I’ve just had the sad news that David Rain died this morning after a long battle with cancer. Most of you won’t know David by that name, but as Tom Arden he produced a fabulous fantasy series — The Orokon — which I reviewed all five volumes of for Emerald City.

While the Orokon books were big, fat epic fantasy, they absolutely refused to take themselves seriously. They were irreverent, they were sharply witty, and they were outrageously camp at a time when diversity wasn’t a thing. At times they were so grotesque as to remind me of Gormenghast, at others they were pure pantomime. There were some great characters too, including the bumbling guards, Morven & Crum, the voracious Aunt Umbecca, and of course Penge the penis (who belonged to the bullying Polty but was very much a character in his own right).

I met David a couple of times. He lived in Brighton. He was a really lovely man and, I gather from tributes on Facebook, a great teacher to his students at Middlesex University.

Earlier this year David and his partner, Antony, reissued the Orokon series as Kindle books in the UK under David’s own name. I guess the lack of US editions is to do with rights issues. If there’s anything Wizard’s Tower can do to help, Antony, please let me know. Here are links to my reviews:

• The Harlequin’s Dance
• The King and Queen of Swords
• Sultan of the Moon and Stars
• Sisterhood of the Blue Storm
• Empress of the Endless Dream

You can buy the books here.