The White Dragon

infobox Book |
name = The White Dragon
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Cover of first edition (hardcover)
author = Anne McCaffrey
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Dragonriders of Pern
genre = Fantasy novel
publisher = Ballantine Books
release_date = 1978
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 497 pp (first edition)
isbn = ISBN 0-345-27567-5 (first edition)
preceded_by = Dragonquest
followed_by = Dragonsong

"The White Dragon" is a 1978 fantasy novel by Anne McCaffrey. It is the third book in the Dragonriders of Pern series. The novel was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1979.

The first part of the novel was released 3 years earlier as "A Time When" [cite web | title=Anne McCaffrey at NESFA Press | url=http://www.nesfa.org/press/Books/McCaffrey.html | accessdate=2007-02-08 ]

Plot introduction

"The White Dragon" follows the Coming of age story of Jaxom, the young Lord of Ruatha Hold, who had accidentally impressed the unusual white dragon Ruth in "Dragonquest" and "Dragonsong". As Jaxom grows up, he has to deal with the difficulty of being both a Lord Holder and a dragonrider, the maturity of Ruth (who besides being white is a runt), his own teenage angst and desire to fight Thread on his own, and the rebellious Oldtimers, who attempt to steal a golden egg from Benden Weyr. Fortunately, Ruth always knows "when" he is and can travel through time to avert the growing political crisis. But while fighting Thread, Jaxom falls ill to a deadly sickness, Fire-Head. This leads him to recuperate in Cove Hold, and while there helps him discover the mysteries the ancients, ancestors of the Pernese, left behind and help make more sense of the past.

References