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Fred Saberhagen was a trailblazing author of science fiction and fantasy.

He was writing about ruthless, relentless killing machines more than 20 years before the first "Terminator" movie appeared, and he was telling stories from the vampire's point of view before Anne Rice's "Interview With a Vampire" was published.

He was tireless, too. Churning out more than 60 novels, from 1967's "Berserker" to 2006's "Ardneh's Sword."

But Saberhagen, who died at his Albuquerque home a week ago, was much more than a prolific and pioneering author. He was a quiet, thoughtful, kind man who opened up his heart and his home to fellow writers and other friends.

"After my wife died 12 years ago, Fred almost adopted my son as his grandson," said Robert Vardeman, Albuquerque author of fantasy, science fiction, mystery and Western novels. "He was almost like family. My son, Chris, and I saw him at least once a week."

Saberhagen was 77 when he died June 29 after battling cancer for two years.

Survivors include his wife, Joan; a daughter, Jill of Moriarty; two sons, Eric of Missoula, Mont., and Tom of Falls Church, Va.; and seven grandchildren.

A native of Chicago, Saberhagen served in the Air Force during the 1950s and from 1967 to 1974 he wrote and edited articles on science and technology for Encyclopedia Britannica.

He moved to Albuquerque in 1975 and — except for a brief time in Carlsbad — lived here the rest of his life.

His fiction-writing career started in 1961 with sales to "Galaxy" and "If" magazines.

In 1963, he started writing stories about Berserkers — robotic, intergalactic, combat machines that survived the war they were created to fight and continued to carry out their mission to extinguish life wherever they found it.

His Berserker series, arguably his best-known work, would run to 18 novels.

Another popular Saberhagen series, 10 novels that give the vampire Dracula's side of the story, was launched in 1975 with "The Dracula Tape." Rice's first vampire book would not be published until 1976.

"I think he doesn't get enough credit for his highly individual imagination," said New Mexico science fiction author Walter Jon Williams. "He contributed two archetypes to the literature of fantastic fiction."

Williams said the Berserkers represent a powerful archetype that have been ripped off repeatedly, the "Star Trek" episode titled "The Doomsday Machine" being a good example.

"And the other archetype is the modern, rational, supernatural creature (Dracula) who tells his own story," Williams said. "Anne Rice and many other writers of supernatural fiction owe him a huge debt for that."

On a personal level, Williams remembers Saberhagen as a soft-spoken, unassuming man with a wicked, understated sense of humor.

"I remember one time he encountered a very young, enthusiastic Dracula fan who said meeting him was one of the most important days of her life," Williams said. "Fred said, 'Fortunately you are young and have many more days ahead of you.' "

Vardeman said Saberhagen was a quiet, private person with an incredibly sharp mind.

"He was a chess player, and that's how he looked at everything," he said. "He never talked much, but when he said something it was to the point and very thoughtful.

"The thing that always struck me about Fred's writing was its incredible breadth. His novel 'The Veils of Azlaroc' (1978), is one of my favorite science fiction books. It's one of the strangest time-travel books you'll ever see. It ranges from hard science to the pre-Raphaelite poets, all mixed into the same story."

Melinda Snodgrass, a science fiction writer who lives in Santa Fe, said Saberhagen was humble for someone who had created such seminal work in his field of writing.

"And with Fred, there was always that warm, welcoming synergy for writers," she said.

For a number of years, Saberhagen invited friends — mostly writers — to his home near the Sandia foothills for an Edgar Allan Poe birthday party, which was celebrated on a weekend close to Poe's January birthday.

Snodgrass, who worked for a time on the writing staff of TV's "Star Trek: The Next Generation," said she owes her literary life to another of Saberhagen's parties.

She said she was a lawyer when she accompanied a writer buddy to a barbecue at Saberhagen's home in 1979 or 1980.

"I thought it was the most fascinating group of people at that party that I had ever met," she said. "Fred was talking about vampires and letters he was getting from a man in Transylvania.

"After that party, I knew I didn't want to hang out with lawyers anymore. I started writing."