Dragonflight (Transworld Publ. Ltd UK)

The men who rode the dragons were a breed apart. Chosen when the dragons were first hatched, they became soulmates for life with the huge, magnificent beasts they controlled - the green, blue, brown and bronzes - beautiful - terrible - the only creatures who could defend the planet Pern from the blood-red star. But without the Queen, the dragons would become extinct. Only the gigantic, golden Queen could breed the new flights. And the Queen was fading...dying...leaving behind one last, huge, golden egg. Dragonflight is the first book in Anne McCaffrey's world-famous chronicles of Pern and has been in print since its first publication in hardcover 30 years ago.