We are sad to report that Patricia A. McKillip, beloved author of fantasy and science fiction, passed away on May 6 at the age of seventy-four.
McKillip’s first published works were the children’s books The Throme of the Erril of Sherill and The House on Parchment Street, both published in 1973. Since then, she published thirty-eight works including the Riddlemaster trilogy, and received the 1975 World Fantasy Award for her 1974 YA novel, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. In 2008, she also received the World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement. She still holds the record for most Mythopoeic Fantasy awards and nominations (at four and fifteen, respectively).
“I think readers like faerieland because it is a source of power, a source of imagination which becomes a very powerful tool. Maybe that’s why I keep digging into it, because it is something that’s totally imaginative, and yet it’s also a very ancient way of looking at the world,” she said in a 1996 interview with Locus Magazine about her craft. “Maybe people look at these characters as symbols of something they want to be or to have. It’s also a way of looking at real people. If you look at a person that way, they become more powerful because you don’t know them; all you can see of that person is something that you want to be or to possess. Maybe that’s partly where faerie comes from.”
McKillip was born on February 29, 1948, a leap-year baby, in Salem, Oregon. She earned her B.A. and M.A. in 1971 and 1973 respectively at San Jose State, and is survived by her husband, David Lunde.
The Riddle-Master of Hed was one of my first ventures into fantasy, and I still remember the story. I would go on to read many of P.A.M.’s books, and I loved every one of them.
I have and love all of her books. I was hoping for many more. We will all miss her. She was a great writer.
Oh wow!
I literally just downloaded one of her books a little while ago.
The Riddle-Master Trilogy is one of my top 5 fantasy series.
I love her dreamy prose, and her unique and interesting worlds.
So many great moments wandering in her worlds. I will treasure them always.
May her name be as a blessing to all who knew her, and of her.
I’ve been remiss in never getting to her, though I know her reputation. I’ll have to fix that.
Such a loss when we each and every one NEED better worlds, better people. RIP.
The world is now a little bit darker. I’ve loved all her books.
I’m so sorry to hear that. I love her books!
Sad news, and at the same time a life and legacy to celebrate and honor. I particularly value the fact that she wrote so many books where violence was not the answer. Her book Od Magic is one of my top ten favorite SFF books, and it’s all about an alternative understanding of power–the power that really matters–as what I would term kind empathy. We need more books with such a worldview! I’m eagerly waiting for my youngest relatives to be old enough to read it.
I read the Riddle Master of Hed trilogy when I was, maybe 11 or 12
My Father was in the Navy and my Mother and I spent a lot of time with her best friend who owned a huge Fantasy and Sci-fi collection. He started me with 2001 a Space Odyssey and then the Hobbit and then the Riddlemaster trilogy. Her words, the setting, the magic, I don’t know why, have remained with me far more than just about anything else I’ve ever read. I had the original books for years (lost in a move a 20yrs ago) and spread them through many reading groups, through the years.
She will be missed, and always fondly remembered by me.
Just recently picked up a nice copy of Alphabet of Thorn thanks to this community.
Sorry to hear this; her books are so special! I just bought Alphabet of Thorn recently and have been saving it for my vacation.
I read first read Song for the Basilisk when I was 7? 8? It had a huge impact on me and I return to it regularly. Her writing is still some of the most melodious I have ever read.
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is a masterpiece and treasure. Rest well, Patricia. You were loved.
She had such a poetic way with words, such an economy of phrase. All that lived experience, gone. A great loss.
I’ve only just started reading the Riddlemaster trilogy… The images are so beautifully strange and dreamlike, they stick with you. A great loss in fantasy though hopefully will inspire some more young folk to look into her work.
Damn. Such a pity. She was so talented.
I’d been debating which audiobook to go for next. In light of this, it’ll be Od Magic.