Best-selling US writer David Eddings, who wrote a number of heavyweight fantasy novels, has died aged 77.
Inspired by the success of the Lord of the Rings, Eddings penned The Elenium series, which follwed the adventures of crooked-nosed knight Sir Sparhawk.
His wife Leigh, who died two years ago, played a pivotal role in the creation of his work.
Publisher Jane Johnson said Eddings was "a towering force of modern commercial fiction, a master of the epic".
She added that the arrival of a new manuscript from the author at the offices of HarperCollins was "a grand event".
"In the 90s, each one was guaranteed a number one position on the Sunday Times hardback bestseller list," said Ms Johnson.
Eddings' other works included The Redemption of Althalus and The Dreamers series.
The author worked on secret US missile programmes until his first book, a contemporary adventure story, was published in 1973, after which he switched to fantasy literature.
He built his reputation on doorstep tomes, and once said: "I'm never going to be in danger of getting the Nobel Prize for literature."
"I'm a storyteller, not a prophet. I'm just interested in a good story," he added.
Ove godine otegnu papke sumanuto veliki broj poznatih sf i f pisaca. Valjda zbog krize.
Šteta. Dela su mu bila dosta zabavna, iako nisu imala književnog kvaliteta. Stvarno mi je žao što je umro. Nek počiva u miru. R.I.P.
RIP. Ne sećam se šta sam čitao od Edingsa što valjda znači da mi nije ostavio neki preveliki utisak ali opet, pamtim ime, i to je nešto.
Ja se sećam šta sam čitao, i može se reći da nije bio među boljim piscima fantastike, ali umeo je da bude zabavan (pogotovo Belgariad, sa dosta humora u sebi).
R.I.P.
Edings je pisac iz osamdesetih, koji je nekim čudom devedesetih bio jako popularan i među tada vodećim komercijalnim autorima. Glavna muka sa njim je što mu je svaka knjiga na isti kalup, ali on to ne krije - već insistira na tome. U suštini, čovek je neskriveno pisao bajke. Sticajem okolnosti, njegov roman o Sparhoku je bio prvi koji sam pročitao na engleskom, neke devedeset sedme, valjda. Edings za žanr nije bio ni po čemu značajan, ali su mu romani bili jako prijatni i zabavni. Zanimljivo je da ih je osamdesetih pisao za studente, a sada ih - bar kod nas - najviše čitaju osnovci.