och han var hur cool som helst nästan...

...Born in west London in 1948, Gemmell was expelled from school for gambling and went on to work as a labourer, driver's assistant and bouncer.

...He went on to become a journalist and editor of newspapers in Sussex, but his career ended after the publication of his third novel, Waylander, in 1986, after he used his colleagues' names for characters in the story.
"The managing director regarded it as a poisonous attack on his integrity," he later recalled.

för man kan ju inte skriva bra utan att ha upplevt mycket själv... och för alla dem som nån gång fått ett nekandebrev till sina berättelser:

One rejection letter he received in the early 1960s read: "You mention in your resume that you are working as a lorry driver's mate for Pepsi Cola. This is an occupation not without merit. Good luck with it".

... och han gav ut åtminstone 30 böcker senare i livet...

Han kommer vara saknad, men hans böcker kommer finnas kvar

den eviga vilan finns där bortom livet för oss alla