Anne McCaffrey, known as the creator of the "Dragonriders of Pern" novels, has died at the age of 85. Thus passes one of the pioneers in science fiction and fantasy literature, two genres that she often combined in her stories.
McCaffrey has written a number of books in other series, notably her brain/brawn ship series, including "The Ship who Sang." But she is most famous for the adventures set on a far away planet named Pern, where men and women fly on the backs of dragons and fight a deadly substance called "thread" that falls from the sky and afflicts everything it touches. It is a series that has captured the imagination of generations and has developed its own fervent fan following. Indeed, many of the fans have formed their own clubs and role-play scenarios in which they imagine themselves to be characters on McCaffrey's Pern.
The Pern stories were a melding of science fiction and fantasy. On one level, anything that depicted human beings riding on the backs of dragon, iconic mythical creatures, seemed to read like fantasy. But in the novel "Dragonsdawn," the science fiction elements of the Pern novels were laid out. The novel is the story of the first settlers of Pern and how they used genetic engineering to create a race of dragons who could be communicated with telepathically and ridden by a select group of humans in defense of their new home.
As the novels were written, Pern became a fully realized world - a medieval-style society with lord holders, traveling people, and harpers as the equivalent of barons, gypsies, and troubadours taken root on an alien world. Many of the stories, such as the Harper Hall series, had to do with the dragonriders only tangentially.
McCaffrey was the recipient of a number of awards, both from her fans and her peers. She was the first female writer to win a Hugo Award, giving by fans, and a Nebula Award, given by other writers. She was named a Science Fiction Grand Master, elevating her to the pantheon that includes Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Ray Bradbury. She is also in the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
Even though the Dragonlady of Pern has "passed between" as her fans might say, there will yet be more Pern stories, That torch has been passed to McCaffrey's son Todd, who has produced most of the recent novels. The next Pern novel, Dragon Time, is to be published next year.
Source: The Dragonriders of Pern, Anne McCaffrey, Del Rey, 1988
Anne McCaffrey, Dragonriders of Pern creator, dead at 85, Mathew Jackson, SyFy, Nov 22, 2011
The Ship Who Sang, Annie McCaffrey, Del Rey, 1985
Star Rise Weyr
Dragonsdawn, Anne McCaffrey, Del Rey, 1989
The Harper Hall of Pern, Anne McCaffrey, Nelson Doubleday, 1979
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