I
previously mentioned that
Tanith Lee was one of the authors who I came to know by way of
DAW Books. Lee's story "
Drinking Sapphire Wine",
Smith's Lensman Saga along with Clarke's
The City and the Stars ignited my interest in
science fiction stories that span Time on the scale of millions or billions of years.
Not satisfied with the visions of the far future that were provided by Lee, Smith or Clarke, I had to imagine for myself how thinking creatures might endure across vast periods of time: thus the
Huaoshy and the
Exodemic Fictional Universe came into existence.
Lee was one of the writers who drew my attention to the boundary between
fantasy and science fiction. She grew up on a diet of fairy tales while I grew up surrounded by science, so it is no surprise that Lee was at home in the fantasy genre while I am not. Still, I envy her ability to create her own literary domain at the intersection of fantasy, horror and science fiction.
In
Drinking Sapphire Wine, Lee depicted humans of the far future who were essentially immortal. They could kill themselves, but then they would be automatically returned to the living state.
Lee
died on May 24th at the age of 67 after a long struggle with cancer. Her vision of other worlds will live on through her writing and its influence on her many fans and readers.
Related Reading:
Betsy Wollheim Remembers Tanith Lee
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