Oops Ruthafud, I got the sequence backwards...sorry!
Anne McCaffrey actually wrote the Dragonriders of Pern Trilogy first, but if I were you, I would read the Harper Hall of Pern Trilogy first. Hope I haven't confused you too much!
BLKCat (Confusion Personified)
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...Events are cowards: they don't occur singly, but instead they run in packs and leap out at you all at once.
(Excerpt from "Neverwhere", by Neil Gaiman)