The Atlas of Pern

Pern (Chronological Order)

by Karen Wynn Fonstad

Combines descriptive entries with detailed maps and schematics to provide a comprehensive guide to the geography, history, and inhabitants of Anne McCaffrey's fabulous world of dragons and dragonriders

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Reference, Fiction, Dragons, Science Fiction Fantasy, Maps

170 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Karen Wynn Fonstad, née Wynn (April 18, 1945 - March 11, 2005) was the author of several atlases of fictional worlds.

Born Karen Lea Wynn in Oklahoma City to parents James and Estis Wynn, she graduated from Norman High School in Norman, Oklahoma, and then earned a B.S. degree in Physical Therapy and an M.A. in Geography, specializing in cartography, from the University of Oklahoma.

While attending the University of Oklahoma she met Todd A. Fonstad. They married on March 21, 1970 and produced two children: Dr. Mark A. Fonstad and Kristina Stingle.

Before her "retirement" to raising children and writing companion atlases, Fonstad was Director of Cartographic Services at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh. Her formal acknowledgments for ''The Atlas of Pern'' (1984) include "my husband, Todd, associate professor geography" and the UW Oshkosh Department of Geography.

Karen Wynn Fonstad died, aged 59, from complications from breast cancer.

Provided by Wikipedia

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever wonder what some of the places in that book you read look like? Well for the Pern books this answers those questions. Beautiful illustrations on all the major and many minor landmarks of pern. Very recommended

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Atlas of the Pern World by my good friend Karen Fonstad, written with the approval and help of Pern author Anne McCaffrey.
Unfortunately, the Atlas was written at a time when the series was far from finished so today it's incomplete and Karen has sadly left us. I feel extremely priviledged to have known her and to have had a chance for her to sign all my "Karen" books.
A wonderful addition to any Pern collection.

[Gail Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good to finally get an in depth look at the various places on Pern all in one place, in order to make comparisons and see what was exactly where... although it would be nice to have the areas that Anne's son Todd visited in his collection of books on this same planet. Maybe someday a revision of this book could be made covering the other land masses and the setup they used for their temporary weyrs.
Also the depictions of hold layouts and the main Weyr layouts helped to understand the connections that existed between peoples and their dragons.

[Torakoun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will admit up front, I didn't read this book cover to cover. I looked up Benden Weyr, looked at a few of the hold maps, just because I had a hard time picturing how they would have been built... Really, I got this book so when I eventually get around to rereading all the Dragonrider books, I can use this book as a reference.

[Kate H · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only thing that could make this book better would be if it could be updated. I love maps and love the stories of Pern so I found this book to be a perfect combination. It answered so many questions and gave clear visualization to this magical world.

[Shawna Clawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must he for the reader of the rear of the Pern books!

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge Pern fan so when I saw this I stole it right off my dad's book shelf. I have read it and analyzed it and sat in my room following plot after plot and wishing for more. My favorite section is for Moreta Dragonlady of Pern. I love to see the world of Pern change from pass to pass. I recently reread this with The White Dragon. I enjoyed watching Jaxom's flights and seeing,/i> the two-faced mountain, instead of just reading about it. My one problem with this book is in the Harper hall trilogy. One of the last pictures is of the southern hold and weyr, in it there is an arrow labeled as Sharra's escape, yet nowhere in any of the Harper hall trilogy is there an escape of Sharra. I am completely positive of this fact, and I have read the trilogy at least eight times. Even so, I deeply love the atlas and love the resource.

[Barbara K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This atlas is filled with maps and diagrams of Anne McCaffrey's fictional world, Pern, including details of both the Northern and Southern Continents, individual Holds and Weyrs and Craft Halls, and whatever else you might have tried to imagine but wished you'd had a good map of while you read the stories.

There is a limitation to what's here, because it was created after the first two trilogies, and anything that was published after The White Dragon may not have all its locales detailed here. For instance, if you wanted to know where some of the early holds were in Southern, they're probably not here. One reviewer complained that Red Hanrahan's Ford isn't shown. Half Circle Sea Hold is, though, and I found that fascinating.

[John Baichtal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had fond memories of this book, but I found it A) didn't hold up well in the era of maps done in Adobe Illustrator and B) I hadn't read the original two trilogies in 20 years. It turns out that this book doesn't have a huge amount of value if you don't remember the locations depicted. That all said, there's no way I could give a Karen Wynn Fonstad atlas a bad review.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A companion piece to MacCaffrey's world of dragons. It maps out the regions of Pern and gives character description of the people and dragons of the series.

[Dave Metzener · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource to help follow where story plots are taking place and just what the place looks like in general!

[Saleris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely tie-in for the Pern series.

[Vaughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A worthy companion to the first 6 books or so of the Pern series.

[Clarence Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

ReedIII Quick Review: Published in 1984 before most PERN novels. Very thorough clear visualization of a magical world that is much more than geography. Perfect for PERN fans who want to fill out the world's detail. Good to read and maybe better as a companion reference book.

[Julie Capell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't really the type of book you read from cover to cover. It is the type of book you might want at your side while you read any of the various Pern novels. Or, if you are a lover of Pern, it is nice to simply pull it off the shelf, open to any page, and get a quick Pern fix any time. The wonderful, close-up maps of all the places mentioned in the Pern novels (by Anne McCaffrey) are a testament to the power of McCaffrey to create a living world in such detail that an artist can render it. I give it four stars because although it is a derivative work, the author has gone to a lot of work mapping not just the continents and the major holds of Pern, but also individual sites such as Lessa's quarters, the Harper Hold, and the Benden hatching grounds. And there's more! A chart of when and where threadfall occurs, a graphic of the events that happened on the fateful day when the queen dragons battled. There are also chronologies of several of the earlier novels, including Moreta, Dragonflight, Dragonquest, the Harper Hall novels and the White Dragon. All in all, this makes an excellent addition to the bookshelf of any lover of Pern.

[Kristen (belles_bookshelves) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super, SUPER in depth look at Pern from basically a scientist's perspective. Maps of terrain, plant and animal life, clothing and weather. Like, there is so much information here it's insane that this isn't about a real place.

The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern is a great companion piece to get in addition to this book. That one is more of a fan's ode to Pern - think basically WikiPern before the era of of things like that. While this one is more of an actual historical text of the place - complete with maps of all sorts of things.

It's definitely a great companion piece to utilize as a visual aid while you're reading about the dragonriders going between left and right.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally found a copy after years of searching. I was surprised to see story references in the descriptions of each map. Sadly, it only covers the first 7 books in the series and with Mrs. Fonstad and Mrs. McCaffrey no longer with us the atlas will have to remain "as-is".

I have a pretty vivid imagination when I read and I was pretty shocked at how well Mrs. Fonstad's maps and diagrams actually meshed with what I had envisioned as I lost myself in the various Weyrs, Holds, and Halls scattered over poor, beleaguered Pern. As for the rest of the Dragonriders of Pern series I suppose I can create my own notes and diagrams and "insert" them into the atlas, but I know the quality of my work will in no way compare to the detail and analysis provided by Mrs. Fonstad and Mrs. McCaffrey.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to love this series so much. Recently, my mother sent me my copy of this, so I decided to flip through it. Now that I've moved on, this book proves to be the sort of thing that isn't that exciting to read on its own merits.

[Annette McIntyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

An atlas showing the world of Pern covering the books up to and including Dragonsdawn. Very well done and enjoyable. I wish there was an update to this, covering all the books published since Dragonsdawn.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

see Dragonflight... This one is great for know what is where!

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lost the book and was so grateful to fine a replacement thru Amazon. A wonderful reference guide.

[Jeff Crosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well crafted and enjoyable coffee table book based on the early dragonrider novels.

[Carol D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a pleasure of reminiscing for a series I love. I'm not usually one for the technical information, but this was really cool. I may have to get a copy someday.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atlas and descriptions of the planet Pern. A lovely addition to a collection that aids in visualization and focus and detail. Brings the holds, weyrs and land masses into focus and helps a reader travel the world.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

great determination of the ideology, and history of the anthology of pern

[Mer · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://hardcover.app/books/the-atlas...

[Charley Robson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely beautiful, thorough, and very meticulously researched piece of work from someone who is clearly both a massive fan of Pern, and of extrapolating maps of settings both fantastical and mundane.

It’s a great resource if, like me, you struggle to visualise spaces - I actually cracked it open to look for a good reference for a map I was devising myself, and of course then proceeded to spend a full hour poring over the gorgeous line work and enjoying a little nostalgia trip.

However, any Pern fan will probably love it; it’s a beautiful thing, made with love - and you can’t get much better than that.