Frederick Forsyth has passed

[Jotun]

He was 86 and I very much enjoyed his books.

I guess I‘ll go on a memorial reading jag…

[Micael]

A great author, he will be missed by me.

[Bernard Woolley]

Great author, not so sure about him as a person.

[Simon Darkshade]

The man is barely cold, insofar as the public news of his passing goes, and there haven’t been any previous indications of personal character flaws or misdeeds.

Such a damning judgement of him ‘as a person’ would then seem to be based entirely on his politics. He never held office or exercised power beyond writing letters to the newspaper, so no actual harm can be said to come from these different political opinions.

It does seem extraordinarily petty and not very classy to then level such an attack upon a very freshly dead 86 year old man, whatever his politics and their difference from your own. This isn’t a politician or public figure, but an author of thrillers.

[Bernard Woolley]

IMVHO, it’s not an attack to say I was not a huge fan of his politics. His books were great and hugely well researched. He was, AFAIK, when not discussing politics, a gentleman. However, some of his political views were conspiratorial and verging on the mad.

[Simon Darkshade]

That isn’t what you said, though.

I would again say that this is simply an announcement of his death. No one made it a discussion of his politics other than you, not simply saying that you may have disagreed with his politics, but that by holding the views he did, Forsyth was effectively a bad person.

Had it been some days later, and had the issue come up in some fashion, it may have been slightly more appropriate. At the moment, you’ve doubled down on a freshly dead man and are now calling his views ‘conspiratorial and verging on the mad’.

That isn’t gentlemanly, classy or right. Even The Guardian’s obituary hasn’t gone this far.

[Rocket J Squrriel]

Damn.... An author who never had a book that I didn't enjoy.

RIP kind Sir.

[Bernard Woolley]

Simon, there’s a lesson for me here. Never post when tired, ill and in a bad mood. My apologies to the late Mr Forsyth.

[Simon Darkshade]

Bernard, acknowledging when one has slipped up is a mark of character. Good show.

[MikeKozlowski]

...He also wrote The Shepherd, possibly the best aviation ghost story of all time. Sadly, the Disney movie of it from last year was a fizzle, but the book lives on and the CBC did a truly chilling radio play of it many years ago which can still be found online.

Mike