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CASFS - In Memory
Jack L. Chalker
1944-2005
Jack L. Chalker passed away peacefully at 11:12AM EST on February 11, 2005.
Jack was hospitalized for congested heart failure on December 6. Although there were ups and downs, his condition had been poor during the intervening two months and his kidneys and lungs had failed near the end. He was receiving care in the ICU at Bon Secours in Baltimore, MD.
Biography condensed from jackchalker.com:
Jack Lawrence Chalker was born December 17, 1944 in Baltimore, Maryland. He grew up in Baltimore and received a Bachelor of Science degree from Towson State College (Towson University) and graduate degrees from Johns Hopkins University. He taught history on the high school and college levels, and was a lecturer at the Smithsonian, The National Institutes of Health, and numerous colleges and universities, mostly on science fiction and technology subjects.
He had a varied career which included being a professional typesetter, a sound engineer for outdoor rock concerts, an audio and computer reviewer, free-lance editor, a publisher (founder and owner of The Mirage Press, Ltd.), a book packager, an Air National Guard Information Director, new and used book dealer, and teacher as mentioned above. He was a special forces Air Commando during the Vietnam war, stationed in the United States.
Since 1978 he made his living solely by writing and published over 60 science fiction or fantasy novels and anthologies. During their years of publication, Jack wrote a regular column on SF/fantasy small press for Fantasy Review and continued the column on an irregular basis in Pulphouse magazine.
A long time science fiction fan, he attended hundreds of conventions. As a SF professional, he stayed very accessible to fans. He was Toastmaster at the1983 WorldCon, and co-chaired the 1974 WorldCon, Discon II. He was a 3-term treasurer of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
His awards included the Dedalus Award (1983), The Gold Medal of the West Coast Review of Books (1984), Skylark Award (1985), and Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award (1979).
Jack married Eva C. Whitley in 1978 and they have 2 sons, David Whitley Chalker, and Steven Lloyd Chalker. Cards and letters may be sent c/o The Mirage Press, P.O. Box 1689, Westminster, MD USA 21158-1689 Donations to the Chalker Family Emergency Fund may be made via Paypal at www.evewhitley.net
Tributes and Memories
Some Brief Thoughts on the Passing
of Jack L(awrence) Chalker
by Adam Niswander
December 17, 1944 - February 2005
Born in Baltimore, Maryland. Married to Eva C. Whitley in 1978. Two sons: David Whitley Chalker, 1981. Steven Lloyd Chalker, 1991. Founder of Mirage Press.
It is with sadness I note the passing of Jack L. Chalker.
Though I had the pleasuire of meeting Jack several times, I can't say I really knew him well. He and I were both attending conventions at the time and our schedules always seemed at odds, but we did address each other by first names. And his first name was actually Jack, not something else with Jack as a nick-name.
I do not recall ever being on a panel with Jack, but I do remember joining him at a table in a hotel bar on more than one convention.
I wish I had gotten to know him better. He always seemed a knowledgable, hardworking pro, and he seemed to know how to have a good time.
My condolences go out to his family.
He was kind enough to give me a favorable review of my first book - though he took exeption to the G. Harry Stine quote on the cover of The Charm, "In the great tradition of Heinlein, Williamson and van Vogt . . . " because it failed to specify that The Charm was compared to Glory Road, Darker Than You Think, and Voyage of the Space Beagle - works more identified with fantasy than hard SF. Nonetheless, I was jazzed that he liked the book.
My favorites of his books were the those in the Well of Souls series, though I thought his non-fiction book about the U.S.S. Indianapolis, titled The Devil's Voyage, was an exceptional book.
But he gave us a great deal more. I will include a check list of his books in a moment.
As Co-founder of Mirage Press, he was part of contributing a plethora of wonderful academic titles which I will not even attempt to list here, but which I consider essential to a solid understanding of some key genre work. Though opened in partnership, he was the sole owner of Mirage at the time of his death.
The following bibliography is my checklist of Jack's work, taken mostly from Jack's own website at http://www.jackchalker.com
And the Devil Will Drag You Under
The Changewinds series:
When the Changewinds Blow
Riders of the Winds
War of the Maelstrom
Dance Band On the Titanic (short stories)
Dancers In the Afterglow
The Devil's Voyage (Non-Fiction - the story of the Indianapolis)
Downtiming the Night Side
The G.O.D., Inc. series
The Labyrinth of Dreams
The Shadow Dancers
The Maze In the Mirror
Hotel Andromeda (Edited by Chalker)
The Identity Matrix
A Jungle of Stars
The Four Lord's of the Diamond series:
Lilith: A Snake In gthe Grass
Cerebrus: A Wolf In the Fold
Charon: A Dragon At the Gate
Medusa: A Tiger By the Tail
The Quintara Marathon:
The Demons At Rainbow Bridge
The Run To Chaos Keep
The Ninety Trillion Fausts
The Dancing Gods series:
The River of the Dancing Gods
Demons of the Dancing Gods
Vengeance of the Dancing Gods
Songs of the Dancing Gods
Horror of the Dancing Gods
The Flux and Anchor series:
The Birth of Flux and Anchor (Prequel)
Spirits of Fluz and Anchor
Empress of Flux and Anchor
Masters of Flux and Anchor
Children of Flux and Anchor
The Messiah Choice
The Moreau Factor
Priam's Lens
The Red Tape War (with Mike Resnick and George Alec Effinger)
The Rings of the Master Series:
Lords of the Middle Dark
Pirates of the Thunder
Warriors of the Storm
Masks of the Martyrs
Tales of the Three Kings:
Balshazzar's Serpent
Melchior's Fire
Kaspar's Box
The Well of Souls series:
Midnight At the Well of Souls
Quest For the Well of Souls
Exiles At the Well of Souls
Twilight At the Well of Souls
The Return of Nathan Brazil
Watchers At the Well series:
Echoes of the Well of Souls
Shadow of the Well of Souls
Gods of the Well of SoulsThe Two-volume Well of Souls novel :
The Sea Is Full of Stars
Ghosts of the Well of Souls
A War of Shadows
The Web of the Chozen
The Wonderland Gambit:
The Cybernetic Walrus
The March Hare Network
The Hot-Wired Dodo