Robert Asprin (1946-2008)

[Matt-M-McElroy]

http://www.mythadventures.net

On May 22, 2008, Bob passed away quietly in his home in New Orleans, LA. He had been in good spirits and working on several new projects, and was set to be the Guest of Honor at a major science fiction convention that very weekend. He is survived by his mother, his sister, his daughter and his son, and his cat, Princess, not to mention countless friends and fans and numerous legendary fictional characters.

He will be greatly missed.

[ShannonA]

Sigh. He still had a decade or two of writing to do.

I guess we'll pick an Asprin book for June, the first book in one of his series.

[ShannonA]

Here's a nice tribute from his ex-wife, Lynn Abbey:
http://lynnabbey.com/blog/?p=45

This touched and hurt me the most:


Bill, who successfully defied conventional wisdom and remained a close friend to both of us, told me that Bob had cleaned up his act, cut way down on his alchohol intake, and started writing again. He had a new book on the shelves and others in the pipeline, there was talk of a movie deal, and–from the “there’s no end to life’s ironies” department–he was once again out from under the IRS cloud having made his final penalty payment about twenty-four hours before his death, five weeks shy of his sixty-second birthday.

It’s tempting to imagine that he woke up yesterday morning, looked in the mirror and saw a second act shining brightly before him. And I hope he did, but the Bob Asprin I knew was deeply ambivalent about good fortune. He tended to see it, along with all the other “good” things that came his way, as betrayals-in-waiting. His world-view meant that he had to be on guard at all times, ready to defend himself against attacks that were sure to come. It was an exhausting way to live…for him and for everyone close to him; and I can’t help but wonder if the sight of new horizons wasn’t more intimidating than inviting.


I've been slowly making my way through the MythAdventures books since his death; though he apparently had some troubles with life, he also created some enduring things.