Jack Vance Has Passed Away

And I'm so out of it, I didn't notice until today.

We are, of course, speaking of the author who inspired the "Vancian magic" of D&D.  He's best known for his Dying Earth stories which took place in the latter years of Earth's existence, when the sun was red and swollen, a realm in which technology was so advanced, baroque, and strange that it really was indistinguishable from magic.

The Brits seem to have a gift for writing obituaries and the Guardian has a good one for Vance.