It is with great sadness that we must report that legendary science fiction writer and Castalia House author Jerry Pournelle has passed away. All of us at Castalia House and the blog extend our condolences to the Pournelle family. Upon hearing the news, Chief Editor Vox Day shared the following in memory of Jerry Pournelle:
I received this email a few moments ago from one of Jerry Pournelle’s associates:
Jerry Pournelle passed away this morning in his sleep.
Working with Jerry was one of the great honors, and great privileges, of my life. He was a brilliant man, a generous man, and an extraordinarily thoughtful man too. His THERE WILL BE WAR series was a major influence on my intellectual development, and I will always be grateful that I had the opportunity to work with one of my earliest writing heroes.
Just two days ago, he sent me his summary of Dragoncon, his final SF convention.
I was asked to give the Best Novel award, which I did and all went well. A few fans warned me there might be trouble, but not a thing, although not a very big crowd; I probably had more attending when Larry and I spoke alone in a big Q&A. Wasn’t there some kind of campaign going on, or was I misinformed? All was peaceful; not to say dull.
Jerry Pournelle
Chaos Manor
South Room
Although I never met him in the flesh, I will miss him. Castalia House, science fiction, and the world are all lessened by his passing.
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Readers and fans of Mr. Pournelle may use the Well-Wishing page of Chaos Manor to share their remembrances.
I read “A Spaceship For The King” about a decade ago. When DAW Books was at its best, this is the sort of novel they published. Very entertaining and thoughtful, with a nifty Freas cover.
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The later version, KING DAVID’S SPACESHIP, was the first Pournelle I read. For me, Pournelle’s Co-Dominium and Janissaries books are my favorites. I’m not a Niven fan and prefer straight Jerry or him working with other authors, like Stirling.
We’ve lost a titan. A man who stood strong against the PC onslaught and wrote great, masculine SF.
I only met Jerry Pournelle twice, and I doubt if he would remember me; “I enjoy your work” is not the kind of thing that sticks in the memory. But his writing and that of his friend H. Beam Piper had a profound impact on my interest in military history, not to mention being immensely entertaining.
Thank you, Dr. Pournelle. The pleasure was mine.
I met Jerry Pournelle once in LA at a Writer’s of the Future event. I loved reading his editorials in THERE WILL BE WAR. He definitely influenced me with them. I especially liked his John Christian Falkenberg stories.
RIP Dr. Pournelle
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His JCF books are great. I recommend them to all my friends. Exciting and visionary.
Another giant gone, and loss is all the greater as men like him are needed now more than ever.
RIP
A true icon of science Fiction. He and Larry Niven are two of my most favorite authors. I discovered him in my teens and I have read everything he and Larry put out, in some cases multiple times.
He and Larry had a significant impact on me personally and I will always be grateful.
Rest in Peace Mr. Pournelle
Let’s not forget that Mr. Pournelle’s first novel was published by that arch-operative of the KGB, Donald A. Wollheim.