John Jakes Dies at 90

[Snicklefritz]

Jakes wrote some 60 novels, including westerns, mysteries, science and fantasy fiction, and children’s books. But he was best known for two series of novels with enormous mass-market appeal: “The Kent Family Chronicles,” eight volumes written in the 1970s to capitalize on the 1976 Bicentennial celebrations (55 million copies were sold), and the “North and South” Civil War trilogy, which appeared in the 1980s (10 million copies).

John Jakes, Who Hit the Jackpot With Historical Novels, Dies at 90

His sagas of the Revolution and the Civil War sold tens of millions of copies, were adapted for TV and put him in the pantheon of big-name authors.

www.nytimes.com

 

[hitmouse]

The only book of his that I have read is Brak the Barbarian, a really low-rent Conan clone. Not good except as a curiosity.

 

[Snicklefritz]

The only book of his that I have read is Brak the Barbarian, a really low-rent Conan clone. Not good except as a curiosity.

His historical fiction is very "accessible" and remarkably well-researched. Not great literature but a good light read. I never read any of his SF