It started for me back in, I think, 1993. Fury's Pilgrims was the latest release, and I was on my way back from a vacation with my family. My dad had bought the book to read on the plane and finished it by the end of the flight, so he left it on the seat. I thought that was a waste so I picked it up and started in on it, just by chance. It was amazing. I was 17 and a big fan of sci-fi and fantasy but I'd never read anything where the action was so detailed and, well, action-packed. I was hooked. I loved post-apocalyptic movies and games and books, so this felt like a natural extension. By the next day I'd finished it and I talked to my father about it.

My father was an odd man, an ex-biker who had led a hard life. Short, broad, long hair and full beard, covered in scars, he looked like he'd crawled out of the post-nukecaust world himself. I asked him, "This is part of a series, right? Do you have any other books?"

He smiled, one of the most genuine smiles I'd ever seen. "I think I have a few." I grew up with books. Lots of them. My parents had a "library"--half our living room was given over to wooden shelves of books, mostly paperbacks bought second hand in our travels. My dad showed me a shelf lined with action-adventure series. Despite having become an academic (yeah, ex-biker-turned-sociologist, my upbringing was weird) he loved these kinds of stories. And there, on that shelf, was every Deathlands book stretching back to Pilgrimage to Hell. I devoured every one of them over the next several months. And when they were done, I bought each new one as they were released (usually a race between my father and I to see who got to it first).

After my mom died, my father and I drifted apart but whenever we talked, we could always find common ground with the latest Deathlands story. Throughout my adult life it was something we shared, something that was "ours". My dad passed away a couple of years ago, still a fan, still speculating on where Ryan and his band would end their adventures. That's why hearing about the end of the series hit me so hard, I think, because it was the end of something that meant a lot to both of us.

And now here I am, discussing it online with other fans, people who have their own stories and paths that led them to journey into those wastelands. Thanks for having me, folks!