Favorite writer

[shaolin_hendrix]

Who is your favorite writer and why? My favorite is Edgar Allan Poe. His stories are intense and look at the darker side of people. "Black Cat" was awsome.

[mystererae]

Umm... it may seem childish but I'd still say JK Rowling, because she's never written anything boring or wasted words -- at least in my opinion -- even if the length of her books do seem to rival the bible. Her stories come off as original, fresh, funny...

as for writers for a more adult audience, I'm a big fan of Fitzgerald (great stories, but sometimes I stop paying attention through long paragraphs) and Matheson (truly unforgettable books).

[DaiHomme52]

Edgar Allan Poe as stated above, and Dean Koontz. Dean's books are magnificent and I love his characters.

[Athleng Nordic]

Umm... it may seem childish but I'd still say JK Rowling, because she's never written anything boring or wasted words -- at least in my opinion -- even if the length of her books do seem to rival the bible. Her stories come off as original, fresh, funny...

as for writers for a more adult audience, I'm a big fan of Fitzgerald (great stories, but sometimes I stop paying attention through long paragraphs) and Matheson (truly unforgettable books).

She should receive the Noble Prize for Literature because she has got kids to forgo the tv and wait in line for hours to buy abd be the first to read a book.

[Kwajman]

Sandra Stone, Guide to inner peace....

[Athleng Nordic]

Too many to chose from so I'll just say the masters of Sci-Fi Fantasy.

[Twelve Eggs]

Donald Bartheleme, some guy beat up dan rather while saying "whats the frequency, kenneth?!", a line from the indian uprising, a shortstory by this guy. that alone makes him the best ever.

[Mr. Anderson]

Although the quality of the last few has been sub-par, I still have to go with Tom Clancy for a good action read.

Stephen King for his warped mind and captivating books.

And Miguel de Cervantes for absolute talent as a writer (Don Quijote).

[Sever]

Chuck Palahniuk. In my opinion, no one since Bret Easton Ellis has pushed the envelope (or their luck) like he does. He's great. I'm also a big fan of the aforementioned Ellis and Caitlin R. Kiernan. She can make even the most basic scene breathtaking due to her unique style

[Athleng Nordic]

I liked Fight Club. Any others you might recommend?

[Sever]

Survivor, Diary, Lullaby and Choke are all great. I didn't go too much on Invisible Monsters. Non-Fiction is currently on my bookshelf to read soon

[Athleng Nordic]

Since you like Chuck you'd most likely enjoy an Tim Powers. Try Expiration Date.

[Sever]

I'll do that, thanks :)

[PowerTurtle]

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is neat.
I like Edgar Allen Poe, too. Have you read the Cask of Amontillado?

[Camel_Kid]

George Orwell.... 'Nuff said. :P
(1984 was awesome!)


- Camel

[beef]

I don't have one favourite writer but several - they are:


JK Rowling
- Yes I know but the later books are more aimed at adults (IMHO) - both kids and adults can enjoy them - epecially if the adult is a big kid at heart!

Dan Brown
Michael Crichton
John Case
Richard Morgan
- These authors are all excellent thriller/sci fi writers. They get you gripped with lots of twist and turns in the plots!

John Wyndham
- Amazing sci fi writer - so ahead of his time!

Terry Goodkind
- Brilliant fantasy writer - you really get into his world.

Terry Pratchett
- very witty fantasy writer. Has me LOL on the train (very embarrassing!)

I read books on the train home from work. All the above authors have their own style but the thing they share in common is that they are well written and I don't want to stop reading when the trains at my station!

[lemon77]

My favorite author is Charles Dickens. I love his characters - they're so multi-faceted and have interesting personalities - very distinctive and unique.

I haven't read all of his works or a great variety of novels and works. It will be some time before I can gauge what I really like in different genres and from there, choose what my favorites are for whatever reasons.

I don't think I'll have a true favorite until I've sampled everything, at the very least.

:rolleyes: Ignore me if I'm souding nitpicky and annoying.

[fugepilot]

Too many to chose from so I'll just say the masters of Sci-Fi Fantasy.

Ditto. :)

[Tyranith]

Michael Moorcock is my all time favourite author, closely followed by RA Salvatore, Philip Pullman, and a few others. I absolutely love Moorcock's style of writing, I'm not even sure why I like it so much, I just do.

I'm slightly surprised JK Rowling is getting such a good showing here... her first four books are enjoyable, I'll admit, but there's no way she can compare to most of the other writers people have been mentioning.

[Anth]

Not a fiction writer, but Stephen E Ambrose is my favourite.

Bloody good at researching his books and getting the facts spot on including years of interviews (I think he spent around 5 years interviewing just Eisenhower).

For those who dont know of him, he wrote Band of Brothers, Pegasus Bridge, Wild Blue, D-Day, Citizen Soldiers, The Victors and some stuff about the American Civil War and biographies of General (later President) Eisenhower.

[seiki juku kid]

Aldous Huxley (brave new world, point counter point, island, the doors of perception!!! :love: )

[Lilika]

Tom Clancy - I'm a big fan of techno-thrillers. He is also the creator of my favorite character, John Clark/Kelly.

Edgar Allan Poe - The Bells and Alone are amazing.

[smiff]

mmmmm, tis a hard 1

Robert Twigger - Angry white pyjamas was a brilliant book, i love his style of writing the detail in his books is brilliant.

Terry Pratchett - You gotta love this mans humour.

Jk Rowling - wat i can i say, love harry potter lol

LUke

[Mufty]

Edger Rice Boroughs

Tarzan

John Carter of Mars

The Moon Maid

The Land That Time Forgot

Island at The Top of The World

At The earths Core

Banths, Thoats, Red and Green martians, Sword fighting, beasts n maids its all a jolly good romp.

[oosh]

Hemingway and Tolkien

[budogirl]

I didn't realise I had so many when I started this post....

Charles Bukowski (especially Post Office and Women)
Raymond Carver (All his short stories)
Sylvia Plath (The Bell Jar)
JD Salinger (The Catcher in the Rye)
Tony Hawks (for the comedy writing of "Round Ireland with a fridge" and "Playing the Moldovians at Tennis")
Irvine Welsh (especially Trainspotting and The Acid House)
Graham Greene (especially Travels with my Aunt and The end of the affair)
Patrick Hamilton (Hangover Square)

[Ives]

One of my favourites is Fredrick Forsyth.

Sometimes I really have to stop reading, since my nerves start working against me.. :D

But I have to say, I read very diverse. From heavy literature to your 'I need something to read' pocketbook.

[Cannibal Bob]

Terry Pratchett.

Gotta love the Nac Mac Feegle!

[kano junior]

Some of my favourites:

JK Rowling
Isabel Allende
Johnathan Stroud

[Gasg]

Alessandro Baricco!

His books are.. hmm.. indescriptible. It's just pure work of art\ And makes you think\ And makes you laugh\ And uses weird ponctuation too\ But anytime spent with one of his
books, is totally well spent.
At least for me it is.

[xen]

paulo coelho - a most gifted storyteller

[Guizzy]

Favorite fiction authors:
H.-P Lovecraft
If you like Poe, you cannot miss Lovecraft! His stories has a much deeper feeling to it. You need to have read a lot of the stories to really get into his complex universe (while Poe's fragments of madness are great for quick "bites"), but the beauty of the prose alone is enough to keep you reading.


Phillip K. D1ck
Anyone with a remote interest in sci-fi should read at least one good novel/story from PKD. His cynism, his deeply convoluted psychological stories are delightful. The man is truly a genius! A lot of good and not so good movies were adapted from his stories. Blade Runner is an adaptation of his novel "Do androïds dream of electric sheep?". Total Recall is an adaptation of PKD's "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" short story. Minority Report, Screamers, Paycheck, the upcoming "A scanner darkly"... All these are his creations. Be aware that while most of his stories are in a sci-fi or fantasy context, most of them are not "about" sci-fi, unlike what some of the adaptations seem to put the emphasis on.


Paul Linebarger (Cordwainer Smith)
Unfortunately, this one is pretty obscure. But I fell in love with his epic "Rediscovery of Man" (collection of stories). I feel the man uses sci-fi with such a mastery of the genre, in order to tell tales and lessons about our own time.


Favorite non-fiction author:
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Anyone with a passing interest in real humanist philosophy should absolutely read Rousseau. Right now!


Authors I hate:
Stephen King
The man has good ideas, yes, but I feel he is unable of "delivering" them without boring the reader. His stories make much better films than they make books.


Michael Crichton
Clichés, clichés, clichés...