Eragon writer Christopher Paolini reacted to a meme mocking Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern and teased a surprise announcement on X related to Pern.
Christopher Paolini is known for his fantasy series, The Inheritance Cycle, which started with the hit Eragon, made into a major motion picture, and is also in development for a new series that’s supposed to be truer to the original books. Readers may note the similarities to Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern with the friendly dragon motif, something that’s not in a lot of major fantasy fiction outside of these two series.
One fan thought it’d be fun to post a meme (which seemed to be good-natured) regarding turning away from Anne McCaffrey’s masterpiece of The Dragonriders of Pern, while encouraging Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle. He followed it with commentary that he “loves messing with Anne McCaffrey fans.”
Paolini, tagged, came to McCaffrey’s defense over the meme, however, saying, “Now, now. Anne McCaffrey not only wrote books that inspired me, but she also gave me my first blurb! Classy lady. (Working on repaying the favor in an interesting way, btw. More to come when appropriate.)”
McCaffrey was known for being cordial with fans, replying to letters, engaging with them, and often entertaining them in her home, provided they would be willing to travel to rural Ireland.
He wasn’t the only one to shout out McCaffrey for being a classy lady. Kevin J. Anderson, famous for his Star Wars extended universe novels, joined in with some praise of his own.
She certainly was an amazing woman who treated fans right, something a lot of modern authors and celebrities could use a crash course on.
What’s interesting about this is the teaser that Paolini looks like he’s writing a cover blurb or a foreword for a potential new printing of Anne McCaffrey books, or perhaps he’s alluding to something else entirely. We will patiently await to see what that could be!
What do you think of Christopher Paolini’s defense of Anne McCaffrey?
Six books. One unforgettable world. The Adventures of Baron Von Monocle is steampunk adventure with the kind of worldbuilding and heart that made you fall in love with fantasy in the first place. Start the series on Amazon.
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Thru normal chit chat, a friends sister realized that she was sitting next to McCaffery's son on a trans Atlantic flight and his mom was going to pick him up at the airport. Both the son and McCaffery patiently waited while she ran to the airport bookstore and bought a copy of White Dragon which she kindly signed. Classy lady and a far underappreciated author.
man how did this guy cut his beard like that?