It was with great sadness that I read about Anne McCaffrey dying. Another creative giant has gone, leaving the world just that little less rich.
Although probably best known for her Pern/Dragon series, they weren’t among my favorites. This doesn’t diminish the books in any way, of course; we all have our own unique likes and dislikes which is what makes life so incredibly vibrant. Anne McCaffrey added to this with everything she wrote.
During her career she picked up numerous well-earned accolades including both Hugo and Nebula awards as well as being named a science-fiction ‘Grand Master’ in 2005.
My own personal favorite of her works was the lesser known, but fantastic, “The Ship Who Sang”, the story of a ‘brainship’. Brainships were cyborgs – a human brain controlling a spaceship. The story is one not just of a spaceship that thinks, but of the beautiful mind within that ship and her development and relationships with the world around her.
McCaffrey wove such emotion and vulnerability into her characters and I’m not ashamed to say that I cried at the end of the book.
