Category Archives: obituary

RIP, Howard Andrew Jones

Sean CW Korsgaard is reporting that Howard Andrew Jones has passed away. Howard announced he had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer late last summer. Sean also posted the image below which I am shamelessly stealing because it captiures perfectly how I feel.

I met Howard a couple of times over the years. The first time was at the World Fantasy Convention in 2006 in Austin. This was jsut before the first of the Harold Lamb anthologies he edited for Bison Books was published. He had an advanced copy that he held onto. He didn’t let it get away from. I know bacuase I tried to talk him out of it.

It was because of this meeting that I got interested in Harold Lamb and eventually collected the entire set Howard edited.

So, thank you, Howard, for that.

More recently, we met again at Robert E. Howard Days last year. He told me life was great. He was writing and living on his farm and things couldn’t be better. I was really happy for him and told him so.

How quickly things can change.

Howard cared deeply about sword and sorcery and was a constant promoter of it. He was the inaugural editor for Tales of the Magician’s Skull. When I asked him how I could get on his list of contributors (the magazine didn’t take open submissions), he told me ownership had changed, and he was no longer the editor. I told him that sucked.

Howard was very outgoing, friendly, easy to talk to, genuinely interested in the people he spoke with.

His most recent fantasy series is the Nanuvar series. The third book came out last fall from Baen. I’ve not had a chance to read more than one or two of the Hanuvar short stories. They were great.

Howard was a talented writer who was just hitting his stride. The Hanuvar series was projected to be five books. I don’t know if Howard completed the fourth or had even started it.

The world lost a fantastic writer.

But more than that, we’ve lost an excellent human being.

My thoughts and prayers are with Howard’s famiily and friends tonight, and I’ll raise a glass shortly to his memory. I especially want to extend my condolences to John C. Hocking, who attended Robert E. Howard Days with Howard Andrew Jones this past year. Their friendship goes back years. John, I’m extremely sorry for your loss.

Obituaries: Barry N. Malzberg and George Zebrowski

RIP, John Maddox Roberts

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Fantasy and science fiction author John Maddos Roberts passed away on May 23.

I’ve not read any of his work, although I’ve seen his name on a number of spines as I’ve perused used bookstsores. I think I picked up some of his Stormlands series at the Freinds of the Library sale, but I’m not sure which ones. Most of the FoL books are still in boxes. He’s been one of those writers I’ve always intended to get to.

He wrote some Conan pastiches as well as at least one Dragonlance novel. He wrote the SPQR series of historical mysteries, which ran to thirteen volumes.

He collaborated with Eric Kotani on four sicence fiction novels.

My condolences to Mr. Roberts’s wife Beth and his family and friends.

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