U. S. Author David Eddings Dead

Eddings was the author of more than 25 books, many of them written with his wife Leigh Eddings, who died in 2007. He started writing fantasy after he noticed a copy of The Lord of the Rings in a bookshop, and saw that it was in its 73rd printing. The Eddings' work includes The Belgariad series (5 books, 1982-1984) and The Malloreon series (5 books, 1987-1991), with three related books in the 1990s; The Elenium and The Tamuli (two trilogies, 1989-1994); and The Dreamers series (4 books, 2003-2006) He never using a typewriter or computer, writing out his novels in long-hand.
Although Eddings was a fantasy writer, he once admitted “I don’t read in the field. I can’t. I have an unconscious burglar living in my mind: If I read something, it’s mine. I can read Middle English stories, Geoffrey Chaucer or Sir Thomas Malory, but once I start moving in the direction of contemporary fantasy, my mind begins to take over.”
Fantasy author Stephen Hunt eulogized Eddings on his blog: "I was in my early teens when I discovered (Edddings') books, and they opened my eyes to the fact that not all fantasy had to be the 'Ye Olde Speake' variety favoured by Tolkien – they were fantasy, but they carried a modern feel to the dialogue and characterisation, while still being firmly placed in a deeply believable fantasy world.... David is one of the reasons I became a writer, so I guess you can partially blame my Jackelian series on him. He's probably pottering around Garion's farm right now with a smile on his face, wondering what all the fuss is about. Goodbye David, you will be missed."