#41 Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey

I was thirteen in 79. I do not remember where we were going but we were traveling as a family. I bought my first fantasy book. I was a young backwards nerd, and had few friends at this point. So most of my time was getting trapped into the fantasy worlds. Some were not great, others were something of a good memory. So The White Dragon captivated me.

I saw the cover above and was fascinated. The white dragon with the guy riding it. Dragons were monsters, from legends. Smaug, and from the movies. So this idea was completely fascinating that humans should have bred them for riders. Most covers from that era were pretty bad. (some may call them classic, but they were not great art or illustrations)

Think of the old Tolkien, cs Lewis, or black cauldron. They were washed out watercolors, little detail and leaving a lot to the imagination. Or were the dramatic sexualized covers of Frank Frazetta from Tarzan, Conan, and John Carter of Mars books. This was the era of the arrival amazing, colorful artwork that so many of us are familiar with. Swrod of Shannara, wheel of time. and Thomas Covenant. So I was drawn in.

I was sucked into this world and I remember dreaming with the covers of tiny dragons and the dragon riders. This was truly a unique word, a blend of fantasy and science fiction that was new and difficult at the time for me. However the memories have lasted though I only ready a half dozen, I was in a fantastic world that opened my eyes to new corners of fantasy.