American writer David Eddings, author of The Elenium series and more than two dozen other fantasy and adventure novels, has died at his home in Carson City, Nev. He was 77.

Eddings died Tuesday of natural causes, according to a statement from his family.

His last book was The Younger Gods, published in 2006, part of The Dreamers series that tells of a war between the gods of Dhrall and a creature known as the Vlagh, which has the power to direct the evolution of the creatures it uses to do its bidding.

The earlier books in series, including The Elder Gods and The Treasured One, were written with his wife Leigh, who died in 2007.

Eddings's first fantasy series, written in the 1980s, were The Belgariad and The Mallorean featuring the adventures of the warrior-prophet Garion, beginning with his boyhood.

His popular Elenium series — The Diamond Throne, The Ruby Knight and The Sapphire Rose — chronicled the exploits of knight Sparhawk and his attempts to save Queen Ehlana, who had been poisoned.

Eddings was born July 7, 1931, in Spokane, Wash., and studied at Reed College and the University of Washington. His West Coast upbringing is reflected in the ever-present rain in his novels.

He was drafted into the U.S. army in 1961 and after his service became a college lecturer.

However, he worked in a grocery store as he wrote his first published novel High Hunt, the story of four young men hunting deer.

Known for his doorstop-sized tomes, Eddings habitually worked in the early morning.

"I get up at an unholy hour in the morning, [and] my work day is completed by the time the sun rises," he said. "I have a slightly bad back, which has made an enormous contribution to American literature."

After struggling as a writer of adventure novels, he re-read Lord of the Rings, and it inspired him to move into the fantasy genre.

"I'm never going to be in danger of getting the Nobel Prize for literature," Eddings said of his work. "I'm a storyteller, not a prophet. I'm just interested in a good story."

With files from the Associated Press