Amongst the Best
by Stewart Savard
Libraries celebrate successful authors every day. How do libraries celebrate their success? Libraries celebrate the success of an author when they purchase additional copies of a work or new works by an author. New publications from these writers are eagerly awaited and promoted. Year-by-year, and novel-by-novel, the parts of a collection, based on their works, grow. A shelf full of books by the same author is a form of a library’s celebration of their success and influence.
Sadly, over the last four years the voices of some of the most successful and influential authors, within the Fantasy and Science Fiction genres, have been stilled. This leaves us with gaps to fill. Before this happens, it might be appropriate to find the time this fall to celebrate the contributions of these authors and broaden the audience who have read their works.
Writing largely within the Fantasy and Science Fiction genres, the 18 authors identified below published hundreds of works that form core elements of many collections.[1] Collectively, these authors sold more than 100 million copies of their works. Building on the shoulders of the authors who preceded them, these individuals set many of the stylistic standards for the current generation of writers in these and other genre. They became the authors that others aspired to emulate. By any measure they achieved success.
Lloyd Alexander (2007) David Arneson (2009) Robert Lynn Asprin (2008)
Octavia E. Butler (2006) Arthur C. Clarke (2008) Michael Crichton (2008)
Thomas Disch (2008) David Eddings (2009) Philip José Farmer (2009)
David Gemmell (2006) Gary Ernest Gygax (2008) David Feintuch (2006)
Robert Jordan - pen name for James Rigney Jr. (2007) Stanislaw Lem (2006)
Madeleine L’Engle (2007) Andre Norton (2005) Fred Saberhagen (2007)
Kurt Vonnegut (2007)
In early June of 2009 David Eddings passed away. Memorable, amongst his more than two dozen novels, were the stories of the youthful Garion who would grow to rule an empire and Sparhawk who would rescue a princess and save a kingdom. Building on the themes found in many historical fiction Eddings’ works provided a vehicle for many youthful readers to model themselves upon. Arthur C. Clarke passed away in 2008. One of the ‘deans’ of Science Fiction (along with Asimov and Heinlein), he was perhaps best known for his Space Odyssey series, Clarke’s writings also detailed the invention of geostationary communications satellites that allow us the use of cable, cell phones and some parts of GPS systems. Michael Crichton also died in 2008 his works, including Jurassic Park, were often turned into popular movies.
James Rigney Jr., writing as Robert Jordan, passed away in 2007. Many secondary libraries have whole shelves of his Fantasy novels. Readers returned over and over to the tales of Rand, and his companions, as they attempted to complete their complex quest. Madeleine L’Engle, the well-loved writer of young adult fiction, died in 2007. Meg Murry, her youthful protagonist in a Wrinkle in Time, became a model for the smart, but sometime awkward, female characters that now routinely appear across many genre. Lloyd Alexander also passed away in 2007. Taran, one of his best-known characters, wishes to be a great hero. While promoted and given the title Assistant Pig-Keeper, Taran longs for more. His adventures, written for younger audiences, often provided a springboard to other works of fantasy and historical fiction.
British writer David Gemmell died in 2006. His fantasy novels, often involving quests which challenged the honour of his characters, routinely featured Druss the Legend. His work shaped the characters and conflicts that can be seen in the works of many younger writers. Andre Norton, who passed away in 2005, started her career writing historical fiction before moving on to fantasy and science fiction. Many of her works dealt with protagonists who must face coming-of-age challenges. Probably her best-known works were the Witch World series. Norton was so well regarded by her peers, for her promotion of strong, well-written novels for young adults and her support of young writers, that they created the Andre Norton prize (which is presented yearly in conjunction with the Nebula Awards).
Several of these authors identified above may not be well known to all readers. Stanislaw Lem with some 30 million copies in 40 languages was an influential author across much of Europe with works set outside of the United States and the United Kingdom. David Arneson and Gary Gygax created the role playing Dungeons and Dragons game, which has morphed into dozens of books in the Dragonlance and other series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and into a slew of fantasy computer games such as World of Warcraft. Their passing, about a year apart, has been much commented on in gaming and writing circles as a profound loss.
These Fantasy and Science Fiction authors set the tone for much that has followed by newer authors. They were amongst the best writers of our time. We will and should miss them and should find ways to celebrate their successes and the success of the writers they have inspired.
Stewart Savard
eLibrarian/eResource Teacher
