Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey died a few days ago, and this is therefore a very brief blog entry to say farewell to an author who, for much of my youth, was one of my favourites and who still remains a firm presence on my shelves.  Her Dragonriders of Pern series was one of those that really got me into fantasy as a teenager, and to my mind, no one has done dragons better before or since.  The Ship that Sang was a classic story I have rarely seen surpassed, while her Rowan books and the tales of living ships remain, even now, firm fixtures on my bookshelf.  She was both that rare thing – a prolific female science fiction writer – and that rarer thing yet, a genuinely talented writer whose works lured people in and held them over the many years in which she wrote.  She will be missed by many readers in the years to come.