Reports are coming in on Facebook (which I’m not on, so this is all second hand) that Charles R. Saunders passed away in May. Saunders was born on July 12, 1946 in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. Saunders founded the sword and soul subgenre when he began writing a series of stories about a warrior named Imaro in 1970s. They were set in an alternate Africa called Nyumbani.
Saunders isn’t as widely known as he should be. Fortunately much of his work is available. Check it out.
Rest well, sir. You will be missed.
I always felt Saunders was one of the few writers (at least at the time, the 70s-early80s heyday) who understood what Robert E. Howard had done. He broke it down, found the template, and built out his own proper unique take on world building and sword-&-sorcery storytelling. In a way, he was more “Howardian” than many of the Conan pastiche writers.
I think his female warrior, Dossouye, is perhaps as good as his Imaro tales and well worth seeking. (Both of her volumes are still available on Lulu dot com)
And, I enjoyed many of his essays.
RIP.
As I said on Twitter, I discovered him thru the old Heroes of Dark Fantasy some twenty years ago. If anyone reading this site hasn’t read him yet, you need to rectify that ASAP.