I've always loved fantasy literature. I've grown to see it as a kind of hack genre – it can discuss social issues which readers might find boring or even repellent by creating a world so fantastic that the story's tempting anyway. Lazier readers (myself included) who aren't so interested in realism can pick up a book for the cover or the story or the world and walk away with a lot of thoughts about a lot of things. There's truly a magic to fantasy writing.

Sad that slowly the writers I loved as a kid are dying. Last year was Diana Wynne Jones, who wasn't as popular as McCaffrey but whom I always loved the most. Now this. I couldn't often get into McCaffrey's style but she influenced many of the authors I loved, to the point where I can't think of dragons without thinking of her.

I hope that her life was joyful and her passing was peaceful.