The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

(Rob with his other half Sarah, image borrowed from the Holdstock site)

I’ve just heard the sad and shocking news that the multiple award-winning author Robert Holdstock has passed away at the age of only 61 following a spell in intensive care after collapsing earlier this month due to an E. Coli infection. Robert is, without a doubt, one of the finest fantasy writers these islands have produced in recent decades, starting with early work appearing in the fabled New Worlds in the late 1960s. His Mythago Wood novels are ranked by many who love the genre (including myself) as exceptional works; his stories interwoven with layers of deep mythology, folklore, philosophy, responsible for elevating the literary qualities of the genre (its no surprise that they have often been the subject of academic literary study), a writer on par with (and praised by) greats like Ursula Le Guin; famed illustrator John Howe once remarked he’d pay his editor to illustrate Mythago Wood. I’m deeply saddened to hear that such an astonishing writer has been taken from us so unexpectedly; a huge loss to the literary world, the SF&F community and even more so to his loved ones, I’m sure. (via SF Signal)