Robert Aspirin passed away yesterday. I knew he had had some troubles and stopped writing for a while but it seems like things were getting a little better for him. No news on the cause but he had been scheduled to appear at a sci fi con this weekend. I enjoyed his books, classic literature they were not, but there were fun stories. Rest in peace, Robert.
Oh, noooo! The Myth Adventures have a special place in my heart. I’ve been really, really wishing he’d write more and now…
Godspeed, Mr. Asprin. May your afterlife be full of willing Trollops without overprotective brothers.
You are correct serious lit they weren’t but if you wanted some light reading, his books were the ticket.
Thanks for the books.
I was a big fan of the Myth and Thieves’ World books back in day. Very sad. Word is that this was unexpected. He was in good health and writing. Someone was coming by to drive him to a convention where he had a scheduled appearance and found him dead with a book in his hand.
That’s a shame. The Myth books (and, even moreso, the comics) were a huge part of my childhood. I’ve been thinking about revisting them, see how they hold up twenty years later. Guess now’s the time to do it.
Actually, I regret my comment about not classic literature. I found myself wanting to throw off any detractors who might be inclined to say that he really wasn’t that great of a writer because of the type of books he wrote. But I enjoyed his books and so did many other people and there’s nothing wrong with writing enjoyable stories, no disclaimers necessary.
Bummer. 
I was late getting into the Myth books, but I loved them (even the much maligned recent ones)…sad to think there’ll be no more.
He’ll be…well, he’ll be Myth’d.
Dammit…why didn’t I think of that?!
I got the news from an SCA mailing list; Asprin was part of the Society for Creative Anachronism from its early days, under the name Yang the Nauseating, and founded the Great Dark Horde (Mongol-based household).
Never read the MythAdventure books. If they’re full of puns then it’s not my cup of tea, but my hats off to anybody who gives enjoyment to so many people.
Any one know about his hinted about problems? I know there was problems with the IRS and I believe I read something from him that mentioned a period of writer’s block.
That’s too bad. I was never a huge fan, but I worked with, and consider myself a friend of, Eric Del Carlo, who wrote with him recently. A decent first two books in that particular series.
Joe
Man, these were some of my favorite books as a child. I stopped reading them around 95, and didn’t know there were more since then.
Well he stopped writing for a while (which is why I asked my previous question). His wiki page states that an agreement with the IRS was that the profits of all the books he would write solo were to go to them. Which is why he only wrote collaborations in recent years. I don’t know if that is true.
Hmm interesting. I don’t understand how that works though. Couldn’t they just garnish his wages in general?
Well F*@$ me running. (excuse my french) sigh Really gonna myth you Bob ol’ boy. Thanks for all the good books.
That’s too bad. I was a fan of the Myth books back when and liked the first couple of Phule’s company books too. I saw some repetition and formula in some of the books but nothing like P. Anthony, and they were entertaining. Hopefully he went peacefully.
Hell, I don’t know. I don’t even know if it is true, just read it on wiki.
It is, regrettably true.
From a reliable source (his ride to the airport yesterday - he was heading out to be Guest of Honor at Marcon in Columbus, OH), I have the following details:
When she spoke to Robert at 2pm to arrange to pick him up at 5pm, he was fine. When she arrived at a little before 5pm, he was not waiting for her so she called him with no answer. She went inside to check on him, and found him on his bed. He had been reading (maybe getting ready for a nap) and had passed away.
EMS were called, with no positive response.
So, yes, he went peacefully…but much, much, much too soon.
What is remembered, lives.
Aw, man… I too have fond memories of his work, especially before the long hiatus. Man, that was years ago!
I wonder what the publishers will do with the Myth series - let it hang, or allow the collaborator to write a wrap-up book.
The Bug Wars and Cold Cash War are actually pretty thought-provoking. But they were overshadowed by his more popular works.