Sep 6, 2022

The Modern-Day Henry James



Peter Straub
1943 - 2022
The world has lost one of its greatest storytellers.  Earlier today, novelist Emma Straub shared a tribute to her father, Peter Straub, who passed away on Sunday.  He was 79 years old.

I first discovered Mr. Straub when I was in my early 20's.  He collaborated with Stephen King to write the 1984 fantasy novel, The Talisman, as well as its 2001 sequel, Black House.  There has been talk of a third novel in the series, but it hasn't been published and I'm not sure if it was ever finished.  Mr. Straub was also the author of Julia and Ghost Story, among many others.  In a review of the latter, Benjamin Percy referred to Mr. Straub as "a modern-day Henry James, but with sharper teeth and a long black tongue", which is as high of a complement as I could imagine for a master of horror and supernatural fiction. (photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images and NPR)