R.I.P. Author Jerry Ahern

The following Facebook announcement appeared yesterday afternoon on the "Men's Adventure Paperbacks of the 70's and 80's" FB Group:

FROM THE FAMILY: We just wanted to let all of Jerry's friends know that their kind thoughts and wishes over the last few months have been greatly appreciated. Jerry wrote about how to survive most of life's disasters, but, unfortunately he was unable to survive cancer. He put up a very strong fight, as we all knew he would, but on Tuesday morning he was overpowered by the disease and passed away. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers and please always remember Jerry as the wonderful Husband, Father, Grandfather, and friend that he was.

I read a bunch of Ahern's THE SURVIVALIST books a number of years ago, and I still consider it the seminal "post-apocalyptic pulp" series. Ahern was an expert in firearms, personal defense, and survival techniques, and his knowledge came through in his prose, adding a very strong flavor of authenticity. I also read his THE DEFENDER series and while the subject matter is pretty politically charged, they were also great pulpy men's adventure books, also well-written and entertaining.

I  had the chance to exchange a few messages with Jerry via Facebook and he was always polite and welcoming. The social networking technologies of the 21st century have given readers such as myself unprecedented access to our favorite authors, and it is always heartwarming when an author is willing to accept and return correspondence from fans.

Jerry Ahern will be sorely missed by his peers in the writing community and the fans who have enjoyed his works for decades.