roseembolism (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
roseembolism) wrote2005-03-17 02:43 pm
roseembolism) wrote2005-03-17 02:43 pm
Eulogy: Andre Norton, 1912-2005
This just in: according to SFWA News Andre Norton died at her home, age 93.
This does not come as a surprise: I knew she was very sick for a long time.
She was one of the first SF writers I ever read. It was long enough ago that I can't remember if it was Heinlein's "The Star Beast" or Norton's "the Jargoon Pard" that were the first SF book I picked up, the first time I went into a city library. It doesn't really matter- I check out both at the same time. Those books were my introduction to SF and fantasy, and if those authors had been less competent with their craft, my entire life may have been very different.
Though her works fell into the pulp and science fantasy side of SF, I have no problem at all with ranking her with the other greats: Asimov, Heinlein, Norton. She may not have been as well known as the other two writers, but her space opera and fantasy novels helped define the SF field.
She will be missed, but her stories remain. And I can't think of a better eulogy.
This does not come as a surprise: I knew she was very sick for a long time.
She was one of the first SF writers I ever read. It was long enough ago that I can't remember if it was Heinlein's "The Star Beast" or Norton's "the Jargoon Pard" that were the first SF book I picked up, the first time I went into a city library. It doesn't really matter- I check out both at the same time. Those books were my introduction to SF and fantasy, and if those authors had been less competent with their craft, my entire life may have been very different.
Though her works fell into the pulp and science fantasy side of SF, I have no problem at all with ranking her with the other greats: Asimov, Heinlein, Norton. She may not have been as well known as the other two writers, but her space opera and fantasy novels helped define the SF field.
She will be missed, but her stories remain. And I can't think of a better eulogy.