From David Morrell comes the sad news that Dan Simmons has died:
My dear friend & incomparable author Dan Simmons died Saturday from a stroke at age 77. He defied literary norms, exploring historical fiction, horror, crime & other genres. His must-read titles include THE SONG OF KALI & HYPERION. He was one of a kind.https://t.co/NcBFT4hBc6 pic.twitter.com/kNbof3MPyG
— _DavidMorrell (@_DavidMorrell) February 27, 2026
Of all the modern writers I read and collect, Simmons had, next to Gene Wolfe, the most complete writer’s toolkit of any of them. Characterization, plotting, pace, point of view, voice, he was a master of them all. He could write science fiction, horror, hard-boiled mysteries and thrillers, mainstream, you name it.
After his World Fantasy Award-winning Song of Kali in 1985, Simmons would burst on the field like a supernova in 1989 with the publication of the Hugo-winning Hyperion, the Stoker-winning Carrion Comfort and the under-appreciated Phases of Gravity, and then it was off to the races. Simmons would be one of many writers tagged “The next Stephen King!”, and Summer of Night would make it onto the bestseller lists. But Simmons wouldn’t stick to horror for long, going on to publish more science fiction and a series of acclaimed historical novels that usually contained fantastic elements.
I met Simmons a few times, and even did an interview with him for Nova Express that, alas, had tape recorder problems, so it never appeared. He was one of the best writers of his era, in any genre, and will be missed.
Tags: Dan Simmons, David Morrell, Horror, Obituary, Science Fiction
[…] passed away last Saturday. My source for this is a tweet Lawrence forwarded me from David Morrell: Lawrence has also posted his own obit, which is much better than anything I could […]
Canada Calling [ no hawkey jokes, thank you kindly 😉 ]
Picked up a doorstop years ago titled The Terror knowing only it was about the Franklin Expedition and was immediately hooked on Simmons and searched out his other novels, becoming a fan of his horror and historical work. The fantasy and sci fri not so much I’m afraid…there’s still time I guess to crack open the Hyperion and Olympos stuff.
The Summer of Night series, the Joe Kurtz books, the oh-come-on-you-gotta-be-shitting-me last hundred pages of Abominable, all and more kept me entertained over the years. Much like the passing of Martin Cruz Smith last year Simmons’ passing is one I’ll mourn.
Maybe there’s hope that Omega Canyon will finally see the light of day?