This is so sad. My mother's been reading her books since I was young, and I distinctly remember the first time I picked up Acorna.

Rest in peace, Anne McCaffrey. You died on my birthday. Rain on my parade, why don't you?

Anne McCaffrey was the first sci-fi author I ever read. I have been working on a collection of all of her books for years. I know some of her others are not as well known as Pern, but the Petaybee trilogy is one of my favorite set of books ever. I love the brain ship series, except maybe The City That Fought. I liked the Acorna series, and the Damia series. I never quite got around to reading the Dinosaur Planet and Doona series.

Of course I can't seem to find it now, but I am pretty sure that I looked it up at one time and her list of published works was well over 100 books. What a wonderful contribution to the collective of humanity.

...back at home. All the Weyrs of Pern holds the distinction of being the first book that got me misty-eyed - dammit AIVAS, why did you have to die!? You had so much left to giiiiive! D:.

And I was always quite disappointed that Mellony's parents never DID find out that the daughter they'd abused and all but abandoned had ended up becoming apprentice to the Masterharper of all Pern. Would have been a nice piece of karmic comeuppance.

While I haven't read her novels... yet... I offer my condolences to her family.

(Also, while I'm typing this, I'm listening to "Sticks and Stone" from "How to Train Your Dragon". Would that count as fitting?)

Her books were some of the first fantasy/sci-fi books I ever read.

Wow...

Anne McCaffery was one of my first SF/Fantasy authors that I loved. I loved her Dragon Riders of Pern series, but I also loved her Brainship series. *sigh*

Speaking as someone who was first introduced to SF by her novels... *breaks down and cries*

I was never much of a fan, but my mother loves McCaffrey's stuff. My sympathies go out to her fans.

2011 has definitely not been a good year for authors, as far as staying alive goes. ._.