InsaneJournal

Current mood:

sad

Robert Lynn Asprin, 1946-2008
Robert Lynn Asprin, author of the MythAdventures SF and fantasy series and a lot more, passed away yesterday.

For years I've wondered if the author was the same Bob Asprin I knew from Michigan back in 1970-71 as "Yang the Nauseating" in the Society for Creative Anachronism. I always meant to check but never got around to it. When I saw his photo in the obit on the web, I knew. It was he.

A remarkably smart and witty person, he was nearly ostracized by some SCA members for his choice to portray a Mongolian barbarian. Those folks criticized everything he did, to his face and behind his back, for "not being authentic" and being "well, nauseating." I offered practical advice on historic costuming for a Mongol, and received many thanks. In fact, I still have somewhere an embroidered ribbon given to me by his lady in thanks for my assistance.

He was only 61, and though he achieved a great deal in his life, I'm sure he wanted to do more.