Author Eric Flint has passed

Baen Publishing ^ | Self

[zeugma]

I believe this was actually announced a while back, but I really don't keep up on some things very well.I thought I'd share.

From the Baen website:

It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Eric Flint has passed away. We were proud to publish Eric’s first novel, Mother of Demons, in 1997, and to continue publishing his many worlds, including the best-selling Ring of Fire series that started with 1632.

There are several of Eric’s works already delivered and on the schedule. Eric was a tireless collaborator, and readers can also expect more of his works to be released with Eric’s designated collaborators in the future.

We will be celebrating Eric and his works on the Baen Free Radio Hour this week and the following week and encourage all to tune in.

—Toni Weisskopf
Publisher, Baen Books

[zeugma]

This is something that saddened me quite a bit. I'm a huge fan of the 1632 series by Mr. Flint. This series contains over 3 million words in print if you count the novels, shorts and various stories published in the Grantville Gazette.

From what I understand, he was instrumental in getting Jim Baen to start a "Free Library" section on their website, where Baen would publish the initial novels of various series' by many authors. I believe the idea behind it was at least partially like any good drug dealer, "The First One Is Free". Yeah, worked for me.

His Wikipedia entry has some good information about him and some of what he's been involved with.

I figure it is appropriate to share with others a link to the free download of 1632, so others might enjoy it as well. Beware: if you get hooked, there is a massive number of novels in the series, not to mention the Grantville Gazette. That free book might end up costing some serious $$$. (Evil grin).

[StolarStorm]

Loved his books. Rest in peace

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

One of the last of the honest socialists.

Of course he was a flaming hypocrite because he did not give away his books for free and I needed more stories.

I told him that as he was signing my book.

He laughed and signed it "To HTB, according to her need."

[Robert DeLong]

Just for the record, he died on July 17th, 2022, in East Chicago, Indiana, U.S.A.

[zeugma]

He laughed and signed it "To HTB, according to her need."

LOL. Great!

I got the distinct impression over the years that his socialist tendencies decreased a bit. I recall him when he mentioned right in one of the forwards or afterwards about the fact that he was an actual socialist. I never let it bother me becauseI really liked his stories, and characters. And he did, make 1632 available for free, so that was something. What I think is incredible about that that he went over some of the figures about it for the 20th anniversary in the Grantiville Gazette. Physical copies of the book have continued to sell even while the book was freely available to anyone with a couple of clicks.

[nickcarraway]

Lol

[FreedomPoster]

I’m in. I loved Pournelle’s Jannissaries.

[zeugma]

I’m in. I loved Pournelle’s Jannissaries.

Almost anything Pournelle did was excellent. He was freaking brilliant. For Real.

[alexander_busek]

Flint could certainly spin a good yarn!

Regards,

[FreedomPoster]

Oh yeah, I was a serious Pournelle fan for decades, read pretty much everything he wrote. The novels, the Byte articles, his blog (he hated the word), which last is still online. I called him a true modern Renaissance man, he knew a lot about a lot of things. I wish he had been on the NSC post 9/11 and we’d gone down the path to energy independence from the Middle East he favored, vs. going to war.

And I’m about 225 pages into 1632. I suspect before it’s over I’ll be $100 or more into this, lol.

[gop4lyf]

Love that book. I’ve read it several times. RIP

[zeugma]

Pourmelle’s nonfiction work was excellent as well. I was reading about him a few years ago and came away with the impression that he was one freaking smart dude. Almost every single person that knew him made the comment that he was the smartest person they had ever met. I’m talking actual rocket scientists who were impressed with his obvious intelligence. Baen has a few books of his commentaries.I wish TPTN had listened to him in the ‘70s and ‘80s. This would be a different world.