I received this email a few moments ago from one of Jerry Pournelle’s associates:
Jerry Pournelle passed away this morning in his sleep.
Working with Jerry was one of the great honors, and great privileges, of my life. He was a brilliant man, a generous man, and an extraordinarily thoughtful man too. His THERE WILL BE WAR series was a major influence on my intellectual development, and I will always be grateful that I had the opportunity to work with one of my earliest writing heroes.
Just two days ago, he sent me his summary of Dragoncon, his final SF convention.
I was asked to give the Best Novel award, which I did and all went well. A few fans warned me there might be trouble, but not a thing, although not a very big crowd; I probably had more attending when Larry and I spoke alone in a big Q&A. Wasn’t there some kind of campaign going on, or was I misinformed? All was peaceful; not to say dull.
Jerry Pournelle
Chaos Manor
South Room
Although I never met him in the flesh, I will miss him. Castalia House, science fiction, and the world are all lessened by his passing.