There are a few people, famous people, that I mourn the loss of. Victor Borge. Jim Henson. Johnny Carson. Jerry Orbach. The list goes on, but you get the idea. There are as many women as men that I miss, but these are just the ones who come easiest to mind.

There are a few people that I will miss when they are gone. Carol Burnett. Roy Dotrice. I don’t care to dredge up more names for this list. It will bum me out unnecessarily. It’s bad enough that anyone I put in the latter category will eventually become a member of the former.

I learned, a few hours ago, that Anne McCaffrey passed away yesterday. I accredit her with my lifelong obsession with all things sci-fi, as I firmly remember browsing the paperbacks on the single freestanding bookshelf at the surprisingly well-stocked high school library, picking one up out of curiosity based on the artwork on the cover, and immediately falling into the world of Pern. It is because of that experience that I urge any young person yet to be acquainted with this author to pick up the novel Dragonsinger before any other of the series. If you’ve the right mind to be intrigued by what is contained within those pages, you will hunger to glean more details about that world by pilfering other novels in that series. If nothing else, you will have solved the mild mystery of what a seemingly fantasy novel is doing in the sci-fi section.

It wasn’t enough that I glomped upon the entirety of the novels of Pern; oh no, I also tasted the other ones by this author, too, curious what her other series were like. The Rowan/Pegasus/Tower seri, for example. Wow. I’m presently inhaling those stories all over again. I love that the Brainship and Killishandra series overlap, and it’s conceivable that the other series can live in the same universe, even if unmentioned and unreferenced.

Sometimes I’m self-conscious about admitting to liking this author’s works. A close friend once chided me for including this among my nerdier and loftier favorites such as Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. For those who are familiar with the Harper Hall Trilogy, I liken Anne’s writing style to that of Menolly, a character of Anne’s creation, discussed by the character’s teachers at one point. “Her [singing] style is not very technical and she hasn’t had a lot of instruction, but her tunes are catchy and sing-able by any gather (faire) attendant, and thusly popular.” (I’m paraphrasing but you get the idea.) Her characters live, and breathe, as far as my mind’s eye is concerned. There’s incredible depth, and love, that goes into her characterizations that they are clearly influenced by her real life associations, for whom these characters are modeled after. A teacher, a brother, a fan, a pet, they all get immortalized, often more than once, in her writings. We may never have met the model for Robinton the Masterharper, but those of us who identify as fans of her works bloody well know how she felt about the man.

It’s difficult to think of her in the past tense. I always rather hoped she’d delve more into the not-Pern series that I enjoy and reread voraciously, revisiting them every couple of years like close family. I really hope there’s a writer given permission to continue forays into those worlds. She was always very protective and critical about allowing others to “play” in her worlds–even fanfic was closely monitored.

I have other thoughts but I am distracted by dinner. *raises a glass of Benden red* The world is less one more gold dragon, and her rider. Huzzah to Lady Annie Mac.

Probably related:

• January 14, 2012 -- Snow! In Winter! Shocking!
• December 31, 2011 -- One More End of Year Meme
• December 31, 2011 -- Year in Review