Of the Pern series, I'd recommend Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern. It is the most stand-alone of all the books, even though Nerilka describes more or less the same events from a different POV. Moreta and Nerilka are set in the 6th Pass, rather than the 9th. Red Star Rising/Dragon's Eye is the only book set in the 2nd Pass, but somehow it feels like a continuation from DragonsDawn.
I would definitely recommend reading the books in published order rather than chronological. That way you get a feeling for how the author's ideas about the world developed. I find MasterHarper of Pern almost unreadable, however, because it contradicts so many of the rules set in the earlier books (women as Craft Masters, having read that first will make Menolly's story lose all its effectiveness, as it's set less than 50 years later).
(Hi Panda! I'm granath elsewhere.
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