Dragonsdawn vs The Chronicles of Pern: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Pern, Space colonies, Life on other planets, Dragons, Fantasy fiction, Science Fiction
Dragonsdawn
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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Go back in time and visit Pern like it’s never been seen before in this thrilling prequel about the creation of dragons.   The beautiful planet Pern seemed a paradise to its new…
The Chronicles of Pern
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Let the queen of dragons herself take you back to the earliest days of Pernese history as Anne McCaffrey brings to life events that shaped one of the most popular worlds in all of science fiction, in this first-ever…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Chronicles of Pern is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 8 for Dragonsdawn.
- Dragonsdawn has the widest readership — 42104 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| Dragonsdawn | The Chronicles of Pern | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.2 (42104) | — |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (111) | 3.6 (57) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (1) | 4.5 (5) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (202) | 4.5 (107) |
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Reception
| Dragonsdawn | The Chronicles of Pern | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 42104 | 107 |
| Editions | 32 | 16 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | 10357 | — |
| Reading it now | 970 | — |
| Written reviews | 867 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 482 | — |
| Pages | 435 | 306 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Dragonsdawn or The Chronicles of Pern?
Dragonsdawn has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Dragonsdawn 4.2/5, The Chronicles of Pern 4.2/5).
Which is shorter to read: Dragonsdawn or The Chronicles of Pern?
The Chronicles of Pern is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Chronicles of Pern (306 pages, ≈ 5 h 40 m); Dragonsdawn (435 pages, ≈ 8 h 03 m).
Which is harder to read: Dragonsdawn or The Chronicles of Pern?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Dragonsdawn: Moderate; The Chronicles of Pern: Moderate.