Apart for Terry who do you consider the best writers?

[Perestroika]

Jasper Fforde - I got into his stuff shortly after getting into discworld. I love his stuff, though I really wish he'd ditch the thursday next series 2 books ago. I don't know if I could even be bothered reading the rest of the last one. everything else is fine though.


Kurt Vonnigutt Jr
Arthur C. Clark
Douglas Adams
Philip Pullman
Ben Elton
Robert Jordan

[turbochicken]

Here's some of the writers who I go back to again and again.
Terry Pratchett (Obviously)
Bernard Cornwell
CJ Sansom
Elmore Leonard
Mo Hayder
Tim Dorsey (Really good series about a loveable homicidal maniac)
Carl Hiaasen
Irvine Welsh (Glue is probably the best Scottish novel ever written IMHO)
John Grisham

[Catch-up]

Forgot to add Cecelia Ahern.

[NickPretzel]

I was looking for a thread like this. Here're some of my favourite authors and books:

• Kurt Vonnegut - I'm surprised he's only cropped up once too:

  ...Kurt Vonnegut...

  
  just noticed this entry (I searched for "Kurt AND Vonnegut OR Vonnegut") so twice then
  

  ...
  Kurt Vonnigutt Jr...

  a wonderful humanist author. I haven't read all of his books, but most. Favourites include 'Breakfast of Champions' and 'Slaughterhouse 5'.
• Neil Gaiman - I've been told his novels are a bit disappointing, but I thought 'Stardust' was wonderful (good film too) and 'The Sandman' graphic novels are just mind-bowing.
• Diana Wynne Jones - generally considered a children's author, but Neil Gaiman is a fan. Sadly she died recently (in March this year). The Chrestomanci stories are soooooo much better than the Harry Potter books.
• Alan Moore - the best Batman story ever ('The Killing Joke'), 'V for Vendetta' and 'Watchmen' are all dazzling. He's another author where you're guaranteed a great story.
• Neal Stephenson - OK, 'Zodiac' was a little below par, but 'Snow Crash' was awesome (in the true sense, rather than the over-used americanism - no offense) - cyber-punk better than William Gibson - and 'Cryptonomicon' was brilliant too.
• Frank Herbert - to my mind one of the best sci-fi writers ever. 'Dune' was just astounding. Of the sequels I liked 'Heretics of Dune' the best. 'The White Plague' is a gripping pshycho-thriller set in the near present. Full of ideas, no one beats him for variety (try 'The Green Brain', 'The Dosadi Experment' or 'The Eyes of Heisenberg').
• Gore Vidal - 'Creation' is one of the best historical novels I've ever read. Set in 500BC, it tells the life story of an ambassador to the Persian Empire, who travels to Greece, Babylon, India (where he meets the 23rd incarnation of the Buddha and Cathay (ancient China - where he meets Confucius) to mention a few. Then there's 'Kalki', 'Live from Golgotha' and for those of you interested in US history I would also recommend the Narratives of Empire series (Burr, Lincoln, 1876, Empire, Hollywood, Washington DC and The Golden Age).

It looks like they're almost all sci-fi/fantasy. Oh well. I do read other books too, but I guess my favourite authors are all in that genre. Some favourite books include:

• The Phantom Tollbooth - by Norton Juster. Another "children's" book, but obviously written with adults in mind. Some of the best puns outside of TP's. In fact the humour in this book is not dissimilar to the Discworld's. One of my all time favourite books and in my top ten.
• Threat - by Richard Jessup. I read this on holiday in Greece, having bought it from a kiosk in Patras. It was one of the only english books they had, but it turned out to be a fantastic thriller.
• The Difference Engine - by Bruce Sterling and William Gibson. Set in Victorian England with the premise that Charles Babbage's difference engine had been made to work, giving rise to the information revolution happening during the industrial revolution. Sci-fi set in the past!
• Sovereign - by C J Sansom. Another historical novel. Sansom manages to evoke a real 'feel' for the period. I also liked 'Dark Fire', but haven't read 'Dissolution' (which my dad tells me was the best of the first three), 'Revelation' or 'Heartstone' yet.
• Catch 22 - by Joseph Heller. A classic, but don't read 'Something Happened' the most tedious, boring book I've ever read.
• The Stainless Steel Rat - by Harry Harrison. this and its sequels are a whimsical spoof of the 007 school, except it's sci-fi and our hero, Slippery Jim diGriz, is the galaxy's greatest thief.
• Steppenwolf - by Herman Hesse. I read this in the original German. Has an extraordinary, wistful, dream-like quality.
• The Sprawl Trilogy - by William Gibson. Consists of 'Neuromacer', 'Count Zero' and 'Mona Lisa Overdrive'. The birth of cyber-punk. I also recommend his short stories ('Burning Chrome' which includes 'Johnny Mnemonic' made into a film (1995) starring Keanu Reaves) and the Bridge Trilogy, which consists of 'Virtual Light', 'Idoru' and 'All Tomorrow's Parties', the last of which I haven't (yet) read.
• The Wizard of Earthsea - by Ursula K Le Guin. I loved this book, although, ironically, I'm not really a fan of fantasy fiction (the swords and dragons type, though oddly enough, the two exceptions are female writers. I'm not counting TP, of course, though I'd argue that the fantasy element in his books is incidental. Naturally enough, I've read Tolkien, but I find his books a bit ponderous, at least on re-reading them. Of his, I think I preferred 'The Hobbit' in the end. It just had less of the taking-himself-too-seriously about it, at least for me. Now you all hate me . My brother is a huge fan and I've been trying to get him into either TP or 'Dune' for ages).

I guess that's enough for now. I need to get off to work anyway. I'll edit this later as I think of all those authors/books I've forgotten...

[Who's Wee Dug]

I'm listening to Snow crash audio book at the mo. long time since I've read my copy, and the only Gibson book I don't have on your list is All Tomorrows Parties.

[NickPretzel]

I knew there'd be some kindred spirits here. This makes me think I'm bound to like at least some of the other authors and books mentioned in this thread.
I've still got 'Virtual Light' and 'Idoru' myself (as I mentioned in another thread, all my books, records and CDs got stolen a while back - just makes you realize how much stuff you accumulate over the years).

[Heartsfan2]

I really enjoy reading Darren Shan books. I have everyone and think they are just fantastic

[deldaisy]

Yeah I like Gore Vidal. He gives an amazing interview too.

Edit: Don't edit it hun... just do another post.

[Who's Wee Dug]

I knew there'd be some kindred spirits here. This makes me think I'm bound to like at least some of the other authors and books mentioned in this thread.
I've still got 'Virtual Light' and 'Idoru' myself (as I mentioned in another thread, all my books, records and CDs got stolen a while back - just makes you realize how much stuff you accumulate over the years).

Did you have a break-in, when I lived in London I had some mates in Hackney.

[NickPretzel]

Not exactly. It's a bit of a long story, but the long and the short of it is that my ex (my son's mother) is a junkie and she took the keys to my flat while I was away and stole just about anything she could carry. The really annoying thing is that there were some real rarities (e.g. a Charlie Parker 10" recorded on the eve of his first nervous breakdown) in the collection and, as a musician, the records and CDs were my legacy to my son, in a way (there were some 250 odd LPs and as many CDs. Even some of the CDs have proven really difficult to find).

[Who's Wee Dug]

That's a real bummer,probably sold them for afraction of their worth.

[NickPretzel]

Yeah I like Gore Vidal. He gives an amazing interview too.

Edit: Don't edit it hun... just do another post.

Doesn't he just! I find his wit scathing; and of course. Who wants to trawl through an old post for changes, especially when it's as long mine was. Which leads me neatly to my first addendum:

• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - by Robert M(aynard) Pirsig. I first read this book when I was 14 and then re-read it some fifteen years ago, realizing what a profound and lasting influence it had had on me. I've also read 'Lila: An Inquiry into Morals', which was also very good, but lacked the impact that the first book had. That's not a criticism, just that I was much younger when I read the first one
• The Star Diaries - by Stanislaw Lem. Some wonderfully funny short stories featuring Ijon Tichy. I particularly liked "The Eighth Voyage", which begins with a future Ijon crashing through his bookcase to convince the present Ijon to take a job, much to the present Ijon's annoyance. The only way he can stop his future self from repeatedly crashing through the bookcase is by accepting the job. Naturally the story ends with Ijon crashing through his bookcase to convince his past self to take the job . Other books of his I've read include 'The Futurological Congress' and 'Return from the Stars'.

There was another one, but I've forgotten what it was now.

[Ragdoll]

Other than Pratchett, the authors I keep coming back to are:

Asimov - Foundation simply rocks and I'm a huge follower of his Frankenstein theory
H.P.Lovecraft - the Dreamlands segment is simply brilliant
Dan Simmons - some of the best world images stems from him. Hoping the upcoming movie(s?) are worth watching

Many other fantastic writers are out there, but this short list are those I keep coming back to (besides TP), and are those I pester friends with, when they need a new read