the opportunity to mate with a queen...