Dragonquest

On the planet Pern, brave dragon riders like F'lar and Lessa fly giant dragons to burn away dangerous silver Threads that fall from the sky and eat everything. They find a secret southern land with tiny pet dragons called fire-lizards, but grumpy old dragon riders from the past cause big fights because they don't like changes. In the end, the good riders win, make new friends with fire-lizards, and find bugs that eat the Threads so everyone can be safer and explore more!

Dragonquest, the second novel in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, continues the saga on the colonized planet Pern where dragonriders protect the world from the ravaging spore-like Threadfall. F'lar, Benden Weyrleader, and his weyrmate Lessa, the first woman to Impress a gold queen dragon in centuries, face growing discontent among the Holds and Weyrs due to the irregular Thread schedule and economic hardships. Seeking new resources, F'lar leads expeditions to rediscover the long-forgotten Southern Continent, uncovering fire-lizards—miniature dragons—and evidence of Pern's ancient Eridani origins, while grappling with internal politics and the need for innovative defenses like Thread-eating grubs. Tensions escalate as Lessa's ambitious time-travel experiments from Dragonflight draw 400 Turns-worth of 'Oldtimers' dragonriders into the present, led by the reactionary T'ron of Fort Weyr, sparking a civil war among the Weyrs. Betrayals, abductions, and battles culminate in a climactic aerial confrontation, forcing F'lar and Lessa to unite the progressive Benden Weyr against tradition-bound holdouts. The novel resolves with the establishment of a new Southern Weyr, fire-lizard alliances, and a renewed hope for Pern's future, masterfully blending hard sci-fi elements like genetic engineering with mythic dragon lore.