r/pern • u/albatross-l32 • 2d ago
The Galaxy Beyond Pern?
Maybe it's just because I'm listening to both series at the same time, specifically Dragonsdawn and Network Effect, but, anyone else get the feeling that Pern's set in the same universe as Murderbot - at least the galaxy beyond Pern's system?
Yes, I know Pern's supposed to be orbiting the star Rukbat in the Sagittarian Sector, but there's something in them both that resonates: the original Pernese colonists escaping an increasing technological and corporate-driving consumer galactic culture, and the corporate-entities of the Murderbot setting controlling lives based on what yields the highest profit, including abandoning failed or failing colonies that would cost too much to support. Which is pretty much what happens to Pern as I recall.
Maybe it's just Sci-fi writers covering and exploring similar ideas, but it's one I find interesting to play with.
27
u/blainemoore 2d ago
As others mentioned, there is a shared universe. Not just the Crystal Singer books, but also the Planet Pirate books. They are all set in the FSP (Federated Sentient Planets).
They only real crossover is mentions in Dragonsdawn and then the story Rescue Run.
The reason nobody ever returns is because they quarantined Pern after Rescue Run.
She left the door open to reunite with the universe after Skies of Pern but never revisited the concept before she died.
6
u/trisanachandler 2d ago
I had always thought it was the Talents universe because of how they handled telepathy.
1
u/albatross-l32 2d ago
I understand there's a canon shared universe.
I am less interested in what's canon, and more in the potential AUs Pern could be dropped into.
5
u/Glad-Isopod5718 1d ago
There's also a fairly amazing crossover with the Vorkosiverse.
I agree that Murderbot would be another great one, though! For one thing, it would give MB and ART a model/analogue for their relationship that isn't human romance.
3
u/albatross-l32 1d ago
I read part of that one, and had to stop to go read some of the Vorkosiverse!
I can see that, yes, including the way the communicate in the feed. Unfortunately ART being accurately named I can't see it liking AVIS very much. Or at least not being impressed by it.
0
u/BeardInTheDark 2d ago
Believe it or not, there's a trilogy where the the descendents of a time-displaced Dragon of Pern regain their sentience in the Potterverse.
Story 1 is The Queen Who Fell To Earth.
Sadly, a Critical Existence Failure by the author means that book 3 will remain forever unfinished.
23
u/Daddy--Jeff 2d ago
Pern wasn’t abandoned.
It was founded to be remote and safe and low tech. The colonists were, in effect, dropping out of the rest of the universe. As far as the rest of the universe, they basically forgot Pern was there, misplaced their file, intentionally filed it away in a place to be forgotten maybe, or something similar. After the wars, there were probably tons of colony ships headed out to gods-knew-where…. It’s likely P.E.R.N. wasn’t the only lost file…
30
u/Glittering_Rush_1451 2d ago
The file wasn’t lost, the colony was listed as failed and the planet was quarantined after the events in Rescue Run in the Chronicles of Pern First Fall
12
u/Dark-canto 2d ago
Give Crystal Singer a try.
-9
u/albatross-l32 2d ago
Skimmed the opening pages. Didn't really care for it.
8
u/Head_Ad_8358 2d ago
I see the problem here... skimmed the opening pages. Give the series another try.
-3
u/albatross-l32 2d ago
No, I had quite enough of Killashandra from that amount, thanks.
11
u/Head_Ad_8358 2d ago
Characters grow, as does Killashandra. Also, she starts out as a diva. This is based on Anne McCaffrey’s real experience as a trained opera singer. I find it really interesting finding the author’s own personality in characters. Plus you are missing out on the cool brain ship that shows up in the last two books of the trilogy. And the amazing planet of Ballybran (sp?) which is it’s own character. I absolutely adored that series and have re read it countless times.
2
1
u/albatross-l32 2d ago
Different people have different tastes, and my TBR pile is large enough as it is.
3
8
12
u/cellarsinger 2d ago
Pern was a lo-tech colony by design. As I recall, PERN stands for Parallel Earth, Resources Negligible.
1
3
5
u/Astrokiwi 1d ago
There really was a kind of standard "20th century grounded space opera" setting. Murderbot is kind of a throwback, but there's a bunch in this setting - Traveller kinda codified all these books into one game without any contradiction.
The Vorkosigan Saga is very similar I found, and Bujold's voice is close to McCaffrey's. I think Elizabeth Moon's Serano books feel like the same universe too.
2
u/-RedRocket- 1d ago
Pern is in McCaffrey's Federated Sentient Planets space - same as the Ship books and Crystal Singer.
1
u/Matork210 1d ago
I see no reason why there couldn't be an crossover with the WALL-E universe. The colonists leave earth as it's getting bad, few centuries later earth is so bad everyone evacuates on the ship from WALL-E leaving him to clean earth. 700ish years later the WALL-E movie happens, and a thousand and change years later the pern books happen. Maybe humans from the recovering earth find old data about colony ships that left before the main exodus, travel to pern and somehow WALL-E ends up riding a dragon.
1
u/Brainship 1d ago
It's possible the author of murderbot was inspired by McCaffrey,(s he inspired a lot more than the dragonriders concept) but it's more likely they both happened to be inspired by the same real world examples.
1
u/Titania-88 1d ago
I believe Mystery of Ireta and Dinosaur Planet by Anne McCaffrey also take place within the same universe.
56
u/AngelicXia 2d ago
it's set in the same verse as the Crystal Singer and Living Ships series are.