Robert Lynn Asprin is confidently among those authors of humorous fiction who are read not only in the United States, but also far beyond North America. In the mid-90s of the last century, Russian readers also got acquainted with the work of the talented author. Asprin's fascinating books, which tell the story of the incredible adventures of unusual heroes, are often inherited from parents to children.
Biography of the writer
Robert Lynn Asprin was born in 1946 in the United States. His homeland is Michigan. The future writer spent his childhood on the Ann Arbor campus, where there were many museums and libraries. From a young age, Asprin was used to variety. Studying at the University of Michigan and military service during the Vietnam War only reinforced this habit.
The outlook of the future writer was finally formed during the years when he worked in the accounting department of a small company, one of the divisions of the Xerox corporation. Robert Asprin devoted twelve years to this work.
Asprin's hobbies and interests from childhood were diverse. He willingly practiced fencing and music, sewing and fishing. Later, the writer admitted that his childhood fantasy made him a fencing teacher, commander, an alien from the Star Trek TV series, a space mercenary, an accountant in games.
Career in literature
Robert Asprin began his literary career with science fiction. His first sci-fi action film was called Cold Financial Wars and was published in 1977. The plot of the book is as follows: as a result of fierce competition between the largest corporations in the world, an unusual war begins. There are no victims in it in the usual sense of the word. There are only those who are temporarily immobilized. Gradually, the governments of some countries are getting involved in the war of corporations. Mercenaries are widely used in hostilities. The writer was inspired by his story. It was at this time that he worked for Xerox; the ineffectiveness of management and the bureaucracy of the business greatly annoyed Asprin.
After the success of the first work, Asprin wrote the novel "The Fighting Elite of the Empire", also devoted to the military theme. The book was about the fight between insects and reptiles. Central to the novel is the description of the social structure of the reptile world. The lizard civilization developed in the context of incessant wars. As a result, a society has emerged where there is no place for writers, poets, artists and ordinary dreamers.
The real fame for Robert Asprin was brought by "The World of Thieves". Here the author proved himself to be an unsurpassed master of humorous fiction. This cycle was followed by the "Shutt" cycle. And only after gaining writing experience, Asprin begins to create several books of his legendary "mythical" cycle.
In Myths, the author creates a world in which everything is possible. Young Skiv, a student of the magician Garkin, after the death of his mentor, goes to study with the demon Aaz, who by chance lost his magical abilities. The reader will find extraordinary travels across dimensions, rather strange characters, and exciting adventures. All the books of the cycle are imbued with sparkling humor, which can be considered Asprin's calling card. Asprin's “mythical” stories are read with pleasure by hundreds of thousands of young and adult fantasy lovers.
Personal life
Much of his work was co-authored by Robert Asprin with his wife, Lynn Abby. In a friendly and cheerful family, the writer tried to spend most of his free time. The couple raised two children together: Daniel and Annette.
Robert Asprin passed away on May 22, 2008. The cause of death was heart disease. Next to the forever asleep writer, relatives discovered his favorite reading glasses and an open novel by the English writer Terry Pratchett. Subsequently, the heirs transferred the Asprin archives to the collection of rare books at the University Library in Northern Illinois.
