RIP, Steven Utley

Lawrence Person is reporting that science fiction author Steven Utley has died.  Utley announced on December 27, 2012 that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.  On January 12, he slipped into a coma and died that night.

Along with George W. Proctor, Utley was coeditor of Lone Star Universe, an anthology consisting of Texas writers, many of whom went on to become major figures in the field.  Utley wrote mainly at short lengths.  For the past decade much of his output centered on his Silurian Tales, regarding time travel to, what else, the Silurian Era.  I met Utlely only once, at an Armadillcon a few years ago.  I found him to be a soft-spoken, quiet man.  We only spoke for a few minutes, and I wish I had visited with him more. 

The only current US edition of his work is The Beasts of Love, and I’m not even sure that is in print anymore.  That none of his other work is in print in this country is a disgrace.  If you can find any of his work in anthologies, or if you are fortunate to get your hands on a copy of one of his collections, I encourage you to read it.  I especially recommend “The Country Doctor”, most recently reprinted in Where or When from PS Publishing.  Unfortunately, that volume is out of print. 

4 thoughts on “RIP, Steven Utley

  1. Russell B Farr

    Thanks for sharing this, Keith.

    While Steven may not have been published enough in the US, I can say that a couple of his collections, Ghost Seas and The 400-Million-Year Itch (Silurian Tales Vol 1) are readily available in the US through amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com, and are definitely in print. Volume 2 of Silurian Tales, Invisible Kingdoms, will be available in coming months. Steven was an incredible writer and I’m hoping to do my best to keep at least some of his work in print for as long as I can.

    Reply
    1. Keith

      Thanks for the information, Russell. I knew he’d been published recently in Australia. I didn’t realize Ticonderoga books were available in the US. I’ll definitely pick up those collections (along with some of the other Ticonderoga titles). I read many of the Silurian Tales in Asimov’s and loved them. Please accept my condolences for your loss.

      Reply
    2. Russell B Farr

      Thanks Keith, I’m sorry for your loss, too. I’m slightly jealous of you as I never got to meet Steven face-to-face, something I one day hoped to do. He was a great writer, and will be missed by all who knew or met him.

      Reply

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