Robert Asprin, dead at 62

Fantasy and science fiction author Robert Asprin (known as "Yang the Nauseating" in the SCA) died yesterday. My friend Diane sent me this message which had been forwarded to many SCA mailing lists:

Forwarded from the Glenn Abhinn list:
From: "Alsinda de Rochabaron"

I write this with a heavy heart. Today, sometime between 2 pm and 5 pm, Yang the Nauseating passed away.

I spoke to him around 2 pm - to confirm that I was to pick him up at 5 pm and take him to the airport. He was to go to a convention in Ohio this weekend - MarCon. At 2 pm, everything was fine. When I arrived at his house, he wasn't outside, didn't answer his cellphone, didn't answer his landline. Of course, as I was trying to figure out what to do, someone came up behind me and I had to drive around the block. (The French Quarter.) I called him again as I made the block, but still no answer.

I *thought* I had a key to his house, but I wasn't certain I had it with me. I tried to call another one of his close friends (who works in the Quarter), because I knew that he would have a key, but I couldn't get him. So I parked the car and dug through my briefcase and found the key that I thought was for his house. I did get in with the key, but it took some tugging and pushing.

I found Yang lying on his bed, with a book in one hand (a Terry Pratchett book, no less) and his other hand by his side, his glasses just beyond. To all extents and purposes, it looks as though he had decided to take a nap. But I could tell he wasn't breathing and he had no pulse. I called 911.

The paramedics and firemen arrived quickly and were quite nice and very good. They actually worked on him for 30 minutes, which sort of surprised me, because there was no activity on the heart monitor when they hooked him up. It might have been standard protocol. Whatever the case, they tried very hard, but couldn't bring him back.

I have been in touch with his literary agent, who in turn notified his family. Because Yang was also an author, the news is already spreading very quickly. I am very sorry to have to share this news with my SCA family, but I wanted everyone here to hear it from me before you read it on some sfnet board.

Yang was 62 years old, born June 28, 1946. He had no obvious health problems, but he was also notorious for avoiding doctors. To those who knew him "way back when" - Isolda, John the Bearkiller, and many others - he was very pleased with how the SCA has developed since the "bad old days" of freon can helms with women not allowed to fight in the lists. He would have come and played with us more if he could have.

Lady Alsinda de Rochabaron

I met Bob in the late 1970s at a convention in Michigan . . . he was, at that time, demonstrating that he didn't suffer fools gladly. I asked what in retrospect was a stupid question and got a snappy answer that let me know just how stupid my question had been. You'd hardly say I was a close acquaintance.