Tuesday, February 02, 2010

R.I.P., Kage Baker

I discovered her stories in the pages of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. My favorites were those of "The Company," a group of immortals sent back in the past charged with locating and hiding artifacts to be "discovered" in the future they could not return to.


The detail that won my heart, though, was that the transformation from human to immortal cyborg made the operatives especially sensitive to chocolate: hot chocolate made them drunk.

The Company stories became novels. And there were other short stories--I always looked forward to reading them in Asimov's.

Ms. Baker was my age, which is scary. She died of uterine cancer that metasticized to her brain.

Rest in peace, Ms. Baker. And may you continue to tell your stories.

(H/T: Julie D's sidebar over at Happy Catholic. Author photo from her website, www.kagebaker.com, by Den'Al Damron-McElhiney.)