Fantasy hero Gemmell remembered
Author David Gemmell, who has died aged 57, was recognised as the best – and bestselling – writer of heroic fantasy.
Neil Gaimain wrote of him:
“I just heard and was shocked stupid. “That can’t be right,” I thought, when I saw the headline at Locus Online. “He can’t be dead. I know him.”
My favourite David Gemmel conversation was about 16 years ago, in a bar in London. We were talking about writing and the freedoms of writing. And I’d just said that one of the things I liked best about writing was the freedom to write whenever I wanted. “Can you imagine,” I said, “there are writers out there who start at nine every morning, take a lunch hour and then type until five. And who won’t write on weekends. Why would anyone want to do that?”
And David, who was buying me a drink at the time, said, mildly, “That’s my working day, actually. But I start at eight thirty.”
Which taught me one of those lesson things, really. Nice man.”
One Response to “David Gemmell dead”
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A shame.
I haven’t read much of his more recent stuff, but “Legend” was an excellent book and holds it own even now (what 20 years later?).
He was an institution.