'A great voice falls silent': Christopher Hitchens tributes pour in on Twitter

(CNN) -- "My chief consolation in this year of living dyingly has been the presence of friends," wrote Christopher Hitchens in June before his death Friday from complications of esophageal cancer at the age of 62.

Now, friends and peers of the British-American author have eulogized Hitchens on Twitter.

The tributes were led by British novelist Salman Rushdie, who tweeted "Goodbye, my beloved friend. A great voice falls silent. A great heart stops."

Hitchens, an outspoken atheist and critic of religion, defended Rushdie when the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa on his life in 1989 following the publication of "The Satanic Verses."

Richard Dawkins, a fellow atheist and author of "The God Delusion," tweeted: "Christopher Hitchens, finest orator of our time, fellow horseman, valiant fighter against all tyrants including God."     Read Here