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Marion Zimmer Bradley Passed on
Quite a number of people wrote to us with the news that major fantasy author Marion Zimmer Bradley had passed on Sept. 25. She had suffered from a major heartattack on the 21st, and was unable to recover from it. My condolences to her family - her writing was incredible. Her work on the "Avalon" series of books was incredible, and helped re-define female writing in the fantasy genre.
This is an internet wake. We're all sitting around our computers posting eulogies to Slashdot about someone many many geeks held in high regard. If this isn't a net wake/funeral, I don't know what is.
Bill - aka taniwha
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Leave others their otherness. -- Aratak
I would like to think that someone could die without the discussion degerating into a flamewar on Slashdot. But I am not that naive.
Marion Zimmer Bradley stood out. Maybe she wasn't J.R.R. Tolkien or Issac Asimov, but she was a damn sight better then a lot of the other sci-fi/fantasy authors out there.
She was one of the early women in sci-fi/fantasy. Not only in being a writter, but what she wrote. Women usually figured strongly in her books, and could always think for themselves. That was not that common in sci-fi when she began Darkover in the early 1960s.
Mists of Avalon and its sequel was a unique take on the King Arthur legends.
She was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, including naming the organization.
In her Darkover books, she created a fantasy world where technology met medieval society. It was a world that was not limited to one or two books, but was a continuing, evolving story. Furthermore, she was quite willing to let other authors play in her worlds -- something that is quite rare these days. She may not have been the first to do this, but she stood out by it.
And obviously, "quite a number" of Slashdot readers thought the item newsworthy.
I know that I, for one, think she will be dearly missed.
For more information, check out Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine.
dragonhawk@iname.microsoft.com
I do not like Microsoft. Remove them from my email address.
As I think about it, she made a very geeky move a few years back. She declared that in the event of her death, she would will the Darkover series to Mercedes Lackey (another great author, and one who got her start in MZB's short story anthologies). I never thought about the connection until just now, but in many ways her Darkover series was a distant relative of the OSS movement: anyone was and is free to write any stories they want, of course; but the especially good ones she would collect and publish in anthologies along with some of her own short stories and of course the novels. These short stories are as much a part of the Darkover series as anything MZB herself wrote, and many of them were written by authors known in the field (e.g. Diane Duane), some by authors that later became known in the field (e.g. Mercedes Lackey). And now that she can no longer oversee the series, she has passed the baton to someone who could.
A visionary in more ways than one, it seems. She will be missed...
``This, too, shall pass.'' ---Eastern proverb
Marion Zimmer Bradley was a force. Her voice for tolerance, one that spoke loudly long before it became popular or even acceptable, will be missed. So will be her eagerness to impart her skill and experience to younger authors. To be remembered fondly, by all those she influenced, and all who have and will yet read her books is a fine legacy. We were fortunate to have her.
Mrs. Bradley was not only one of the most compelling scifi/fantasy authors in recent years, she was also an inspiration and guide to young authors throughout the world through her dedication to publishing those who were willing to send her their work. I did have 2 works published in her magazine, and was given advice from her in a letter advising me on how to improve my writing. She is a blessed spirit, and wherever she is now, they better treat the lady right. I'd ask anyone who was influenced by her in any way to please send condolences to her family. The world has lost a good person, and her absence will be noted.