Alexei Panshin, award winning fan and author, and, notably, the man Heinlein would never forgive, has passed.
The covers in our featured image reflect the span of his career: Heinlein in Dimension was written while Alexei was still a fan and, when Heinlein raised objections with Advent, its publisher, the title was pulled and ended up being serialized in fanzines. Advent ultimately relented and brought out their own edition. (We’re fairly close to this story as good Fannish Friend Gary Farber was present when Alexi attempted an in-person rapprochement and that story was much under discussion when Patterson’s biography came out.)
Despite the ill-favor of the then Dean of the genre, Alexi would go on to establish an award-winning career for himself with the publication of his novel Rites of Passage, which would win a Nebula, while his The World Beyond the Hill: Science Fiction and the Quest for Transcendence would win both a Hugo (Best Related) and a Locus Award.
We expect that Sam Clemons and Richard Burton have their work cut out for them on the Riverworld.
Ad Astra! Alexei!
