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.
I’ve got some of his Emortality series, but I’m not certain which ones I’m missing. I’ve been putting them aside as I come across them while sorting through boxes. I know I read at least one of them around the time it was published, approximately twenty years ago, but I don’t recall anmything about the plot. I do know I liked it.
I first read Stableford when I read The Halcyon Drift, the first book in the Hooded Swan series. This is a six volume series about a man who picks up a symbiote while stranded on a remote planet. The symbiote goes with him when he is rescued. (That’s all in the first couple of pages.) They are written in a wonderfully hard-boiled style. I’ve only read the first three, but I found them to be fast and fun.
Another series he wrote was the Daedalus series. I’ve got most, if not all, of these. They were written right after the Hooded Swan series, from the middle of the 1970s until the end of the decade. Both series were published by DAW. The Daedalus books concern a ship, the Daedalus, which is on an exploration mission. I’ve not read any yet because they need to be read in order, and it took me a while to find the first one.
Science fiction wasn’t the only area Stableford wrote in. He has a couple of short story collections in which he takes characters from literature, such as Poe’s Dupin, and mixes them with situations and characters from Lovecraft. I wasn’t aware of them until I started writing this post. I’ve bought a couple of them and will be diving into them soon.
In addition to writing fiction, Stableford was also a critic nad has had several collections of his essays published.
He will be missed.
Hi I was glad to see this post. I have really enjoyed Stableford’s book from his Ace doubles, his HPL/horror themed works, his many science fiction series and his non fiction on the history of the scientific romance in both English and French literature. I have even picked up a number of his French translations. I love the way he incorporated genre and literature characters in many of his works. His Sherlock Holmes and the Vampires of Eternity was both engrossing and confusing. I felt the first book of his Morgan’s Fork trilogy really provided a glimpse of his writing process although I did not like the last two books in the series.
Anyway I am glad someone else shared my enjoyment of his works. I also want to let you know how much I enjoy your posts. I have read many of the authors you discuss and it is nice to be reminded of their work.
All the best
Guy
Thanks, Guy. I’m glad you’re liking my posts.