Charles N. Brown

Stunned to hear this morning that Locus publisher, Charles N. Brown, passed away on the way home from Readercon.  The last few times I’d seen Charlie, he hadn’t looked all that healthy.  He’d been struggling with his health for years, so in some ways this wasn’t a surprise.

But his Locus essays had become very interesting, as he got back to reading the books he loved, and he was reminiscing about the field in fascinating ways.  

Charlie is a major part of the sf field.  With his passing, the sf field will change.  It was already changing, and he held out against that change for a long time, although he gradually came to understand it–and maybe even accept it. But Locus had been the center of the old-fashioned sf field for decades.  Locus change hands and focus and will become something else.  Seems odd to me.

We spent a lot of time with Charlie especially in the early 1990s.  He was always opinionated and always fascinating.  We saw less of him as our interests diverged, but we could still have great conversations.  He introduced me to Korean food and some spectacular restaurants, as well as some marvelous people.

It seems odd to think of sf without Charles.  But that’s what we face now.  We will miss him.