Cormac McCarthy, legendary author of No Country For Old Men And The Road, has died aged 89

McCarthy was notoriously reclusive, avoiding the spotlight and instead choosing to focus on his craft. Just as his writing was without unnecessary frills, the author himself preferred a simple, unpretentious life. His first taste of acclaim came when he won the 1992 National Book Award for "All the Pretty Horses," which would become a feature film in 2000 starring Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz. The movie didn't do very well, but he got his due in 2007 when his novel "The Road" won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was later made into a movie starring Kodi Smit-McPhee and Viggo. Mortensen. He also wrote an original screenplay for Ridley Scott's 2013 film "The Counselor", although it received mixed reviews. McCarthy's most successful adaptation to date was "No Country for Old Men", which relied on the sparse simplicity of McCarthy's prose, delivering moments of club-like violence.

An adaptation of 'Blood Meridian' has been in development for years, and in April the film finally moved forward with the announcement that former collaborator John Hillcoat, who directed 'The Road', would direct with McCarthy and his son John signed on as executive producers. McCarthy was only recently announced to write the screenplay, so the film may be on hold while they figure out who can tackle scripting duties. Nobody could ever be McCarthy, so whoever takes on the role has some pretty big cowboy boots to fill.

May he rest in peace.