I just found out that one of science-fiction’s greatest authors, Dr Jerry Pournelle passed away today at the age of 84. He was without a doubt a giant in his field, an intellect that outstripped almost every other writer of his time, and a storyteller without peer. Dr Pournelle was also the one who introduced me (and no doubt every other mil scifi author writing today) to the military science fiction genre with his John Christian Falkenberg stories. The very first mil scifi story I read as a teen was his novel West of Honor. From that day on, I was hooked. Pournelle’s CoDominium universe became a major influence on my scifi reading tastes, and decades later, on my own writing. Without Dr Pournelle’s influence, Zack Decker and Siobhan Dunmoore wouldn’t exist, and neither would Eric Thomson.
Rest in peace, sir.
