Yesterday, on his way to Vision Con, @Aaron Allston collapsed and was taken to the hospital. He later died.
Aaron was as much a character as the characters he created. I first met Aaron while he & I were hovering over a table at a convention. I didn 't know it was him at first. All I saw was the shirt he was wearing. It was made out of the Star Wars bed sheets I knew all too well from growing up. It was when I decided to comment on his awesome choice of apparel that I realized that I was talking to one of my favorite Star Wars authors. After a brief introduction he and I chatted for a few minutes. He was on his way to a panel or workshop.
I had the pleasure of eating dinner with him several times. Some friends and I drove to Chicago to attend one of his book signings which was followed by one of these dinners. I recall some of Aaron's witty banter. The line which I will remember always had nothing to do with Star Wars and totally brought the house to laughter was preceded by, "Why did you want to be a writer?" His answer was, "Obviously i did it for all the groupies."
A few days after that, Aaron had a heart attack. Upon hearing about it, I helped organize the Indy Knights Star Wars fundraiser at Gencon to help with his medical bills. He had brought so much joy to us, I just thought it appropriate that we proved how much we love our authors. I was awed by the response from not only the fans, but from other authors. We had seven Star wars authors come to join us for breakfast to honor the man and raise funds for him. This was a wonderful testament as any to his life.
What caused Aaron's death? I prefer to focus on what caused Aaron's life. He was gregarious and witty. He was was always good to me and to the fans. I will miss him!

Thanks for the memoir, Macabre.

Didn't know the guy, but when I told my husband he started crying and then sat on the couch with the Rules Cyclopedia in his hands.

Too many good folks gone, lately.

Keep on playin' his games and reading his books...

Macabre, that was a great write up. I can't bring myself to like it though, because it makes me extremely sad.

RIP to a man that was so instrumental in the lives if my wife and I that we named our son after him. (Colin Aaron.)

The humor that he grew up developing is evident in his books and the many memories that star wars fans everywhere have.

So when you play characters like wedge Antilles, Wes Janson, and hobbie klivian in this game, just remember the man who brought them to life in his books.

Yub yub, commander.

Truly this is a sad day. He will be missed by Star Wars fans everywhere. His contributions to our wonderful universe are as influential as Zahn's and Stackpole's. I think perhaps this quote by Allston's own Ton Phannon sums up my feelings about this:

"I was just imagining what a sad galaxy this would be without [his] superior intellect and general state of wonderfulness."

Yub Yub, and may your X wings always fly true.

Very sad indeed... he was a great story teller...

The same day Amazon delivered Wraith Squadron, prompted by my enjoyment of Mercy Kill. Sad news indeed

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( no sarcasm here. Just don't know what to say but also want to acknowledge how sad this news will be for those who have enjoyed his books and meeting the person. Please interpret the above blank as respect )

I remember being in High-School and reading his contribution to the Xwing series. I loved his writing style more than Stackpole's first 4 books. I was dealing with alot of depression during this time and as corny as it sounds his Xwing books were one glimmer of enjoyment during a really tough time. I was so excited when I saw he was writing more Xwing books again.

The world of Sci-fi literature has been made darker with his passing. My condolences to his family.

As they would say at my church "Eternal be his memory"


May the force be with him, always.

Very sad about this, although to be honest I had not kept up with his work. I know and respected his work on Champions in the early 90s while I was playing that game, and we had mutual friends here in Austin so I knew he was a great guy and brilliant individual.

I hadn't read any Star Wars books until this last year, so now I definitely intend to seek his out. RIP.

Yub, yub, Aaron. Yub, yub.

The Wraiths series and the characters in those X-Wing books were easily my favorite growing up. I still have them all, and almost brought them across the country so I could read them all again. I will more than likely just get my hands on the special edition on Amazon or something sometime soon, but thank you for all the amazing stories and creativity.

I will have to dedicate a Wraith repaint I think in the coming future to you.

Maybe this is too soon to ask...but what does this mean for the Xwing series? If I understood correctly, Mercy Kill was just the first of another series Aaron was penning. Unless Stackpole were to pick it up for him, I can't really see any other author doing the series justice

I am stunned, but also happy that Aaron got to see his last X-Wing book embraced by fans that he loved as much as they loved him.

In regards to the X-Wing series - all EU contracts were on hold, pending the sequel trilogy. It is to be hoped that the Powers that Be would have hired Aaron to write more of them for the new universe, but no one will know now. Mike Stackpole is still around, and would love to do more, but it's really up in the air until we know more about what the Star Wars Universe will look like in two years.

My wife and I saw him every year from 2006 on. He was such a happy, jovial, witty man, that we absolutely cherished every moment we spent in his company. He was a special man and a brilliant writer. Getting together with our mutual friends at cons now, there will be a hole in our hearts that cannot be filled. He will never be forgotten.

Last night I was reading on Steve Jackson Games website that he worked there early in his career. I'm a fan of many SJ games and was touched to see that he had some influence on Car Wars, etc.

(Hmm... Car Wars... Star Wars... is there a theme here? Regardless, he will be missed.)

My condolences to his friends, family,and fans.

I have read the x-wing series around 8 times and I never get tired of them. Mercy kill is waiting to be picked up, but I don't really want to as it is the last of his books. Tetran Cowell was one of his characters and I here's hoping we get more.

Rest in peace Mr. Allston, you have earned it.

Condolences to all who knew him. His books gave me a fun escape when I truly needed it.