Anne McCaffrey: Creator of the Pern books

The beginning of a series of articles in which we appreciate the true greats of the science fiction and fantasy genres.

If anyone has earned their status as a legend in the fields of science fiction and fantasy, then it is Anne McCaffrey. As creator of the Dragonriders of Pern and the hugely popular series of science fiction and fantasy novels that followed the first book ('Dragonflight', which was made up of two novellas originally published in Analog magazine), Anne has secured her place in the history books as a writer of monumental power and talent.

The Pern novels now number well over twenty, and many of them have become essential titles in the science fiction genre.

But there is more to Anne McCaffrey's career than just creating the Pern novels and the world that they take place on. She is also author (and co-author on several books) of several science fiction novels dealing with sentient spacecraft.

Some of the most influential of these books are probably the anthology The Ship Who Sang and the novel The Ship Who Fought. These showed a different side to her writing, allowing her to deal with a more SF style universe than the science-fantasy worlds of the Pern novels.

She is also the author and co-author of many other books in the science fiction and fantasy genres, and while her output has slowed in recent years, she remains one of the finest exponents of the genre around.

What is it that makes her work so special though? Dragons? Crystal Singers? Children hardwired into starship computers? maybe all of these, but she is also an incredibly talented writer when it comes to characterization and social issues within the fictional universes she has created.

Her books aren't just action extravaganzas or character studies, they are both and much more. Each book of hers boasts many layers that a lot of other writers wouldn’t even contemplate, and thus she achieved her status as one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time, as well as creating one of the most loved science fiction series ever conceived- Pern.

JANUARY 2008- BOLDLY GOING STRONG

Hey there folks, I hope your collective 2008s are going swimmingly thus far. Following the annual Christmas insanity, we’ve been working on improving the store layout for you guys. Over the festive period we identified a number of areas in the store that would benefit from being rearranged and reworked, so that’s exactly what we’ve done! The store is now split into two ‘halves’, namely a merchandise side and a printed material side. Check out the work so far:

It’s far from finished, but we’re working hard to ensure the place is easy to get around and its easier to find the cool stuff you want.

2 0 0 8

So what do we have to look forward to in 2008? There’s going to be a ton more to check out from us online for a start, but I’ll leave you in suspense for now on that score. What I will tell you is that as of now, there are a bunch of cool features being worked on by our infamous/illustrious staff that you’ll be able to check out soon.

There’s a mass of movies and TV to look forward to despite the writers strike (But hey, there’s an actor’s guild strike planned too). Personally, I’m looking forward to two movies in particular, even more than Iron Man and the new Indiana Jones (both of which, incidentally, have me stoked). Those films are JJ Abram’s apocalyptic CLOVERFIELD and the long, LONG awaited final part of Dario Argento’s ‘Tears’ trilogy, namely MOTHER OF TEARS. I’m so excited about the prospect of Cloverfield. I just wish we didn’t have to wait until the start of February to see it!

Speaking of JJ Abrams, have you seen the teaser for his STAR TREK reboot? It shows mercifully little, and for once we have a teaser that actually TEASES the audience. I do love the ‘Under Construction text at the end. I think his version of Star Trek is going to kick all kinds of ass, even if the diehards are still arguing about the cast and the plot. Come on, FIRST CONTACT was a time travel story, and that was incredible. THE VOYAGE HOME was too! I can’t wait to get hold of a model of the new version of the Enterprise.

Then there’s the whole Doctor Who universe continuing to take over out TV screens, with the new DW series on the way as well as the now-playing second series of TORCHWOOD, which is shaping up to be even better than the first!

Stuff on the way

Other goodies I’m looking forward to getting in? let’s see… Just in time for the new RAMBO movie, Sideshow are bringing the original FIRST BLOOD 12” doll back out, and about time too. The premium format Rambo figures always looked awesome, even if the holographic packages were so…hypnotic. The Sideshow guys and gals have also unveiled something pretty damn spectacular in the shape of the STAR WARS: DUEL OF THE FATES Diorama, taken from the final moments of The Phantom Menace. Now, I Know all about the feelings towards that film, but you can’t deny that the last 20 minutes were incredible. Featuring Obi Wan, Qui-Gon and Darth maul locked in their saber duel, this diorama is going to be stunning.

While on the subject of Star Wars, there’s a cool 12” of Luke from Ep4 - Luke Skywalker - Episode IV on the way too, just as he appears in the iconic ‘Twin Suns’ shot at the start of the movie. Another Marvel Premium format figure has been unveiled too, namely the Red Skull, who, as we all now know, was the one behind Captain America’s death (God I’m worried about Bucky taking on Cap’s title- that’s gonna be really hard for Marvel to pull off well).

I suppose the other big thing right now would be Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem. Now, it is no secret that I am, lets say, not a fan of this crossover franchise, but a bunch of my colleagues are, and the Sideshow diorama depicting the Predalien Hybrid diving at the Predator looks like a superb piece of work indeed. Also check out the Predalien Maquette Now, if only they would hire a writer for the next one. You know, someone who can provide an actual script? At least the movie LOOKS cool. I’m with the crowd wanting an actual AVP movie with no humans in it, and no dialogue. A lack of dialogue (just alien screams etc) would be much more believable than the cookie cutter schlock Hollywood are content to churn out over and over.

Anyway, I’m gonna go dribble about Cloverfield in a corner for a while.

Expect a much more active presence here from now on!

Peace and starcharts