And furthermore, his work is always intensely readable. He wasn’t a great stylist, or even a particularly “good” writer, but his sense of character and pacing is good and his worlds are boldly sketched. And in particular – which I think is part of the secret of his success – he’s very, very good at writing fantasies of political agency and fantasies of home & family.

Edit: I’ve been reminded that I forgot Leigh, his wife and co-author. She contributed just as much to all of the books as he did, and it was a Good Day for fantasy when her name started appearing on the covers too. She died two years ago, sadly.