Dragonriders of Pern reading order

A plan for the whole series

21 volumes, 7,702 pages, about 140 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 6 months.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 7, “The Renegades of Pern” (by 43%).

Stages

10 stages, with 9 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around June 13, 2027, about 6 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 120 habout 4 weeksby November 25, 2026

   • 1. Dragonflight1968 · 309 pages · 6 h
   • 2. Dragonquest1971 · 333 pages · 6 h
   • 3. Dragonsong1976 · 194 pages · 4 h
   • 4. Dragonsinger1977 · 277 pages · 5 h
2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 4, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 214 h19 daysby December 23, 2026

   • 5. Nerilka's Story1985 · 182 pages · 3 h
   • 6. Dragondrums1979 · 240 pages · 4 h
   • 7. The Renegades of Pern1989 · 352 pages · 6 h
4. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 27, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 314 h19 daysby January 15, 2027

   • 8. All the Weyrs of Pern1991 · 480 pages · 9 h
   • 9. The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall1993 · 306 pages · 6 h
6. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by January 20, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 413 h17 daysby February 6, 2027

   • 10. The Dolphins of Pern1994 · 340 pages · 6 h
   • 11. Dragonseye1997 · 353 pages · 6 h
8. Short breakA Room of One's Own · Virginia Woolf · 144 pp. · score 8.23 h, by February 10, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 516 habout 3 weeksby March 4, 2027

   • 12. The Masterharper of Pern1998 · 432 pages · 8 h
   • 13. The Skies of Pern2001 · 464 pages · 9 h
10. Short breakThe Screwtape letters · C. S. Lewis · 106 pp. · score 8.22 h, by March 8, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
11. 6
    Stage 614 h19 daysby March 27, 2027

    • 14. Dragon's Kin2003 · 298 pages · 5 h
    • 15. Dragonsblood2005 · 480 pages · 9 h
12. Short breakSmall Things Like These · Claire Keegan · 112 pp. · score 8.12 h, by March 30, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
13. 7
    Stage 717 habout 3 weeksby April 22, 2027

    • 16. Dragon's Fire2006 · 528 pages · 10 h
    • 17. Dragon Harper2007 · 388 pages · 7 h
14. Short breakNumber the Stars · Lois Lowry · 149 pp. · score 8.13 h, by April 26, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
15. 8
    Stage 810 h13 daysby May 10, 2027

    • 18. Dragonheart2008 · 538 pages · 10 h
16. Short breakThe Richest Man in Babylon · George Samuel Clason · 124 pp. · score 8.02 h, by May 14, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
17. 9
    Stage 916 habout 3 weeksby June 4, 2027

    • 19. Dragongirl2010 · 512 pages · 9 h
    • 20. Dragon's Time2011 · 352 pages · 6 h
18. Short breakany short book from outside the series, up to 180 pagesBy June 5, 2027. A different shelf than the series, so you come back to it hungry.
19. 10
    Stage 106 h8 daysby June 13, 2027

    • 21. Sky Dragons2012 · 344 pages · 6 h
20. The end of the series

    June 13, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: uneven. Scores jump by 0.6 points with no clear direction.

Best volume: Dragonsong (8.1, 219 ratings). Weakest: The Renegades of Pern (7.5). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 6 and 7: 43%. The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (7.7) scores close to the series average or above it.