Bad year for SF writers!

[annathepiper]

As long as we're all feeling Irish, we should have a wake for the passing of Andre Norton, the grand old dame of SF and fantasy, who has passed away today at the grand old age of 93.

Raise your glasses, folks.

Update 10:28am: Here is the link for her obit posted up on sfwa.org.

Comments

[xpioti.livejournal.com]

Erp! What a blow! I hope it was a peaceful passing.

[annathepiper]

The link says she died of "congestive heart failure"--doesn't sound precisely peaceful. O.o

But hey. NINETY-THREE. That is one hell of a respectable age on which to go out.

[firni.livejournal.com]

Same thing happened to my paternal grandfather at around the same age... at that age, it pretty much just means "died of old age".

[annathepiper]

*nods* Well, I hope it was relatively peaceful and quick for her, then!

[firni.livejournal.com]

It was for my grandfather, so here's to hoping it was the same for Ms. Norton. (raises cup of hot tea)

[annathepiper]

Hear hear. I'm going to buy a couple more of her books, I think. Possibly at Norwescon!

[xpioti.livejournal.com]

I believe my grandmother's husband died of congestive heart failure in his sleep. He gave one almighty snore and was dead, pretty much.

[xpioti.livejournal.com]

(And you're right; 93 is an extremely respectable age to life to. Here's hoping all my writing friends can be as successful and long-lasting!)

[annathepiper]

If I have even a fraction of Ms. Norton's success, I shall count myself a happy woman.

I shall have to buy more of her books in her honor. I don't have an adequate amount of Norton in my library.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

She's been ill for a couple of years, in and out of the hospital. She had a stroke a few days ago and went home from the hospital to die there.

[annathepiper]

And yet, she still had books due to come out. I am in awe of that.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Yup. Her last book is due out in April. Apparently she got copies of it before she died, which is pretty damned cool.

[annathepiper]

She was up there among my very first SF books, too. Part of one of hers stands out in my brain, though I'm not pulling the title... but I remember it because its hero was a guy with hooves, and she kept flipping points of view back and forth between him and the heroine. I shall have to go see if I can find that book.

I liked the two she did with Rosemary Edghill, too, about an alternate-history Britain. I'll have to re-read those, perhaps, as well as go get The Scent of Magic, which I've seen on the shelves a few times and which I've been meaning to buy.

[darthhellokitty.livejournal.com]

She was one of my very first science fiction authors, too!

[annathepiper]

I think it'd be hard to find someone our age in fandom who didn't have some Andre Norton way back there in the childhood years.

[annathepiper]

Kerovan! Yes, The Crystal Gryphon is exactly the book I was thinking of. Now that you mention them I vaguely remember the existence of the other two, but it was the first one I remember reading most clearly.

Andre Norton

[(Anonymous)]

The cause of death was called congestive heart failure/natural causes for my grandfather who died at 90..probably is a more medical-sounding way of saying died of old age.
I was about 20 or so when I read my first Andre Norton book.."Forerunner"..around..'83? Great book, though in all honesty, I originally picked it up because I thought the illustrations were cool..Scott

Re: Andre Norton

[annathepiper]

People pick up books all the time for similarly spurious reasons. :) If it's not an author I already know and like, I'll absolutely pick out a book at first glance by whether or not I like the cover art. Only after it passes that check will I actually peek at the back cover blurb to see if the story itself sounds interesting.

[howlinhobbit.livejournal.com]

My very first SF book was "Daybreak, 2250 AD" (alt. title "Star Man's Son, 2250 AD" I believe) by Ms Norton. I was 8 or 9 years old at the time which would put it around 1966 or '67.

She didn't just open a new world to me, she opened the door to an amazing array of new universes.

Thanks Ms Norton, rest in peace.

HH

[annathepiper]

Hear hear.