Jim Baen has Passed Away

It's a sad day in the troll cave. Jim Baen was an incredibly forward-thinking guy, on the cutting edge of e-publishing, a radical in his way of doing business, and a man whose influence on modern SF simply can't be overstated.

If you haven't checked out the Free Baen eLibrary, you really should. Who else in the publishing business lets you get an entire book as a free sample? I mean, c'mon, reading good fiction is addictive. You'd think more publishers would have hit on the notion of "the first hit is free." Mr. Baen was unique in his understanding of readers and business.

Read his obituary by David Drake here.