As you’ve likely heard by now, longtime Star Wars author Aaron Allston passed away suddenly yesterday after collapsing at VisionCon in Branson, Missouri. The news came late last night and threw us all for a bit of a loop, so we’ll be taking an extra day off to collect our thoughts, and we’ll be back with those on Monday.
Our thoughts are with Aaron’s friends and family, including the seemingly limitless number of fans who had the pleasure of getting to know him at a convention or three. Aaron wasn’t just one of our franchise’s best writers, he was one of us.
Yub yub, Aaron. And frothing disease to your enemies.
And scabrous pirates to you, too!
A few months back, I dug my X-wing books out of my parents attic and brought them home with me. The excitement around Ep VII and Rebels, rediscovering ClubJade, and reading Eleven-ThirtyEight daily had gotten me excited about Star Wars again.
After the three Stackpole books (I couldn’t bring myself to read The Bacta War), I was excited to get back into the Wraith Squadron stories. I have read these books more times than I could remember, and I was greeted with the fond familiarity with Allston’s characters and sense of humor. It’s weird to say, but after all this time, the characters felt like old friends and the story and rhythms felt a lot like home.
When I was finished with Solo Command, I felt sad saying goodbye to those characters again. I was surprised to feel this way.
Aaron Allston seemed like the kind author who understood and appreciated what his characters and stories meant to the fans. I hope we remember him as long as long as we continue to cherish his wonderful characters, stories, and contributions to Star Wars
My prayers and condolences to the Allston family. May The Force and God Be With him always in a Galaxy Far, Far Away… He was a great writer and I loved his talented work.