Thursday, June 04, 2009

David Eddings 1931-2009

Best-selling fantasy author David Eddings has died at the age of 77.

As Mark Wilson writes on his About.com blog, Eddings was hugely influential in his field.
Eddings is best known for The Belgariad series, the first installment of which, The Pawn of Prophecy (1982), prompted Lester del Rey to tell him, "You've written a classic." The series introduced many to fantasy, and inspired some to write themselves (including Stephen Hunt, whose tribute to Eddings is here). Eddings was himself inspired by the success of The Lord of the Rings, which he was startled to discover was in its 78th printing when he encountered a display copy in a bookstore.
There's also a report about Eddings' death by Alison Flood in The Guardian.
[His publisher, Jane] Johnson said he would be missed "tremendously" at HarperCollins, which published his last title, The Elder Gods, in 2006. "He was a towering force of modern commercial fiction, a master of the epic, and a delight to work with," she said.

2 comments:

  1. Hat tipped and glass raised, Mr. Eddings. You inspired this little boy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anchor Auctions in Reno NV is auctioning David's memorabilia including cover art and special edition books on June 27th.
    http://www.anchorauctions.com
    775-827-1801

    ReplyDelete

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