Dragonriders of Pern author Anne McCaffrey dies, she was 85

anne McCaferty with dragon

Rest in Peace
April 1st, 1926 – November 21st, 2011
If you are coming to this site then you should know who she is, and have probably read some of her work at some point in your life, and if not you really should.  To me she is the grandmother of everything Sci-Fi and Fantasy.  Not the first to do it but one of the first to do it to the level that it was done at.  Born April 1st, 1926 and published her first book in 1967 and went on to publish almost 100 books, to say she was a prolific author is an understatement, being the first women to a Hugo Award for fiction in 1968, first women to win the Nebula Award in 1969, the first Science Fiction author to get on the New York Best Sellers List in 1978 with The White Dragon.  The Science Fiction Writers of America in 2005 named her the 22nd Grand Master. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted her 17 June 2006.  Most author dream about getting one of these awards, she has done it all and then some with almost 100 books to her credit, she continued to write to the very end.  Her last book (co-written with her son) is scheduled to be released in 2012.

I remember as a young child cutting my teeth on the Dragonriders of Pern, reading about this mysterious world and people soaring on the wings of dragons.  In a time where I was mainly reading Hardy Boys and books like that, she blew my mind with the things that she made me visualize as I was reading.  She drove me out to find more and more in this genre and while I did not continue reading the series like I should have, I have never stopped reading these genres.  She shaped this man into what I am today, the games I enjoy the most, the books that I get, and most of the things that I deal with in everyday life.  I even have to thank her for my interest in Warhammer 40k.  She was truly a shining star and will be sorely missed.  Authors of this caliber are very rare and far between.  She passed away the 21st day of November, in the year 2011 in Ireland of a massive stroke.

A partial bibliography:
Pern: The Dragonriders of Pern
Dragonflight , Rapp & Whiting 1969
The White Dragon , Ballantine (Reissue) 1981
Dragonquest , Corgi Adult 1982
Pern: The Harper Hall Trilogy
Dragonsong , Atheneum (1st Edition) 1976
Dragonsinger , Atheneum 1977
Dragondrums , Atheneum (1st Edition) 1979
Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern , Del Rey (Reprint) 1984
The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall , Ballentine Books 1985
Nerilka’s Story , Ballentine Books 1986
Dragonsdawn , Ultramarine Publishing Co. 1988
The Renegades of Pern , Ultramarine 1989
All The Weyrs Of Pern , DelRey 1991
The Dolphins of Pern , Del Rey 1994
Dragonseye , Del Rey (1st Edition) 1997
The Masterharper of Pern , Del Rey (1st Edition) 1998
The Skies of Pern , Ballantine 2001
Dragon’s Kin , with Todd J. McCaffrey, Ballantine 2003
Other Annie McCaffety favorites include;
Acorna Series
(I also have them, a real good read)(Also with Margaret Ball, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, and various other authors)
Acorna’s People , with Elizabeth A. Scarborough, Eos 1997
Acorna: The Unicorn Girl , with Margaret Ball, Eos 1997
The Unicorn Girl: The Illustrated Adventures , with Stories by Mickey Zucker Reichert, Jody Lynn Nye, Roman Ranieri, Eos (Illustrate Edition) 1997
Acorna’s Quest , with Margaret Ball, Eos 1998
Acorna’s World , with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Sagebrush 1999
Acorna’s Search , with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Turtleback 2002
Acorna’s Rebels , with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Eos (1st Edition) 2003
Acorna’s Triumph , with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Eos 2004
Anthologies
Get Off The Unicorn , Severn House Publishers 1982
The Girl Who Heard Dragons , Cheap Street 1985
Alchemy & Academe , Del Rey (Reissue) 1987
A Gift of Dragons , Random House 2002
Serve it Forth: Cooking with Anne McCaffrey , with Edited with John Gregory Betancourt, Wildside Press 2004
Brain & Brawn Ship Series
(also with Margaret Ball, Mercedes Lackey, S.M. Stirling, and Jody Lynn Nye)
The Ship Who Sang , Walker 1969
Partnership , with Margaret Ball, Baen (Reissue) 1992
The Ship Who Searched , with Mercedes Lackey, Baen (Reissue) 1992
The City Who Fought , with S.M. Stirling, Baen 1993
The Ship Who Won , with Jody Lynn Nye, Baen 1994
The Ship Avenged , with S.M. Stirling, Baen 1997
Brain and Brawn Compilations
Brain Ships , with Mercedes Lackey and Margaret Ball, Baen 2003
The Ship Who Saved the Worlds , with Jody Lynn Nye, Baen 2003
The City and the Ship , with S.M. Stirling, Baen 2004
Crystal Singer Series
Crystal Singer , Del Rey (1st Edition) 1982
Killashandra , Ultramarine 1985
Crystal Line , Del Rey (1st Edition) 1992
Dinosaur Planet Compilations
Dinosaur Planet Series (With Jody Lynn Nye and Elizabeth Moon)
Dinosaur Planet Survivors , Del Rey (Reissue) 1984
Dinosaur Planet , Del Rey (Reissue) 1984
Sassinak , with Elizabeth Moon, Baen 1990
The Death of Sleep , with Jody Lynn Nye, Baen (Reprint) 1990
Generation Warriors , with Elizabeth Moon, Baen (Reissue) 1991
The Planet Pirates , with Elizabeth Moon, Jody Lynn Nye, Audio Literature 1995
The Mystery of Ireta , Del Rey 2003
Doona Compilations
Doona , with Jody Lynn Nye, Ace Trade 2004Doona Series(Also with Jody Lynn Nye)
Decision at Doona , Corgi Adult 1971
Crisis On Doona , with Jody Lynn Nye, Time Warner Books Uk 1993
Treaty at Doona (Originally Treaty Planet) , with Jody Lynn Nye, Ace 1994
Freedom Series
Freedom’s Landing , Bookcassette 1995
Freedom’s Choice, aka Catteni’s Choice , Bookcassette 1997
Freedom’s Challenge , Bookcassette Sales 1998
Freedom’s Ransom , Bantam Press 2002

djinn24 is a professional miniatures painter, with an equally strong love of books. His reviews are concise and critical. He’s definitely good at what he does.

  • Anonymous

    I’ve never read any of her books, but RIP. I’ll have to give them a look into, I love dragons after all.

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