Is Pern fantasy?

But first, let me state my bias: I think McCaffrey has the soul of a fantasy writer, but would like to be known as a science fiction writer, as long as she doesn't have to learn any science. OK, this is harsh; and I get it from reading only the first three Pern books, the first two Killashandra books, and To Ride Pegasus. However, a friend of mine offers what I think is an even harsher view: that McCaffrey is really a romance writer who likes to use fantasy or science fiction settings.

Why Pern is like fantasy

• Fire-breathing dragons that:
  • can teleport anywhere
  • form telepathic bonds with humans
    but there's no way to predict which humans
    however, the human's ancestry does matter (see the beginning of Dragonflight)
  • in spite of their limited intellectual abilities, have a strong moral sense (see here for why I regard this as fantasy-like).
• Feudal society that:
  • is dominated by agricultural interests
  • uses knives for settling arguments
  • uses barter and tribute rather than money and taxes IIRC
  • relies on bardic tradition rather than written history.
• A genuine Princess-in-hiding (Lessa)

Why Pern is unlike fantasy

• No religion, gods, demons, or similar beings
• No "trials of magic" between rival dragonriders
• No magical means of healing, prediction, etc.
• No arcane lore handed down -- the Teaching Ballads contain advice, not spells
• No evil dragons, or even evil riders -- just lazy and selfish ones. In fact, no good-versus-evil at all.
• Dragons, despite their moral sense, can stay subservient to unpleasant riders.

Why Pern is like ScF

• There are two planets that really do orbit a star (it makes a difference where they are in their orbits). Pern even has time zones.
• Population and economy do grow, and something has to be done about it
• Technology advances (albeit from a low base).
• The main characters believe that their world works according to laws which they can discover by observation and experiment.
• Dragons are used, for their main defensive purpose, much like any other combat aircraft, requiring well-trained pilots, good ground support, ammunition, etc.

Why Pern is unlike ScF

• Gigantic dragons can fly easily in an atmosphere and gravity which are presumably close to Earth-normal. (While McCaffrey carefully refrains from giving the sizes and weights of the larger dragons, we are told that even a small one (Ruth) can carry three humans, which suggests that they must be much bigger than anything that ever flew on Earth.)
• There seem to be no physical limits to draconic teleportation. (Larry Niven doesn't say how the difference in potential energy is dealt with when you teleport from a high place to a low one, but at least he alludes to the problem.)
• Benden Weyr maintained the health and vigour of its dragons, and even improved it, through centuries of severe inbreeding.
• Dragons occasionally acquire "special" extensions to their abilities, either in compensation for disabilities (Ruth) or because of special humans (Robinton) -- in other words, whenever the plot requires it.