Dragondrums (1979) is the 6th novel written in the Dragonriders of Pern series. In chronological order it is one of the books set during the Ninth Pass, about 2500 years after landing. It's the third book in the Harper Hall trilogy series arc (following Dragonsong & Dragonsinger).
Of all the young singers at the Harperhall of Pern, Piemur was the one chosen for the leading role at Lord Groghe's Gather…and then his voice broke. Suddenly his whole future at Harperhall became uncertain. But Masterharper Robinton, Menolly and Sebell had other plans for Piemur. They were sure that his quick wits and discretion could be used to keep a check on the troublesome Oldtimers and their strange traffic in fire lizards. So, whilst serving as a messanger-drum apprentice, Piemur carried out special errands for the three. And it was on one such errand that he realized his wildest dreams.
Author Biography
Anne McCaffrey was one of the world's leading science-fiction writers, and won both the Hugo and Nebula awards as well as the Margaret A. Edwards' Lifetime Achievement Literary Award. Born and raised in the US, although of Irish extraction, she spent the last years of her life in Ireland, in the heart of the Wicklow Mountains. She died in 2011 at the age of eighty-five. She is the creator of the Dragons of Pern series.