In the constellation Sagittarius there is a fourth-magnitude blue-white star named Rukbat. It's system has five planets, two asteroid belts, a rogue planet with an eccentric orbit, and on the perimeter of the stellar system is an Oort cloud.
Our story takes place on the third planet. It has three continents; the first taking up more then 1/2 of the available landmass, the second is about the size of Earth's Eurasian landmass, and the last is a small, barren continent isolated in the middle of the ocean (which is 5000 miles wide). The planet's diameter is about 6500 miles and it takes 366 Earth days to revolve around Rukbat. The day is a little over 24 hours long and the Pernese count 362 days to a year, with a leap year every sixth year.
The planet has an axial tilt of 15 degrees and is actively volcanic. It also has two moons; the farthest (Timor) is about the size of Luna, and the closest (Belior) is somewhat smaller. There is also a constant 30 mile an hour head wind.
The Books
Here is a list of the books in the Dragonriders Series, have fun and read them... they're good books. Italic indicates a collection, followed by the books titles.
The Author
(This section is taken from the booksleeve of Anne McCaffrey's book, Dragonseye.)
Anne McCaffrey shuttles between her home in Ireland and the United States, where she picks up awards and honors and greets her myriad fans. She is one of the field's most popular authors. Her Dragonriders of Pern novels constitute a New York Times bestselling series.
The Bonus
Klah is the main drink of Pern (other than wine); it is basically a substitute for coffee. It was discovered by the survey team that landed on Pern before the colonization. Here is an Earth equivalent.
Mix together :
2 tablespoons sweet ground chocolate
1/2 cup dark cocoa
3/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon dark instant coffee crystals (ground to powder)
small pinch of nutmeg
Use two to four teaspoons of the mixture per cup of boiling water. Stir well. The klah should be thick.