Cormac McCarthy, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author known for penning classic American novels like "Blood Meridian" and "All the Pretty Horses," died Tuesday at the age of 89.
McCarthy passed away from "natural causes at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico," according to a statement from his publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, which cited McCarthy's son John McCarthy.
Tributes from across the publishing world poured in, with Nihar Malaviya, the CEO of Alfred A. Knopf owner Penguin Random House, saying that McCarthy "changed the course of literature."
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McCarthy "demonstrated an unwavering dedication to his craft, and to exploring the infinite possibilities and power of the written word," Malaviya said in a statement, per NBC News. "Millions of readers around the world embraced his characters, his mythic themes, and the intimate emotional truths he laid bare on every page, in brilliant novels that will remain both timely and timeless, for generations to come."
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, McCarthy published his debut novel, "The Orchard Keeper," in 1965. He would not receive mainstream recognition until decades later, though, but would eventually create a deep library of American Western novels. He also became well known for having a number of his novels transformed into successful films. His 2005 book "No Country for Old Men" was adapted into a film of the same name, and would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2007.
His magnum opus was considered "Blood Meridian," a 1985 novel about a group of scalp hunters in the violent Wild West that "many critics feel is his finest book," The New York Times reported. It was also included on a TIME Magazine list of the 100 greatest novels of all time.
The author was "both revered and criticized for his brutally violent, morally ambiguous, often bleak novels," USA Today said.
