It was with great sorrow that we learned last week of the passing of novelist and game designer Aaron Allston. Best known for his work on novels set in the Star Wars universe, Wolfe fans will remember him for his fine story “Epistoleros” in the recent Shadows of the New Sun collection.

Many of the authors in that collection chose to write stories woven tightly into the story-space of Wolfe’s works, but Aaron chose to write a story that just felt Wolfean. He skilfully crafted a metafictional western in the epistolary style that examined the relationship between story and history. We recommend that you seek it out.

I contacted Aaron about an interview for our series talking to the writers collected in Shadows of the New Sun. His health, writing, and convention commitments prevented us from completing the interview at that time. When I contacted him again I found that he had already written a comprehensive set of story notes about “Epistoleros” which answered many of the questions I’d hoped to ask him.

We send our condolences and sad best wishes to all of Aaron’s family and friends.

You can read “Epistoleros” in Shadows of the New Sun: Stories in Honor of Gene Wolfe edited by J.E. Mooney and Bill Fawcett, available from Tor Books.

You can download the story notes free from Aaron’s website: