The passing of the old guard

I started writing this post early on Thursday morning, when Terry Pratchett was still alive.  I then went out for a long working lunch with my fellow Pentangle Press authors, and came home to the news that Terry had died.

It feels like the foundations on which I built my love of SF are crumbling.  Only last week we had Leonard Nimoy pass away.  Being an introverted, bookish type, I always identified with Spock rather than the over-excitable Kirk.  I sometimes feel like emulating Spock's raised eyebrow when I see some of the things around me today.

Then we heard of Terry's passing.  At 66, that's way too early.  Not only have we lost a uniquely talented writer, we've also lost someone who inspired other writers. I was lucky enough to hear him give the plenary address at the Winchester Writers' Conference back in 2010.  Although he managed to get through his talk, there were pauses where the Alzheimer's was already making itself felt.

Just as cherished are my memories of meeting Anne McCaffrey at Octocon some years ago.  Anne is one of my major influences, and in my wildest dreams I hope that someone some day might describe me as 'the new Anne McCaffrey'.  

There's a sense of the passing of the old guard.  One by one, the people who were so influential in instilling in me a love for SF, and the desire to write it myself, are disappearing.

Leonard's and Terry's deaths have left me with a feeling of melancholy, and have turned my thoughts back to my own work.  What legacy will I leave when I join them in the afterlife?  It's made me redouble  my efforts to have my own work recognized and accepted.

With the passing of the old guard I have the feeling that a moment of zeitgeist has gone.  The kinds of influence Leonard,Terry, and Anne had on our SF culture have sadly passed us by, with no obvious candidates to take their places.

Wendy Metcalfe is the author of Eco-SF books Panthera : Death Spiral and Panthera : Death Song, and the short story collection Otherlives.