First line:
~”Sh’gall is out other Weyr business.” Moreta told Nesso,for the third time, beginning to loosen her sweat and oil stained tunic as a hint ~ ( )

Did a recent re-read of this, one of many childhood favorites by Anne McCaffrey, because I acquired a nice first edition hard cover. However, it turned out being very timely/topical. I almost entirely forgotten that it centers around a zootonic pandemic, and both responsible and irresponsible responses and thought processes of the people effected. America could have stood to learn a few lessons from Pern here. And lets not forget the tragic ending. ( )

With this book, I jump back to the Sixth Pass, a set of events occasionally alluded to in the Ninth Pass books through the epic song "Moreta's Ride"; this were McCaffrey's first attempts at telling stories outside of the framework of the original Ninth Pass. Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern tells the story of a plague that swept across Pern and the desperate attempts to stop it, particularly by the Weyrwoman Mortea, her lover Alessan, and the Masterhealer Capian.

Moreta is an unintentionally familiar read in the COVID era, a story about a respiratory disease that can kill you, quarantines, defiant leaders, and vaccine distribution. It's fairly effective, mostly because of its main protagonist, the eponymous Moreta. She is an older woman, one who has had children and as Weyrwoman, has had a lover, but has clearly never known love. The scenes between Moreta and Alessan are the emotional core of the book and its most effective. Moreta is a Weyrwoman: she must manage her weyr and assist her Weyrleader. Alessan is a Lord Holder; recently widowed, he needs to remarry to ensure the continuation of his bloodline. The two fall in love over runnerbeast (i.e., horse) racing and dance together, but then duty pulls them as the epidemic worsens across Pern. Yet, they manage to snatch moments together. There's an effective feeling of doom layered across the whole thing, and some decent uses of the time travel abilities dragons were revealed to have in the original trilogy. I like that McCaffrey was trying something a little bit different here, and I overall found it an enjoyable, occasionally moving, read.

It's been decades since I read this book. I don't know if it would hold up to adult Emily's standards, but what I do remember is that it's the first book that made me cry. I remember crying and hurling it across the room. Being able to elicit that memorable of a response earns it a 5-star rating, at least in my very subjective and forgiving rating system.
The Pern series overall swept me away. I remember reading the first trilogy and wishing with all my heart that it was real, that I could bond with a dragon of my own. Not all of the books were equally good, but I remember this one as a keeper. ( )

For a book that I knew ended tragically, I massively deluded myself that everything would be fine.
Loved the story fantastic to see a pandemic is a fantasy/sci-fi setting while we are also living through the COVID 19 pandemic. Great read. ( )