I’ve many times waxed lyrical about my favourite books, or most influential books, or most useful ones in terms of research. But choosing my favourite authors is a different prospect. But, at SFFWorld’s request, I shall take up the challenge…
One of the most difficult parts of making this list is that my favourite books of all time aren’t necessarily written by my favourite authors. Indeed, my three favourite books ever are probably Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë), Dracula (Bram Stoker), and The Woman in Black (Susan Hill). But their authors either didn’t produce a great body of work, or else, in Hill’s case, usually write in an entirely different genre that isn’t my cup of tea – so they can’t really be called favourites.
Here, then, are the five authors whose work I have consistently returned to, and consistently enjoy.
Arthur Conan Doyle
The master of the crime novel, and direct inspiration for so much of my work, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has to top this list. I’ve read the Hound of the Baskervilles more times than I can remember, and film adaptations of his work have thrilled me since I was small. But Doyle is a favourite for more than just Sherlock Holmes. His ‘mummy’ short story, the Ring of Thoth, is a personal horror favourite, along with the Horror of the Heights, while the Professor Challenger novels are marvellous period ‘boy’s own’ adventures. I even rather enjoyed the White Company, though it’s not the easiest read today.
M R James
There’s not much to say about James that hasn’t already been said a million times. M R James is the finest writer of English ghost stories of all time, a champion of the ‘pleasing terror’ and author of some of the most memorable chills ever committed to paper (or oratory, actually, because most of his stories were designed to be read aloud). James’ stories generally revolve around curious antiquarians uncovering secrets best left alone. A big influence on the likes of Lovecraft, he basically took the disparate elements of Victorian ghost stories and made them his own, resulting in such classics as ‘Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’, ‘Lost Hearts’, ‘The Ash Tree’, ‘A Warning to the Curious’, ‘A View from the Hill’, ‘The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral’, and many more.
Adam Nevill
The most ‘modern’ author on my list, and one I’ve only discovered in the last three or four years, now award-winning horror writer Adam Nevill is keeping alive a British horror tradition that had previously been dwindling. His work conjures the lyrical prose of William Hope Hodgson or Walter de la Mare, but combines it with a grimy, urban terror and visceral horror, in a way that’s currently unmatched in the genre. His short stories are pretty amazing, too. If you read nothing else, check out The Ritual, and his collection of shorts, Some will Not Sleep.
William Hope Hodgson
The second short story writer on my list, and one that I’d choose over Lovecraft, Bierce, Dickens and even De La Mare. I am an absolutely obsessive fan of Hodgson’s Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder stories, but his genius for short fiction doesn’t stop there. While as a body of work I am more in awe of M R James’s fiction, Hodgson is responsible for The Voice in the Night, which is my favourite short story ever (If you’ve never read it, stop reading this and go find it, immediately!). And don’t forget, without his groundbreaking cosmic horror novels, The House on the Borderland and The Night Land, we probably wouldn’t have a Cthulhu Mythos.
Bernard Cornwell
The master of historical derring-do, Cornwell’s writing gave birth, of course, to the Sharpe TV series, which inspired my fascination with the Napoleonic period. Cornwell’s work can sometimes be hokey, but is never, ever dull. His early Sharpe novels are stirring, action-packed, romantic thrillers as much as anything, and great fun. But it is his King Arthur series, the Warlord Chronicles, that truly cements Cornwell as one of my favourites. I really wish the makers of increasingly awful Arthurian movies would just read this trilogy and make the darned film!
Close Contenders
As readers, our tastes change over time, but it would be remiss of me not to mention those authors who had a major impact on my life, especially in my childhood and teen years. I may not come back to them overmuch, but I absolutely devoured their work as a youth. So a tip of the hat to JRR Tolkien, Stephen King, Anne Rice, CS Lewis and Brian Lumley (a mixed bag, there). Without them, I probably never would have picked up the pen!
Mark’s latest book, The Legion Prophecy, Book Three of the Apollonian Casefiles, is published by Titan Books and is available now.
Many thanks to Philippa at Titan Books for helping sort this one!
