Emily Carding (They/Them)
Neil GaimanMy friend the brilliant author Rachel Pollack is coming to the end of her life. She won the Nebula, World Fantasy and Arthur C Clarke awards. She is a world renowned expert on Tarot, and her books on Tarot are still regarded as the good standard. She created the first trans superhero, in Doom Patrol in '93. I will miss her very much when she goes. I am writing this at the request of her wife Zoe, to let her friends know that the end is soon, and to let the obituarists know too.
(And if a publisher wanted to bring her award-winning books Unquenchable Fire and Temporary Agency back into print, that would be a fine thing.)
รђครђเ ๓๏ђคภ@neilhimself Just bought both on the Kindle, if that helps
Inanimate Carbon God@neilhimself Not print as such, but Gollancz actually has these in its SF Masterworks line along with her other novels. So they are at least in some form of circulation.
@inanimatecarbongod good to know!
Cheryl Morgan@neilhimself obviously I would, but I’m sure the estate will get better offers
@CherylMorgan did you know Rachel? Do you need to get a message to her?
@neilhimself never had the honour of meeting her, but in awe of what she achieved. Would just want to say thank you.
@neilhimself as to books, @WTPress is always here for great writers who have been abandoned by mainstream publishing.
Journey Press
brooklynmarie
Tony Davis@neilhimself Unquenchable Fire rewrote my brain. A treasure of the age is leaving us.
Jessica Stewart@neilhimself Yes. It irks me when people uphold print as more worthy, or perhaps more trustworthy, than digital when I so often see publishers who don’t reprint books that have an audience. While tech giants are justifiably held in contempt for withholding access, people forget the trad publishers also ‘steal’ work by letting books go out of print or refusing to return rights. I hope these do not lie dormant for too long.
Theophile Escargot@neilhimself So sorry to hear that, I loved both her fiction and her Tarot books
Kit O'Connell 🏳️⚧️@neilhimself Godmother Night is such a brilliant and haunting book. She will be missed. I hope her passing is a gentle one. #books @bookstodon
chiasm@neilhimself 
Best wishes to her and all her friends and family.
Best wishes to her and all her friends and family.
Melissa Scott@neilhimself So very sorry to hear this. I love her writing, both her fiction and on the Tarot, and I cherish the memory of a lovely conversation at a con not long after Temporary Agency came out. She will be greatly missed.
Duncan Batey@neilhimself So sorry to hear this. I'm midway through Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom right now, bought on the strength of her writing in the Vertigo Tarot book, and of what you wrote of her in the intro to that. Now with added poignancy.
John Caveney woke is me🛠️@neilhimself thank you for sharing such devastating news.
Ed Mathews@neilhimself I am sorry to hear this and hope that it is a peaceful journey.
troi@neilhimself sad news. As a programmer in the 80s and 90s this from Wikipedia drew a smile... Pollack wrote Coagula's past to include prostitution and programming because those were the most-common professions for trans women in the early-to-mid 1990s.
I only know Doom Patrol from the TV series, but it sounds as if I should check out her run with them.
Shamma Boyarin@neilhimself I’ve heard such good things about her Doom Patrol run.
Sending support to her friends and family
Sending support to her friends and family
Melanie76Nicole@neilhimself I’m so very sorry to hear this. My heart goes out to her, her family and you. ❤️
Harry Turtledove@neilhimself Damnation! Very, very sorry to hear this.
AnnMariePT@neilhimself Hugs, Neil. It's so hard facing the impending death of a friend.
Graham Sleight@neilhimself So sorry to hear, Neil.
Laura
It's Just Jenn 🏳️⚧️@neilhimself I'm not familiar with her Doom Patrol, but I'll go look it up now!
Backstagerider🤘🏼@neilhimself much love to you, her friends, her readers and family x
Nicole J. LeBoeuf (she/her)@neilhimself Heartbreaking news. May the end/continuation of her journey be peaceful, and may all who know and love her find comfort. We are so lucky in this world to have had her in it, and for all the brilliant writing she leaves behind.
A. Rivera@neilhimself Sad news. Some of her #Tarot books helped me learn on my #cartomancy journey. May she go gentle when the time comes.
kalizoid313🧙 Blessed be!
@neilhimself So sorry to hear this news….. we all have our time…. And her work will live on….. DP was one of my favs…..
Runemeisterin IncognitoTo you, and her legion of fans, I offer my condolences and the words my very Irish grandmother often said at someone's passing:
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal but love leaves a memory no one can steal.”
Long after those who knew her have gone without a trace, her voice will ring on in her legacy of written word and achievements.
OEL@neilhimself The eternal Shining Tribe awaits her, I’m certain. What a legend.
@neilhimself The eternal Shining Tribe awaits her, I’m certain. What a legend.
Nicola D'Agostino@neilhimself Rachel also created, with artist Chris Weston, the very nice and zen science fiction comic "Time Breakers" for the Helix imprint of DC Comics.
BitnikI've just bought an audio reading of her novel Godmother Night. You can also borrow an online copy of the print edition from archive.org.
Schnipsel / Nex@neilhimself Thank you for letting us know. It is very sad to hear.
Danielle Crawford@neilhimself she has drunk of life to the dregs. And her works filled a void I didn’t know I was nursing until I read them.
Thank you, Neil, and ave atque vale, Rachel 💜🥲
Thank you, Neil, and ave atque vale, Rachel 💜🥲
@neilhimself Can you please tell Rachel that I love her? Tell her I love her and I always will.
Lisa Hamilton@neilhimself I have her book by my bedside. May her passing be joyous. Her memory will certainly be a blessing to all
@neilhimself Thank you for letting us know. I presented at a few tarot events with Rachel over the years and we always had so much fun. She is an inspiration to so, so many and I feel so blessed to have known her and that she was always so supportive of my work. I haven't seen her for a few years but my thoughts have been with her a great deal, knowing she has been going through so much. What a legacy and what a remarkable woman. She shall be so missed. 💜🙏
@neilhimself Please do pass on my love if you are able 💜
@neilhimself so sorry to hear this.
Mark McElroy@neilhimself Rachel was always kind and encouraging to me when I first began authoring Tarot books in the 1990’s. I’m sorry to hear this news, and my heart goes out to Zoe. Thank you for letting us know.
John Romkey@neilhimself I’m so very sorry. I’ve always loved her work. May her passing be gentle.
Steve Cleff@neilhimself I’m so sorry for your loss. Her work on Doom Patrol helped me become a better person. I hope she knows how much she’ll be missed.
KrazyKat
Abandoned America@neilhimself I'm so sorry for your loss. I wish you all peace, comfort, and support as you go through this 😔
@neilhimself her work on doom patrol was astounding
RanaldClouston@neilhimself I'm sorry to hear that. I read Unquenchable Fire a long time ago, but it really stuck with me as a wonderfully unique world.
Sister Rose@neilhimself What makes me most sad about this is how much she was screwed over - her run was never reprinted and the TV show had 4 seasons to adapt Coagula, the first trans superhero, and didn't. Yet we got Codpiece, a villain that existed to show off her powers in 2 seperate shows.
She was a real visionary and her run means a lot to me. It's such a shame she's so underappreciated.
Inna lillahi wa inna illaihi rajioon.
@SisterRose Rachel's run on Doom Patrol was reprinted in 2022. https://amzn.to/3Floy14
WGAvanDijk@neilhimself
My wife @lizmat and I have all her SF books (we're not so much into tarot). We've been personal friends, as in coming over to dinner in Amsterdam. We are sad to hear about her leaving this world.
If you are still in contact with Rachel, please say that Liz and Wendy love her, we are still thinking about her, and hoping she has moments of happiness. We still are reading her books, including our favourite Alqua Dreams, which is one of the best sci-fi-horrors ever written.
The Nancy A Collins@neilhimself
Tell Rachel I wish her safe travel & a soft landing to the farthest shore.
Tell Rachel I wish her safe travel & a soft landing to the farthest shore.
my friends call me 5