Dragonquest
| Author | Anne McCaffrey |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Dragonriders of Pern |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
Publication date | 1970 |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 0345335082 |
| Preceded by | Dragonflight |
| Followed by | The White Dragon |
Dragonquest is a novel written by Anne McCaffrey and is part of her Dragonriders of Pern series. It takes place seven years after the end of Dragonflight.
As it opens, tensions are rising between the Oldtimers, those dragonriders who came forward in time hundreds of years to help the present-day dragonriders protect the planet from the destructive Thread, and the modern inhabitants of Pern. F'lar attempts to mediate, but things escalate to the point where an Oldtimer stabs F'lar's wing-second and half-brother, F'nor. F'nor is sent to the Southern Continent to recover, where he falls in love with Brekke and discovers the wicked deeds of Weyrwoman Kylara. F'lar is eventually forced into a duel with T'ron, the leader of the Oldtimers, which ends in banishment for the Oldtimers who will not accept F'lar's leadership and in a grave injury for F'lar. Brekke's queen dragon rises in mating flight but is attacked by Kylara's queen dragon and both dragons die, leaving their riders in near-catatonic states. The Red Star, believed to be the source of Thread, is finally able to be visited by dragonriders due to the newly-discovered "distance viewer" (telescope), and F'nor takes it upon himself to make the jump between to spare his brother the political and personal pressure to send an expedition. The Red Star turns out to be inhospitable to both human and dragon life, and F'nor and his dragon Canth nearly die, able to return home only on the strength of Brekke's telepathic cry, "Don't leave me alone!"
The cry was also the inspiration for a song by Menolly, after she found that a certain guitar chord sounded amazingly like Brekke's voice when she screamed. This is chronicled in Dragonsinger.