RIP David Eddings

[puppetmaker]

I remember precisely where I was when I bought my first David Eddings book. I was in Florida with my family on vacation. We had gone to the local mall and the bookstore (Walden Books) and I saw this cover that interested me. It was "The Pawn of Prophecy" by David Eddings. I devoured it and as many other books as had been published by that point. I really liked them. He was one of a few authors that I bought in hardcover because I wanted to own that book the minute it came out.

Years later I was working with Del Rey and ended up working on a repackaging of the Belgariad. I ended up have a number of conversations with both David and Leigh about it over the phone and a little bit of e-mail. I never told him how much I had enjoyed his books in my teen years. It just didn't seem professional.

Leigh passed away in 2007 and I sent a sympathy card to David. This morning I learned that David passed away. And another of the fantasy modern greats passes on.

I do regret that I never told David and Leigh how much that series had meant to me.

I am grateful that I got to work with them.

Comments

[jcaliff.livejournal.com]

Oh no. That's terrible. :( I was a huge fan when I was younger, and the Belgariad is still one of my favorite fantasy series ever. I used to practically live in the library and bookstores and read so much fantasy, but the combination of humor with adventure, drama, and strong characters made his work really stand out. Polgara was one of the first really strong, independent female characters that I identified with. I'll have to go pull the books off the shelf and reread this month.

[gryphonrose.livejournal.com]

Damn, thanks for telling me. Another of my favorite authors gone (Roger Zelazny passed away literally months before he was going to be a guest of honor at GenCon, which would have been my chance to meet him). I'm a huge fan of the Belgariad--it's where we got our daughter's name, in fact. I'm sorry to hear he's gone, and that I'll never hacve a chance to tell him how much I enjoyed his and his wife's work.

[readinggeek451]

I'm sorry to hear about Eddings.

I first saw the Belgariad in my college bookstore. Only the first four books were out at that point, so I waited until the fifth was published before I started. Good thing, too, because then I tore through the entire series in about a week.

[fisme-nasu.livejournal.com]

How awful. :( I have most of his books and I really love them. I'm so sad. :(

[blueashke.livejournal.com]

When I was 15, I spent time in a juvenile psych ward, and a fellow patient gave me a book her mother had brought her - Belgarath the Sorceror. Somehow I missed that it was the end of a series, and so I read the whole history of the world before I ever read the Belgariad or the Mallorean. I read all 13 books aloud to my best friend over the last few years. He was the beginning for my love of fantasy, and from everything I've read about him and Leigh, a truly awesome person as well.

RIP Mr. Eddings. You will be missed.

[queenanthai.livejournal.com]

WHAT


WHAT

Oh my God.


O___O

David Eddings is, after Terry Brooks, my all-time favorite fantasy author. I hold his and Leigh's novels very, very close to my heart. He humanized the fantasy genre and gave it a richness and detail that had been sorely lacking, as well as a subtle sense of humor.

I remember in 1998, my boyfriend at the time loaned me the Belgariad, and I was sucked in from Chapter One. I loved every character, even the minor ones, so much so that the story was almost incidental. I branched out from there to the Malloreon and then to the Elenium/Tamuli. The latter books took me a while to grow into, but now I consider them the Eddings' finest novels.

I wish I had been able to meet David and Leigh and let them know they enriched my reading and writing of fantasy in ways that I'll always be grateful for.

[geekgrl64.livejournal.com]

Wow, what a shock and great loss. RIP Mr. Eddings

[celticboy.livejournal.com]

I'm gutted about this.

Will you please do me the biggest favour?

Tell Peter that I'm very, very grateful and appreciative of his work. He's been one of my favourite writers for a long time now, and I don't want to miss out on the chance I have to tell him this.

I also appreciate the friendship you've shown me. :) Thank you!

[queenanthai.livejournal.com]

Seconded. I adore the Apropos and Knight Life books, and Liandra is my favorite character Peter's ever come up with. I've said it before, but I feel like saying it again that they all mean a lot to me and my reading experiences have been richer for having those characters exist.

And, of course, I am very grateful that I can count both you and Peter as friends. You're good people. :) Hopefully if I'm ever at another con again I'll be able to thank you both in person.

[wonderbink.livejournal.com]

I remember being grateful that all the books in the Belgariad had safely come out by the time I started reading them, particularly with the cliffhanger that one particular volume ended on.

RIP Mr. Eddings. Thanks for the fun reads.

[imafarmgirl.livejournal.com]

How sad. I hadn't heard that. I have not read his stuff but have been meaning to. I will have to read it now.