Lucius Shepard R.I.P. (1947-2014)

I just learned a couple of hours ago that Lucius Shepard, one of our greatest short story writers, passed away on March 18 at the age of 66.  If you’ve never read his collections, particularly THE JAGUAR HUNTER and THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, then you’re missing out on some of the most evocative and challenging American short stories of the past thirty years.  Despite the fact that they never appeared in THE YEAR’S BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES (and perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising), many of his tales were finely honed dark jewels:  “The Jaguar Hunter,” “How the Wind Spoke at Madaket,” “The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule,” “A Spanish Lesson,” “The Ends of the Earth,” “The Black Clay Boy,” and “The Scalehunter’s Beautiful Daughter” are all REQUIRED reading.  Rest In Peace, Lucius.