Howard Andrew Jones died on January 16, 2025, at age 56. He was diagnosed with brain cancer, a multifocal glioblastoma, in September 2024.
Jones was born on July 19, 1968, in Terre Haute, Indiana. His love of storytelling started at a young age. “Before I knew how to write, when I was a very small boy, I used to draw pictures and arrange them in order, and then ask my mom to write what was going on in each picture. Then I’d staple them together and I’d have a book. She said because of that she knew early on that I’d be a writer,” he said in a 2019 interview with Civilian Reader.
Jones’ writing career didn’t take off, however, until his forties. His debut fantasy novel, The Desert of Souls, came out in 2011 and was followed by the sequel, The Bones of the Old Ones, in 2013. His other works include the Ring-Sworn trilogy, 2018’s For the Killing of Kings, 2019’s Upon the Flight of the Queen and 2021’s When the Goddess Wakes, and the Chronicles of Hanuvar series, starting with 2023’s Lord of a Shattered Land. He also wrote several novels set in the universe of the Pathfinder roleplaying game, and was an expert on Harold Lamb and edited several compilations of the author’s works.
In addition to his writing career, Jones had also been a TV cameraman, a recycling consultant, and an adjunct professor of English. He held at least a second degree black belt in Shotokan karate, was a big fan of Star Trek, and wrote the occasional piece here on Reactor—his last one being a 2023 essay exploring the fine art of short epic fantasy.
In his 2019 interview with Civilian Reader, he also shared that it was “immensely gratifying knowing that I’m making up stories that are inspiring some readers out there, hopefully in the same way that my favorite books once inspired me.”
Jones is survived by his wife, Shannon, and his two adult children.
Quite possibly one of the kindest human beings I’ve ever had the opportunity to meet. May his memory, and his stories, live forever.
He was a great writer. I loved the Desert of Souls and its sequels.
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear this. He was such a nice man. My heart goes out to his family and friends.
I loved his books and bought every single one. I even bought the ones in franchises I knew nothing about, because I knew the story would transcend any franchise difficulties. Please do look into buying his books, especially the Desert of Souls books because they’re just wonderful throwbacks to the great adventures of yesterday but with very updated sensibilities.
Bless the subject matter experts, the old souls who absorb the folklore and history. Thank you Howard Andrew Jones.