RIP Craig Hinton

[Anthony Williams]

according to BigGavSW9 over on OG:

i'm unsure as to where exactly to post this so it will appear in several sections of the forum and the mods can move it where they see fit ...

it's my sad duty to inform the friends and fans of author Craig Hinton, that after entry was forced to his home today (Sunday 3rd December 2006) by police that he was found dead. He was 42, Craig was a close friend of mine and i have proud to be able to call him friend and it's been agonising of late to watch him battle poor health and personal demons. i can only hope that now he is finally at peace and happy. I am going to miss him very much.

There are no details of cause of death at this time or details of funeral arrangements, a post mortem needs to be carried out because of the way he was found. I am in touch with his Mother and she is happy for me to supply details as and when she passes them to me...
i'll post further news when i know it myself.....

many of u will be familiar with Craigs work which included work for Virgin and BBC Books and Big Finish and included titles such as Synthespians, The Crystal Bucephalus, Millenial Rites, Godengine, Quatum Archangel, Excelis Decays and more recently Spirtus Mundi and Lords of Forever in Big Finishes Tomorrow People range.

Craig's contribution to the Whoniverse was a great one and i'm sure that he'll be sorely missed.

I know Craig had many fans and many other strings to his fiddle as it were and i hope that people will feel free to add to this and post their thoughts and memories of Craggles ...

I've always enjoyed Craig's work, and having met him, it's a shame to hear that he's passed away

RIP Craig.

Ant x

[Rob McCow]

Oh my god!

[SiHart]

I'm quite stunned. I used to talk to him at the Tav years ago, and while he always struck me as a bit of a depressive, he was always very nice to me. I enjoyed most of his books too- especially the rather wonderful Millenial Rights which really did a lot to improve the way fandom thought about the 6th Doctor and Mel.

I'm very sorry to hear this news.

Si xx

[Captain Tancredi]

That's...very sad, not least because he seems to have been one of those names who were around fandom for years. His books seem to have taken more than their fair share of flak for being more continuity-heavy than most but I remember genuinely enjoying Crystal Bucephalus a few years back.

[Antony Cox]

Although the name is very familiar, I'm afriad to say that I didn't really know who Craig Hinton was exactly. Saying that, it's obviously very sad news, particularly as he was very young and by the sounds of it, very talented.

RIP Craig.

[Andrew Curnow]

It's not often that I log on and read something that I can't quite take in, but this really is one of those times. Certainly, since first going online a few years ago, I've seen Craig Hinton's name against many a post on OG, and somehow that makes somebody who was previously just a name on a book cover seem all the more real. Of his books, I'm sure I haven't read them all, and I'll admit that I was left disappointed by his sequel to The Time Monster - but, as Si mentions above, he penned Millenial Rites which is one of the best original fiction Who books ever released (the ending is so cleverly bittersweet) and I also remember absolutely adoring his NA God Engine when I read it.

Genuinely shocked, and saddened, by this news. Awful.

[Simon R]

I don't think I've read any of his books at all. Not sure why, they just slipped through the net. I remember him being the reviewer in DWM in 1993, 1994 when I first started reading it though.

[Paul Clement]

This is really sad news, and 42 is no age at all. I enjoyed all of his books that I read, and the Excelis audio.

[Jonno]

The only writing of his that I'm familiar with is Off The Shelf, as mentioned by Simon, but it's sad to consider his age and the sound of those personal demons. Being alone in his house too - not nice.

[Dave Tudor]

Very sad news. I didn't know him, and I have never read any of his books, but he was always visible on OG, and I too remember his stint in charge of 'Off The Shelf'.

[Lord President]

OMG, A great name in DW fiction and fandom is gone. He will be missed.

[Si Hunt]

I'd be a hypocrite to say I loved his work - but I enjoyed his Excelis Entry and especially his Time Monster sequel which I spent one happy summer holiday reading! But I lost count of the times I tried to get into "Crystal Bucephalus".

All the same, he was one of that rare breed - a Doctor Who writer who would be on MSN every night! To that end, you could chat to him like a mate and he was always willing to talk to me, although I only infrequently chatted to him.

I guess we can't say that about many Doctor Who writers (not that they arn't willing to talk to me, that they won't hobnob with mere mortal fans in general!). So I guess he was one of us, for all his evident personal demons.

And, of course, it was far too young to go. A great shame.

Si.

[duncan]

I'm shocked and sadened by this news. 42 is no age at all and is too early to pass away. I enjoyed some of Craigs work especially 6th Doctor and Mel novel The Crystal Bucephalus.

[Andy Frankham]

WFT?! I'm shocked. Wow. First I've heard about it... ****! Over the last few years I've shared many long conversations with Craig, and we became fairly good friends. So this is... wow. Not sure what to say.

Excuse me...

[Logo Polish]

I think I've only read one of his books (Crystal Bucephalus), although did also read bits of Millenial Rites. However, the main memories I have of him are reading articles and reviews written by him in fanzines in the 80s, and later his regular reviews in DWM, so his is a name I've been aware of for a long time. I'm sorry to hear about his death.

[Stuart Wallis]

I liked Synthespians and his DWM reviews. At 42 this news does come as a shock.

[Andy Mateen]

This is very sad news indeed. 42 is way too young to die.






-Andy