Dragon's Fire by Anne McCaffrey, Todd J. McCaffrey (2006, Hardcover)

I love the Pern series. It is my favorite sentient dragon-human series. The great thing about this series is that it doesn't have to be read in sequence and each book can be read as a stand-alone book. Humans tired of war and technogly colonize a planet unknowing of it's major danger - a sister planet that throws mycoziod flesh and plant eating thread every 200 years or so. In this book the pass of the "Red Star" is about 20 years away and Pern is preparing once agian to battle thread with sentient dragons and ground crews. They have not yet lost the knowledge of immigration as in some of the previous but occuring later books have. This book is mainly about the Shunned. There is no capitol punishment on Pern and criminals are marked with a big S on the forehead and are outcasts having supposedly but in reality some contact with the Pernese. In this novel the Harpers who are the teachers, rule setters, artist, musicians and overall overseers of Pern life are busy counting the Shunned and learning how many there are in light of protecting them or protecting the people of Pern from the Shunned when tread starts falling. You will throughly enjoy one or more of the almost 20 books in this series. The thing I find most unusual is that all crafts and occupations are represented in Pern society, but there is no religion.