What is your favorite Science Fiction/Fantasy author?

[HoHun]

Hi Clave,

>Cool - I hope you like it as much as do...

I'm confident that most likely, I will - thanks for the recommendation!

One of my latest favourites in Fantasy is Walter Moers, by the way. He writes humorous stuff, disguised as children's book, but in fact far more subtle and ironic than children could appreciate. And while he has written what looks like a series, he has in fact changed the genre with each book, covering sea stories, fairy tales, adventure, gothic novels and - surprise! - children's stories, each with heaps of imagination, a good dose of irony, and a definite twist.

Hard to describe, but if you like Terry Pratchett, Piers Anthony and Douglas Adams, you're probably going to enjoy Walter Moers though he really doesn't fit any mold. If you've read Goldman's fantastic "The Princess Bride", you might recognize a similar free-flowing torrent of imagination in Moers' books, but Moers really soars higher.

"13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear" is the first title in the "Zamonia" series ... heavy-duty sailor's yarn!

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

 

[Njaco]

I don't know if anyone saw this but Pbfoot posted in Obituaries that Arthur C. Clarke died last week. Gonna miss him. I have several of his books including an original "Childhood's End".

 

[HoHun]

Hi Clave,

>As for females, C J Cherryh's Faded Sun trilogy is epic and in some ways it is what Dune should have been...

>It's available as a single volume now and I give it 9.9/10

I just finished it - you're right, it's great stuff, and would give it a high rating, too Thanks for the recommendation!

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

 

[Freebird]

I don't know if anyone saw this but Pbfoot posted in Obituaries that Arthur C. Clarke died last week. Gonna miss him. I have several of his books including an original "Childhood's End".

Yeah it's the passing of a real pioneer. "Rendezvous with Rama" "Imperial Earth" were a couple of my favorites.

I was in a mall last weekend, they had a big sale of used books I found a copy of "Rama II" so I'm looking forward to reading that one

 

[Freebird]

Stephen Donaldson is the best fantasy author in history.

I can't begin to tell you how deep his characters are, or how wide the breadth of his imagination, it is enough to say that the 700+ pages of The Runes of the Earth flowed past in the last 4 days - sheer genius...

By the way, if you do want get into this, you must start at the beginning or it wont make sense...

Clave, you really should read Robin Hobb, her books are really remarkable. She's up there with Stephen Donaldson.

Hey guys, I've heard of Donaldson but never read his works, who would you compare his style to?

 

[buzzard]

I'm not a real fantasy fan, but Donaldson's first two 'Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever', trilogies are superb. His work is a homage to Tolkien and is filled with allusions to many classic works of fantasy and fable.

The main reason, IMO, that so many people dislike this series, is due to the unbelievably frustrating nature of his protagonist. He is simply infuriating...and this infuriates a lot of readers. Covenant just won't do what you want him to do.

l've enjoyed many of the works mentioned in this thread, but I'm kinda' surprised that no one has mentioned Dan Simmons', "Hyperion/Endymion" saga. Like Iain M Bank's 'Culture' novels, Simmon's books abound with fantastically novel ideas and characters. And both he and Banks can really write.

Here's some of my other favorites...

Alfred Bester --- 'Stars My Destination'
AA Atanasio --- 'Radix'
Philip K. Dick ---Too many to mention (Bladerunner is an adaptation of one of his novels)
Ursula K. Leguin --- Just her earlier works, esp "Left Hand of Darkness" and "The Dispossessed"
Delaney (can't remember his first name!)---'Dahlgren' and 'Titan'
Robert Silverberg --- 'Thorns' and 'Dying Inside'
Robert Sheckley ---'Mindswap'. Sheckley's stuff is hilarious!
Greg Bear ---'Forge of God'/ 'Anvil of the Stars'
Orson Scott Card --- 'Speaker for the Dead' is IMO his best work
Kurt Vonnegut
Frederick Pohl --- 'Gateway' series
A gazillion others I can't think of right now...

And my two all-time favorites...Jack Vance and Gene Wolfe

Vance is arguably the greatest stylist in the Sf genre, and his 'Demon Princes' series is a true classic, as is his 'Lyonesse' fantasy trilogy. There's no one else like him, with his mordant humor, talent for dialog, and ability to create unique but somehow familiar cultures.

Gene Wolfe's 4 volume "Book of the New Sun" (Shadow of the Torturer; Sword of the Lictor; Claw of the Conciliator; Citadel of the Autarch) can be read over and over again. No description can do it justice. He's probably the best writer in the genre.

JL

 

[RabidAlien]

Wow. Where to start?!? *g* I have only read the first page of this thread, so if I repeat.....deal with it! *g* I have always loved Arthur C. Clarke, especially his short-stories. "Tales from the White Hart" was awesome! Other Sci-fi favs would be David Weber ("Honor Harrington" series), Steve Perry's "Matador" series and Chris Bunch/Allan Cole's "Sten" series. On the fantasy side, you can't beat Robert Jordan or (relatively) newcomer Carol Berg. Berg's character development is second to none!

 

[AVRoe]

Timothy Zahn Very good but the best is alastair reynolds.

 

[Hop]

Gene Wolfe's 4 volume "Book of the New Sun" (Shadow of the Torturer; Sword of the Lictor; Claw of the Conciliator; Citadel of the Autarch) can be read over and over again. No description can do it justice. He's probably the best writer in the genre.

I was just going to add my vote for Wolfe, but that encapsulates it perfectly.

 

[Maximowitz]

Michael Moorcock. I grew up reading his stuff, Elric, Corum, Hawkmoon etc..

I like his serious work too like "Mother London."

 

[Procrastintor]

Oh god where to start. Well, I've read all the LOTR books as well as the Hobbit, so obviously Tolkien. But as I also picked other, Orson Scott Card, he wrote Enders Game, and that book is excellent, the new movie looks like it'll do about zero justice unfortunately. (Except the cool shots of the F-35s LOL)

 

[Maximowitz]

Missing out the great (and sadly late) Iain M. Banks I see...... shame on you.

 

[CORSNING]

I am sooo disappointed in all you guys. I admit I only skimmed this thread, so maybe someone did mention his name. But I didn't see it. It's got me so worked up I can barely stand it. I'm not even going to mention his name. Whoever started this thread aught to be ashamed his name wasn't up close to the top of the list. I'm just going to post a very small list of his works just to embarrass you all. But just in case his name was listed so far, that persons off the hook.

THE LIST:

The Mist
The Gunslinger
The Running Man
Tommy Knockers
IT
Langoliers
Christine
Desperation
DREAMCATCHER

I'm done here. Richard Bachman and I are going in the other room now and put a great SCI FI movie into the old DVD Player. Shame on you guys.

Have a great night, Jeff.

 

[Westfield Charlie]

Well, like most, I don't know where to start. I've been reading SF/Fantasy for 50+ years (yes, I'm older than dirt), and am a paid reviewer of self-published SF/Fantasy books, so I have a loooong list of favorites, many of which, to my great delight, have been already mentioned on this thread. So with apologies for those I have left out, here are some of my all-time favorites that may not have been mentioned, in no particular order: A. E. Van Vogt, The Silkie, Slan; Asimov, The Robot Series, The Foundation Series; Ian McDonald, Desolation Road; Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination (which many consider the best SF novel ever written); Iain Banks, Matter; Ursula LeGuin, Left Hand of God, The Disposessed; Kate Wilhelm, Where Last The Sweet Birds Sang; Walter M. Miller Jr, A Canticle For Liebowitz; Pat Frank, Alas Babylon; Joan Vinge, The Snow Queen; Frederick Pohl, Gateway; James Alan Gardner, Expendable, Ascending; Robert Reed, Beyond The Veil of Stars; Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policeman's Union; Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land (of course!); Niven and Pournelle, Mote In God's Eye; Gordon Dickson! The Dorsai Series, esp Soldier Ask Not; C.J. Cherryh, Downbelow Station; C.L.Moore, short stories (from the 1930's); Julie Czernada, The Trade Pack Universe Series Novels; Robert Silverberg, Hawksbill Station, Tower of Glass. I can honestly recommend any one of these as a good read.

 

[Marcel]

Robin Hobb springs to mind. Have a hard time putting her books down.
Edit: just went back to the first page and I see I already said that earlier. Ah well, at least I'm consistent

 

[N4521U]

Me and Cameron Diaz!
Fantasy...... cuz it's not likely to happen!
Science Fiction.............. cuz I've had a prostate cancer operation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh sh!t, this is a multiple choice thingy...... I'll come back later.

 

[michaelmaltby]

Frank Herbert "Dune"

 

[swampyankee]

In the "others":
Iain M Banks, Joe Haldeman (if you haven't read Forever War, you should: in many ways it's the exact opposite of Starship Troopers, but, unlike Heinlein, he saw combat, and was wounded), CJ Cherryh, and Lois McMaster Bujold.

I'd also suggest Harry Harrison, China Miéville, Nicola Griffith, and Nalo Hopkinson.

 

[GrauGeist]

Where would a person start, with such a lineup?

Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, Aurther C. Clark, Gene Roddenbury were really visionaries. Bradbury and Heinlein creating "what ifs" before thier time...

And the list goes on.

Maybe there should have been a "select all" feature on the poll?

 

[Njaco]

Richard Bachman???

I would categorize him as Horror. You forgot "The Stand" and "Maximum Overdrive" !!!!!!