Top 5 Favorite Authors!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hemingway
  • Start date Start date
Surprisingly, even with my limited reading of the scifi/fantasy genre (compared to most of you, anyhow), weeding down to five will be difficult. The biggest problem is that I have read one book from many esteemed authors, but I have not read several from one particular author. I would like to eliminate those I have only read one book from, but then my list would be rather disappointing.

I suppose, this is who they would be:

1. J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit and the LOTR series are all as close to 'perfect' as any novel I have ever read. It is definitely the standard to which I compare all fantasy novels to.

2. George R.R. Martin - The ASOIAF series is the best thing I have read from modern fantasy, or from any genre recently for that matter. Outside of that series, I only have read Fevre Dream from him, but that, too, was quite excellent.

3. China Mieville - I have only read Perdido Street Station from him, but it was an amazing read. The city of New Crobuzon was incredibly deep and powerful. I adored the truly shaded and colorful characters and the impacts of their decisions. I also thought the ending was fantastic and impactful. I look forward to moving onto The Scar soon.

4. Joe Abercrombie - Again, I have only read one book from Joe (Blade Itself), but it was a fantastic read that got better with each chapter. I enjoyed how each character's POV read completely different from another's, truly giving the sense of being with that character, rather than having someone tell you their POV. That is how it feels reading most fantasy POVs and I felt Joe really broke past that barrier, and in his debut novel no less. I shall finally be getting to Before They Are Hanged soon, and look forward to further dwelving into one of my all time favorite characters, Glotka. It also doesn't hurt that he frequently comes around here and posts randomly, without any pretentiousness either.

5. Guy Gavriel Kay - I have only read Tigana, but I found it to be a beautiful read, and the closest I have found an author be to Tolkien without it feeling like a copy or a fake. Of course, when I look back, I try to forget about the terrible epilogue that followed a wonderful ending. I have several of his other books and will be reading them eventually.

Honorable Mentions - George Orwell, Ursula K. Le Guin, Brandon Sanderson, Susanna Clarke and Dan Simmions. Especially Sanderson, who I think may have the best chance of this group to break my Top 5.
 
1. George R.R Martin, no series has ever drawn me in so much as ASoIaF.
2. Brandon Sanderson, loved The Gathering Storm, Mistborn, and Elantris, cannot wait to begin his new series!
3. Raymond E. Feist, an early favorite, though imo his later work is no where near the quality of the Riftwar and Serpent War series.
4. Robert Jordan, I've gotten so much enjoyment out of the WOT that I can hardly omit Jordan.
5. Jim Butcher, I love the Dresden files, ever entertaining and better for a quick read than almost anything.

Joe Abercrombie, Patrick Rothfuss, and Terry Pratchett would all probably be on there were I in a slightly different mood..
 
  1. Ursula K. Le Guin
  2. Margaret Atwood
  3. Sheri S. Tepper
  4. Robin McKinley
  5. Guy Gavriel Kay

Not all of those writers write fantasy, but meh. If I could, I'd be adding Arthur C. Clarke and Philip K. Dick to that list as well.
 
China Mieville
Stephen King
Clive Barker
Dan Simmons
and my new favourite author Robert Charles Wilson.
 
Westsiyeed said:
China Mieville
Stephen King
Clive Barker
Dan Simmons
and my new favourite author Robert Charles Wilson.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, what Clive Barker books pushed him into your top 5? A friend of mine swore he was the gratest author ever and recommended THE GREAT AND SECRET SHOW as his best work. I didn't feel the same and don't plan on picking up EVERVILLE (though I have it on my shelf). I have 6-7 other books by him and need to be motivated into giving them a go.
 
quajack said:
Out of curiosity, what Clive Barker books pushed him into your top 5? A friend of mine swore he was the gratest author ever and recommended THE GREAT AND SECRET SHOW as his best work. I didn't feel the same and don't plan on picking up EVERVILLE (though I have it on my shelf). I have 6-7 other books by him and need to be motivated into giving them a go.
Click to expand...

Well if you didn't like The Great and Secret Show there's probably a good chance he won't become one of your favourite authors :)

His books are usually a blend of fantasy and horror, with some leading more one way than the others. Personally I think Imagica and Weaveworld are his best fantasy novels and The Books of Blood short stories collection is great horror.

But I think all his early books up to Galilee (and including The Great and Secret Show) are all very good. Since then he's been a bit hit and miss.
 
Last edited:
Did I post here already? I cant' remember, but I don't think so...

Anyway, as for favorite authors, those change for me, but for now, in no particular order:

Roger Zelazny
Scott Bakker
Gene Wolfe
Dan Simmons

Those are the ones I can think of. Problem is that only Wolfe and Zelazny are certain presences there. I mean, with Bakker it's all going to depend on how The Second Apocalypse develops, and Simmons is only present on account of The Hyperion Cantos being the single greatest work of Science Fiction ever written. I can't say that I've been impressed enough with anything else he's written. There is a huge number of other writers who I've only read one or two books of (Gibson, Brunner, Sturgeon, Bradbury), or who have dissapointed me at one time or another (Erikson), and so I wouldn't put them in a "favorite" list...
 
In no particular order the winners are:

Robert Jordan- I wonder how big the stack of notes is that he left behind. I couldn't imagine keeping track of everything for alllllll those pages and books.

David Eddings- I don't get smarter reading his books, but they are always great page turners.

Stephen King- Excellent storyteller. I wouldn't go into his brain without a friend, a flashlight, and a shotgun.

Raymond E. Feist- The Barry Bonds of fantasy authors. He should have quit earlier in his career before doing stupid stuff.

Piers Anthony- In my opinion he is the epitome of page turner authors. In a genre that has always taken itself a little too seriously, he doesn't. His Bio of a Space Tyrant books are brilliant too.

Honorable Mention-
Webster- Without him books would be REALLY hard to read.
 
Rexington said:
In no particular order the winners are:

Robert Jordan- I wonder how big the stack of notes is that he left behind. I couldn't imagine keeping track of everything for alllllll those pages and books.

David Eddings- I don't get smarter reading his books, but they are always great page turners.

Stephen King- Excellent storyteller. I wouldn't go into his brain without a friend, a flashlight, and a shotgun.

Raymond E. Feist- The Barry Bonds of fantasy authors. He should have quit earlier in his career before doing stupid stuff.

Piers Anthony- In my opinion he is the epitome of page turner authors. In a genre that has always taken itself a little too seriously, he doesn't. His Bio of a Space Tyrant books are brilliant too.

Honorable Mention-
Webster- Without him books would be REALLY hard to read.
Click to expand...

Some great and accurate comments - especially on Feist and Eddings... I think a little Sprite dribbled out the side of my mouth laughing.

And Anthony's rarely mentioned - A Spell for Chameleon (and most subsequent Xanth novels) was one of the first things that got me into SFF. And I doubt I'm the only one.
 
1. Guy Gavriel Kay
2. Joe Abercrombie
3. Brandon Sanderson
4. Robert Jordan
5. GRRM

Others that are close, but miss either because I haven't read enough of their books to make my top 5, or haven't written enough include: Chris Wooding, Peter V. Brett, Robert V.S. Redick, Patrick Rothfuss, Michael J. Sullivan, Scott Lynch, and Ursula Le Guin. Really, after GGK, its a huge toss up.

EDIT: Forgot Tolkein. Not sure where he would fit in right now, it has been such a long time since I read the LOTR books. Might have to do a re-read sometime.
 
Last edited:
Favorites list...

1)Robin Hobb- She wins out over Martin because she includes more history of her world in her novels, I just love that.
2)George RR Martin- Great Characters, Great story
3)Guy Gavriel Kay- I love how many of his novels are kinda like one country or another, but I am not big on poetry.
4)Daniel Abraham- seriously the posing makes me giggle
5)Jacqueline Carey- I remember loving her Kushiel's Dart series, but it has been a while.

I know I didn't mention Tolkien but of course he is awesome so that is like a waste of a slot. I also really like Jordan even if I hate his females, the detail is awesome in those books.

I have not read many of the authors previously mentioned, so my top 5 may change when I do, though 1&2 will be hard to displace.
 
My list changes over time, but currently it is:

Steven Erikson
Stephen King
Alexandre Dumas
Leo Tolstoy
Andrew Offutt
 
These are my top 5 in no real order-

Weiss and Hickman- More for nostalgia / the authors that first got me into reading many years ago.

GGRM- For reasons many have already posted.

Robin Hobb- The Farseer Trilogy really blew me away, as did the series after.

Glen Cook- The Black Company was a really fun read, although the latter books were hard to get through, at least for me.

Joe Abercrombie- As with The Black Company, these too were really greats reads, a great new author and i am looking forward to his new works.

I'm thinking of picking up some of Erikson's work but am a little leery as I've heard mixed reviews, we'll see what happens!
 
1) GRRM - Love ASOIAF obviously, but I also rate Fevre Dream and his short story collection as well

2) Stephen King - The guy is just a fantastic story teller. His characters are fantastic.

3) Bernard Cornwell - Only read the Warlord Chronicles, but I loved them so much that I have gone out and bought 16 of his books!

4) Robert McCammon - Love his Matthew Corbett series and Boy's Life is just fantastic. Looking forward to reading Swan Song.

5) John Connolly - Easily my favourite Crime/Thriller writer. His standalones are just as good.

I love both Robin Hobb and David Gemmell too but I have only read 2 of their books so far.
 
Fantasy:
1. GRRM
2. Hobb
3. GGK
4. Stover
5. Lynch

Overall
1. Maddox
2. GRRM
3. Hobb
4. Cornwell
5. Moore
 
George R. R. Martin
He basically is a God. He created a working world with a million interlinking factors and such realism. People die in war. inorite. <3

[strike]Terry Goodkind[/strike]
Nahhhhhh, I'm just shittin' ya'. =P

Philip Pullman
I can't help it, he basically formed my love of fantasy when I was a child.

Robin Hobb
Very in depth with world building and just actual exciting stories with a good pace of writing.

Steven Erikson
I like his style, I find it a little unique.

Raymond E. Feist
Just pure, solid, exciting storytelling.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Sponsors


We try to keep the forum as free of ads as possible, please consider supporting SFFWorld on Patreon


Your ad here.

Latest posts

Back
Top