Vince Flynn, author of Mitch Rapp thriller series, dead from cancer

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Vince Flynn, the best-selling author of the Mitch Rapp series of political thrillers that includes "American Assassin" and "The Last Man," died on Wednesday at age 47 after a battle with prostate cancer, his representatives said.

Flynn, who turned to writing as a way of fighting his dyslexia, died at a hospital in his hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota, said David Brown, spokesman for Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster that publishes the author's novels.

Flynn's most recently published book was "The Last Man" in 2012. Atria will put out "The Survivor" in October.

All but one of Flynn's 14 novels center on fictional character Mitch Rapp, an operative for the Central Intelligence Agency who targets Islamic militants and often takes extreme measures to achieve his goals.

Flynn regularly made the New York Times best-seller list, and after the publication of his 2007 novel "Protect and Defend" he began topping the list.

Flynn self-published his first novel, "Term Limits," which became a runaway success in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and led to a deal with an imprint of Simon & Schuster Inc. It published the book for wider release in 1997 and saw the work become a New York Times best seller in paperback.

Like the books that would follow, "Term Limits" was a political thriller. But it did not feature Rapp, who would make his first appearance in Flynn's next book, "Transfer of Power," in 1999.

Among Flynn's best-known books is "American Assassin," which was published in 2010 and chronicled Rapp's first assignment as a CIA operative after losing his high school sweetheart in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

"It has been our distinct honor to publish Vince Flynn for the entire length of his career," Carolyn Reidy, president and CEO of Simon & Schuster Inc, said in a statement. "As good as Vince was on the page - and he gave millions of readers countless hours of pleasure - he was even more engaging in person."

Flynn was a frequent guest on cable television news programs such as "The O'Reilly Factor" on the Fox network.

Before becoming a writer, Flynn worked in sales and marketing at Kraft General Foods before leaving in 1990 to join the U.S. Marine Corps as an aviation candidate. He had to leave the program due to medical problems stemming from concussions and seizures suffered as a child, according to his publisher.

Flynn announced in 2011 that he had Stage III metastatic prostate cancer.

He is survived by his wife, Lysa Flynn, and three children.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Bill Trott)

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Mystery and science fiction author Jack Vance dead at 96

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Mystery and science fiction writer Jack Vance, whose works included "The Dragon Master" and "The Last Castle," has died at age 96, according to a statement posted on his official website on Wednesday.

Vance passed away at his Oakland, California, home on Sunday, according to the statement at www.jackvance.com, a site maintained by his friends and family.

He won the Hugo award for his science fiction book "The Dragon Masters" in 1963 and again in 1967 for "The Last Castle." The Hugo is given for excellence in the fields of science fiction and fantasy.

"The Dragon Masters" features medieval-style combat and describes humans who war with aliens, even as they rely on certain lizard-like aliens they took captive.

"The Last Castle" takes place on a fictional planet Earth where humans live like aristocrats in high-tech redoubts while aliens attend their needs, until a race of those aliens stages a violent revolt.

Vance, who wrote over 60 books, also authored mystery novels under his full name, John Holbrook Vance, and three titles under the pseudonym Ellery Queen, according to his website.

In 1974, the movie "Bad Ronald," which was based on a story by Vance about a teenager who accidentally kills a girl and conspires with his mother to hide in their house, was broadcast on television.

Pulitzer-prize winning author Michael Chabon in a 2009 New York Times magazine article about Vance called him "the most painful case of all the writers I love who I feel don't get the credit they deserve."

Vance was born in San Francisco and was raised on his maternal grandparents ranch in Northern California after his parents separated. After college, he worked at a naval shipyard in Hawaii but left shortly before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, according to his website.

He later served in the U.S. Merchant Marine and saw some of his earliest work published in pulp magazines.

A lifelong lover of music, Vance played the cornet, ukulele and harmonica and had an affection for jazz music.

He was legally blind since the 1980s but continued to write with the help of special computer software.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Paul Simao)

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'Exorcist' Author Attacks Georgetown University

Georgetown University, the oldest Jesuit and Catholic college in the United States, no longer deserves to call itself a Catholic institution, a celebrity alumnus claims.

William Peter Blatty, a 1950 graduate of Georgetown and author of "The Exorcist," filed a complaint against the university on May 31 with Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, D.C.

Blatty argues that Georgetown does not comply with Ex Corde Ecclesiae, former Pope John Paul II’s 1991 decree regarding Catholic universities, The Hoya reports.

Blatty's petition claims to represent "more than 1,200 alumni, students, parents, teachers, and other laity from around the world." Blatty promised in May 2012 he would file a canon lawsuit against Georgetown for allegedly failing to adhere to Catholic principles.

Among the grievances cited, the university failed to ensure "that all official actions and commitments [are] authentically Catholic," to recruit personnel that are willing and able to "promote Catholic identity," to respect Catholic doctrine and that the university employs a majority of non-Catholics.

Blatty's petition claims there are 22 years of GU scandals that are "defended by Georgetown leaders in a Jesuitical garble." Those scandals include hosting "the vile play 'The Vagina Monologues'," hosting openly gay Georgetown alumnus Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) on campus and allowing sexual health education on campus. He also complains about Georgetown allowing pro-choice politicians and government officials at campus events.

“The Scandals that Georgetown has given to the faithful are too many to count, and too many to ignore any longer," Blatty said in a statement.

Another problem for Blatty: a large coalition of Georgetown faculty protesting against Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) for misuse of Catholic social teaching in defending his budget, which hurts the poor.

Rachel Pugh, Georgetown director of communications, defended the university's religious affiliations to the Georgetowner, a local paper.

"All undergraduate students, for example, take two semesters of theology and two semesters of philosophy before graduation," said Pugh. "Georgetown supports the largest ministry in the country."

Blatty wants the Catholic Church to force changes at the university or strip Georgetown of its Jesuit affiliation.

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