Anne McCaffrey Passes Away At 85

JSC writes "Anne McCaffrey died Monday at her home after suffering a stroke. 'In the late 1960s she became the first woman to win a Hugo Award for a work of fiction and the first woman to win a Nebula Award. She was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2006.' She will be missed by Dragons and their Riders the world over."

Re:Dragonriders, stand to honors!

[Bill Currie]

Yes, the Crystal Singer series was good. I also rather liked the Freedom series, as well as the Doona series. Then there's Restoree: a great little stand-alone(?) story.

Well remembered....

[mseeger]

Her Dragonriders of Pern were one of my first Fantasy Novels )i dicovered them in the 80's) and had a huge impact on my reading behavior since then..

I will dearly miss her.

Martin

Re:Dragonriders, stand to honors!

[jazzmans]

I'm sure someone has already said this, but

Crystal Singer was inspired by Pat Benatar, who was trained in opera, but was told by a teacher that the burr in her voice would keep her from being a world class opera singer.......

Man, I loved Crystal Singer.

the Pern stuff was fun, but Crystal Singer was always my favorite.

jaz

Re:RIP to such a wonderful person

[jd]

She was still posting on her blog and replying to fans a few weeks ago. I think it is her relationship with the fans that kept her going, to be honest. I met her at WorldCon in Glasgow back in the 90s and she wasn't all that well then. But when she talked with those of us at the coffee clatch, her energy seemed boundless.

Re:Never heard of her till now,

[Jaruzel]

There are two Heinleins;

Early Heinlein (his thinner) novels are good examples of early Sci-Fi - I thoroughly recommend 'The Door into Summer' as a good starting point.

Later Heinlein (fatter more rambling books) were all written during and after his mental breakdown - from that set I recommend working through the Lazarus Long stuff initially:

1. Time Enough for Love
2. The Number of the Beast
3. The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
4. To Sail Beyond the Sunset

Additionally the novel 'Friday' is a good stand-alone easy to read Heinlein.

Enjoy.

Before Videogames There Were Books and Imagination

[djl4570]

I grew up before video games and even though I wasted far too much time in front of the TV I still found time to lose myself in the works of authors like McCaffery, Zelazny, Tolkein, Maxwell and others. In college I could read for half an hour between classes. Sometimes it was classwork but towards the end of the day I needed entertainment. I still remember the day I found the first two Pern books on the shelf of a used bookstore. The cover art sold them. I wore them out reading them and wanted more but had to wait until the first book of the Harper Hall series was released.

Re:Never heard of her till now,

[LordLucless]

I quite liked Moon is a Harsh Mistress/em of Heinlein's. Stand-alone, good read. Not as obviously pushing his sexual agenda as in some of his other books, although still quite present, obviously.

Re:Never heard of her till now,

[TheRaven64]

1. Time Enough for Love
2. The Number of the Beast

Writing one book about a character who travels back in time so that he can screw his mother might be excusable. Writing two is unimaginative as well as creepy. I'd skip the later Heinlein stuff and read some E.E. 'Doc' Smith for some classic space opera.

Re:Shards

[bluefoxlucid]

Yeah, try The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson if you want your eyes to gloss over and your appreciation of the English language to go through the floor. Why do we have this many words!?

Re:with regret...

[Doc Ruby]

We do, the ones who still live, honor her memory, and have to read insults while eulogizing her from worthless lumps of meat like you. Dick.