Barrie Richardson was to have been a guest at the Pebble3looza convention last May. But in April, Lance Pierce posted on the Magic Pebble that Barrie would not be there, and said:

"Over the last few months, Barrie has been plagued with a condition that they've recently diagnosed as aplastic anemia, characterized by an inability to manufacture platelets and white blood cells. Something like this, of course, can lead to a host of other issues. Barrie has been regularly visiting Houston to get this checked out and has received multiple blood transfusions to help provide the cells he needs.

Now that they've identified the condition, they've begun a clinical trial treatment to address it. They're hopeful that Barrie will see results in 3-6 months. Barrie expressed his regrets that he couldn't be at Pebble3looza, and he asked that I keep him on the list for next year."

Yesterday, this message from Stephen Minch was posted at the Pebble:

"Dear Friends,

I am writing with some unhappy news. Barrie Richardson is quite ill. I think everyone who has met Barrie considers him a friend—he is just that kind of a person—and most of you who have enjoyed his books feel a similar bond of warmth. There is no gentle way of putting this: Barrie will not be with us long. If you would like to send him a note to let him know how he and/or his work have affected you, or just to wish him well, please send it to me and I will forward it to him. (If you have received a similar note from Martin Joyal, you needn't reply to both of us.)

Best Wishes,
Stephen Minch"

Just a little while ago, I got an email from Stephen that Barrie passed away in his sleep last night.


I don't know Barrie except by his books -- but from them, I feel like I really do know him. Very few books bring their authors alive as much as "Theater of the Mind" and the sequels do.

I'm sorry to hear this. I knew Barrie well when he lived in Holland Michigan. We were both members of IBM ring 211 and rode together the monthly meetings. He was also my college professor at Hope College. He was a great guy.

R.I.P. Barrie.
His books are among my alltime favourites.

I just stumbled across this thread and am very sad to hear this news. I made me go back to listen to the Interview that I did with Barrie when Genii published their "Jinx" issue to which he was a contributor. I realized that the file that was there was only 5 minutes long so went in search of the original interview. I managed to locate it and have since added it to the MagicNewswire archive.

For those interested, the full and complete chat that I did with Barrie can be heard here: http://bit.ly/BarrieRMNW

RIP.. .It was a pleasure getting to know you.