I’ve just found out (through twitter of all places – I suppose it does have it’s uses) that David Eddings died last night. I read Pawn of Prophesy on the way back from a school camp when I was about 12 and spent all weekend going crazy because I couldn’t get the second book of the Balgariad out of the library until the following week. I proceeded to munch through most of the rest of his work in the next few months (some 18 books or so at the time).
So, with both Robert Jordan and David Eddings, along with Douglas Adams and Tolkein (although the last well before my time) gone, many of my favourite books from childhood won’t be getting any more sequels, it’s a real loss that.
As a final bit of trivia, it was also from a David Eddings book that I read one of my favourite phrases, “You don’t really hate me, you’re just saying that to make me feel better.”