Category Archives: obituary

RIP, James A. Moore

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It is with extreme sadness that I write this post. James A. Moore passed away on March 27, 2024. That’s yesterday as I write this.  He was born in 1965. Mr. Moore was 58.

I got home late last night from being on the road and noticed a post on Twitter/X announcing Mr. Moore’s passing. I stayed up later than I should have looking for more information, but didn’t find much.

James Moore wrote sword and sorcery, dark fantasy, and horror. Much of his work was in collaboration with other writers. Charles R. Rutledge and Christopher Golden are the two I’m most familiar with.

I’ve reviewed some of his work here, always positively. He was one of the best. I’ve got several of his recent books in the eTBR pile that I’ve been looking forward to reading.

I never had the privilege of meeting James Moore. I had hoped to at the World Fantasy Convention in San Antonio a few years ago, but he wasn’t able to make it. by all accounts, he was a warm, gegerous man. He will be missed.

I would like to extend my deepest condolences to James Moore’s family, friends, and collaborators. Christopher golden is organizing a GoFundMe to cover the expenses of Mr. Moore’s cremation.

RIP Vernor Vinge (1944-2024)

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Locus Online is reporting that Vernor Vinge has passed away at the age of 79 from Parkinson’s. He  died on March 20. He was a mathmatician and hard science fiction writer.

Vinge is best remembered for two main  things. He was the first person to postulate the Singularity. And he wrote the Zones of Thought series. the first book A Fire Upon the Deep, won the Hugo Award in 1992. He followed it up in 1999 with A Deepness in the Sky, which won the Hugo, the John W. Campbell, and the Prometheus awards. The third book, The Children of the Sky, came out in 2011. It doesn’t seem to have attracted the attention the first two did. Vinge also won a Hugo for his 2006 novel Rainbow’s End as well as Hugos for “Fast Times at Fairmont High” (2001) and “The Cookie Monster” (2003).

I’ve only read a little of Vinge’s short fiction. His novels look intrioguing, but I’ve not gotten to them due to their length. I’m afraid I’ll get bogged down and won’t finish them.

Our condolences to Vernor Vinge’s family and friends.

RIP, Brian Stableford

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Crap. I hate to write this, but I’m going to as much as it pains me to do so. Brian Stableford (1948-2024) has died. Locus is reporting that he passed away on February 24, after a long illness. He is survived by his children, son Leo and daughter Kathy.

In an earlier post this year, I asked what wrtiers you thought have been unjustly neglected and should have their work brought to public attentions. Brian Stableford was one of the names mentioned.  I heartily agreed. Continue reading →

RIP, Christopher Priest (1943-2024)

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Christophoer Priest passed away from cancer on February 2. While not prolific, he produced several works that received widespread recognition. Of these, the best known was The Prestige. This was a story about Victorian-era stage magic where one of the illusions is more than it seems. It was made into a film starring Christian Bale and Michael Caine. While the film is good, the book is even better. Yes, I know that’s a cliche, but the movie left out an entire plot line that takes place in the present world. The big surprise at the end fo the film wasn’t the big surprise in the book but rather the penultimate surprise. If you have only seen the movie, check out the book.

The other item of note that Priest wrote was something  I referenced in the Dangerous Visions post a few days ago. Priest wrote the book The Book on the Edge of Forever. This is a history of Harlan Ellison and Last Dangerous Visions. It’s fascinating reading. As you can probably imagine, Harlan doesn’t come off looking too well.

I picked up my copy at Aggiecon a number of years ago, when Harlan was GoH. The vendor who sold it to me said, “Don’t let Harlan see it.”

Good advice.

Priest produced a solid, if not extensive, body of work. He should not be forgotten.

RIP, Brian Lumley (1937-2024)

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I’m starting to see reports that Brian Lumley has died. There’s nothing on the Locus or Blackgate websites yet, but Twitter/X, the ISFDB and other sources are confirming the news.

Lumley has written Lovecraftiain horror in both long and short forms. He was also the author of  the Necroscope series.

I’ve not read much of his work, just a few short stories, although I’ve picked up several of his non-Necrsoscope titles, including Titus Crow. I’ve liked what little I’ve read by him. I just haven’t gotten a lot of his work.

I’ll raise a glass tonight in  his memory and read something of his.

Remembering Howard Waldrop

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Howard Waldrop reading at Armadillocon 2016

It is with great sadness that I write these words. Locus Online is reporting that Howard Waldrop died today, January 15, 2024. The ISFDB has his date of death listed as the 14th. Either way, a legend has passed. Howard was one of my favorite people in science fiction and fantasy. He had a unique voice, both in writing and in speaking, and he will be sorely missed.

Howard Waldrop was born in Houston, Mississippi on September 15, 1946. He lived most of his life in Texas, although he did live int he Pacific Northwest for a few years before returning to Austin. He was an avid fisherman, and that showed in a few of his stoires. Continue reading →

Remembering David Drake

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We lost David Drake a few weeks ago. He was born on September 24, 1945 and passed away on December 10, 2023.

Drake was a legend in the field and he wrote across a variety of sbgenres in both fantasy and science fiction. He was best known as a military science fiction writer, specifically his Hammer’s Slammers series about a team of mercenaries. Continue reading →

Rest in Peace, Patricia A. McKillip (1948-2022)

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I saw on Twitter today that Patricia A. McKillip has died. She was one of the best stylisits in the fantasy field. I had the pleasure of meeting her at the 2000 World Fantasy Convention and again at the 2006 World Fantasy Convention

McKillip won a World Fantasy Award for her first adult novel, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld in 1974. She followed it up with the Riddlemaster Trilogy. This was the first thing I read by her in the SFBC omnibus edition.

I was hooked.

Over the years McKillip only got better. Most of her novels were stand-alones. Beginning in the late 1990’s, McKillip began publishing a series of novels through Ace books with the most gorgeous covers. I’ve got all of them, although I’ve not read all of them yet.

If you’ve not read her work, give it a try. It’s not sword and sorcery, but it is some of the best fantasy written in the last half century. I’m going to try to work more of her books into the reading schedule. I think I’ll give the Riddlemaster trilogy another read. It’s been long enough that a lot of the details have faded.

RIP, Dave Wolverton (1957-2022) and Ron Goulart (1933-2022)

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This wasn’t the post I had planned to write today, and it certainly isn’t one I want to write. The fields of fantasy and science fiction have lost two of thier luminaries.

Dave Wolverton, who is probably better know as David Farland, died from head injuries he suffered due to a fall down a set of stairs. Goulart had been hospitalized in December with pneumonia and was suffering from dementia. Both men died on the 14th. Goulart had turned 89 the day before. Continue reading →

Rest in Peace, Lou Antonelli (1957-2021)

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Science Fiction author Lou Antonelli passed away on October 6 of pneumonia. He is survived by his wife Patricia, his mother, and a brother and sister. Born in Massachusetts, Lou loved Texas and considered himself to be a Texan.

Lou was mainly a short fiction writer, although he also published on novel (Another Girl, Another Planet) and a memoir/short fiction collection/writing advice (Letters From Gardner: A Writer’s Odyssey). Lou’s short fiction has been collected in Fantastic Texas, Texas and Other Planets, The Clock Struck None, and In the Shadow of the Cross.

Lou was a journalist all his life. In recent years his fiction output slowed when he and his wife bought The Clarksville Times, the local newspaper in Clarksville, Texas. The paper had been declining before the Antonellis bought it. They successfully turned it around. (Some sources are saying Lou was from Clarksville, Arkansas, but that’s not correct.)

I’ve known Lou for about 15 years. I met him through his wife, Patricia, who was a student in one of my classes when I was at a university in the northeast part of the state. Lou and I had attended the same science fiction convention a few months prior to my meeting Patricia, but our paths hadn’t crossed.

Over the years, Lou and I shared cars to and from, and rooms at, conventions. He was a good traveling companion and roommate. More importantly he was a good friend. After I moved to West Texas, we didn’t see each other much, just at a convention once in a while. From time to time, we’d talk on the phone. I was unaware he’d been ill until I saw a notice of his death online. He’d been on my mind the last few days, and I’d been thinking of giving him a call. It had been a while since I’d spoken to him.

Now I can’t.

My prayers are with Patricia and the rest of Lou’s family.

Rest well, my friend.