the Endless Saga

I just finished reading Anne Fraser's Gideon Redoak. I first 'met' Anne in 1994 when I joined an online listserv called 'vampyres'. I met her in real life later that summer at our first group meetup, and over the years we exchanged emails and cards and collaborated on a story together, in addition to meeting in various real life and online events. We had lost touch by the time Anne passed away a year or so ago, I think of a brain tumor. It was the dream of her life to have this story published, and I was thrilled to buy and read it.

Now, granted, it's not a perfect book. There are a few too many characters, the ending is abrupt (as a matter of fact, there really isn't an ending), and overall it could use a good tightening and polishing. But it is very, very Anne. Her outpouring of work over the years that I was on vampyres with her was unique and interesting, and her love for her characters shone. That's the real reason the book doesn't have an ending, and why she always called it the 'Endless Saga' - because the life she envisioned for her characters just went on and on. To her, these people were as real as anyone she'd ever met and they gave her as much joy. Possibly more so.

Despite having lost touch, it saddens me to know that Anne isn't out there somewhere spinning tales, and that all the stories of these characters have gone with her. I hope, wherever she is, that she's with those characters, and that it's everything she ever dreamed it would be.