I was just sitting here, reading Rising Sun by Michael Crichton, my 11th book by him, and realized there was no favorite author(s) topic, so here it is.

I was never really personally a big reader, but my second semester of my senior year of high school, my Fiction 214 class read Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton and I was completely blown away by this man's writing style. In the next few months I had read many of his books, and started to read regularly. Not only do I enjoy his writing for the fluid style, intricate plots, exciting and thrilling storylines, diverse characters, and controversial topics, but he got me reading all kinds of other stuff! So far, I've read:

Jurassic Park
The Lost World
Congo
Sphere
Timeline
The Andromeda Strain
Prey
Next
The Terminal Man
State of Fear

I recently ordered six of his books from ebay for pretty cheap, so I'm going to stay busy for a little while with that. I also look forward to reading Eaters of the Dead and A Case of Need sometime soon.

I also enjoy Dan Brown's four novels, George Martin's "Ice and Fire" series, and of course old, pulp short stories by H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard.

Written by Clintagräm on 22.03.2008 at 08:56

I was just sitting here, reading Rising Sun by Michael Crichton, my 11th book by him, and realized there was no favorite author(s) topic, so here it is.

I was never really personally a big reader, but my second semester of my senior year of high school, my Fiction 214 class read Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton and I was completely blown away by this man's writing style. In the next few months I had read many of his books, and started to read regularly. Not only do I enjoy his writing for the fluid style, intricate plots, exciting and thrilling storylines, diverse characters, and controversial topics, but he got me reading all kinds of other stuff! So far, I've read:

Jurassic Park
The Lost World
Congo
Sphere
Timeline
The Andromeda Strain
Prey
Next
The Terminal Man
State of Fear

I recently ordered six of his books from ebay for pretty cheap, so I'm going to stay busy for a little while with that. I also look forward to reading Eaters of the Dead and A Case of Need sometime soon.

I also enjoy Dan Brown's four novels, George Martin's "Ice and Fire" series, and of course old, pulp short stories by H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard.

I'm with you here. I'm also a big fan of Crichton and I think I've read most of his books and some of them more than once. If you haven't read it already I can definitely recommend 'Airframe.' It's exciting and you learn quite a lot about airplanes. I think the best of his books are Prey and Next.
A funny thing about his books is that almost all of them have been made into movies...that's quite impressive IMO

Written by GT on 22.03.2008 at 13:19

I'm with you here. I'm also a big fan of Crichton and I think I've read most of his books and some of them more than once. If you haven't read it already I can definitely recommend 'Airframe.' It's exciting and you learn quite a lot about airplanes. I think the best of his books are Prey and Next.
A funny thing about his books is that almost all of them have been made into movies...that's quite impressive IMO

Oh yeah, definitely. I read about half of Airframe but for some reason didn't get through it. I'll have to pick it up again sometime.

my favorite authors so far, since i would like to read more and more authors, are H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar A. Poe, and J.R.R. Tolkien. i was never much of a good reader in school, but the at university i started to study literature and so far i have read really good stuff.
if anyone wants, i could recommend some books depending on what kind of style you like.

i like the russian author called Sergei Lukyanenko who wrote the Nightwatch trilogy. i heard of the film and saw that it was based on a book and i found all three of them in a bookstore.

his books are really interesting to read and really held my attention

My favourite author is Jostein Gaarder. He's a Norwegian author, who writes really philosophical books. His most famous book must be "Sophia's world" (not sure about the English title though). I've also read 3 other books from him and they're all really good. His books are not quick to read, because every once in a while you have to stop and think about the things that have happened and been said. Sometimes it can take days from me before I can start reading again.

Another author, whose books I adore is C. S. Lewis. I got my firts Narnia-book, when I was 8. I've read them all, some even multiple times. Facinating stories... It's also interesting to see the obvious effect of J. R. R. Tolkien in those books and at the same time, the effect of C. S. Lewis in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

Written by Ernotar on 24.03.2008 at 22:29

My favourite author is Jostein Gaarder. He's a Norwegian author, who writes really philosophical books. His most famous book must be "Sophia's world" (not sure about the English title though).

Yeah that's a great book, especially if you're into philosopy and psycology. I remember it getting a little wierd in the end though, but it's been a couple of years since I read it so I might be wrong.

My Favorite Author would have to be Michael Connelly, by far the best Mystery/Suspense writer of this century (imo of course). So far I've read 11 of his books and currently re-reading "The Poet". He's won an Edgar award, Nero Wolfe prize, a Macavity Award, and an Anthony award as well as having his book "Bloodwork" made into a major motion picture.

But all that put aside he's the only author who has captured my interest and I've tried reading Stephen King and John Grisham but they don't really seem to do it for me. Anyways he has a new book coming out in October the "The Brass Verdict" and I'm looking forward to getting it.

I am an avid reader, and manage to finish about a book a week.

My favorite author is without a doubt Robert A. Heinlein. Wonderful science fiction that stands the test of time because he focused not on future technology, but on future society. I highly recommend Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. The latter is extremely well thought-out. In college I took a course on Mass Political Movements, and much of the material that I learned there I saw applied in Heinleins's novel.

I am also a big fan of Orson Scott Card's Harmony series. After a nuclear holocaust, humanity has colonized a faroff planet, and to prevent them from ever repeating the mistake, they created a computer to manipulate their minds to steer them away from any technology that could have military application. Millenia later, humans believe this machine to actually be a deity called the Oversoul. When the Oversoul starts to fall into disrepair, it calls some of these future humans back to Earth to set things right.

Stephen King is also awesome. I have been studying writing now for a few years, and have tried my hand at writing some fiction, but my efforts fall absolutley flat compared to King, especially in terms of his characterization. King is really adept at beginning his stories with a conflict that is separate from the horror element, so that by the time the horro actually begins to show up, the reader has become so emotionally invested with the characters that suspension of disbelief is easy.

Of course, I cannot leave out Lovecraft and Tolkein. The depth of their imaginations was incredible.

I see so far no mention of Charles Bukowski yet. One of my favourites authors at the moment. Here's a wikipedia entry: Click me!

About a year ago, my mother gave me once of his books, called "Tales Of Ordinary Madness". I read it once back then, and I am now re-reading it. It is a magnificent book and I would recommend it to anyone here (especially those into Black/Funeral Doom/Sludge/vile music).

I do not want to tell too much about him, as you should just read it. His writings are mostly autobiographic, and he has always been on the downside of society. Blowing his money of the dogs races, always drunk, fighting with everybody but mostly himself, the utter frustration of mental paralyzation. Reading his book makes me sick, but I almost cannot close it when I've started. I hate him, but I love him.

Trust me, reading "Tales Of Ordinary Madness" (unfortunately can't recommend anything else of him) will be one bad trip. And you'll love it. Deep down inside.

Written by GT on 28.03.2008 at 18:38

Written by Ernotar on 24.03.2008 at 22:29

My favourite author is Jostein Gaarder. He's a Norwegian author, who writes really philosophical books. His most famous book must be "Sophia's world" (not sure about the English title though).

Yeah that's a great book, especially if you're into philosopy and psycology. I remember it getting a little wierd in the end though, but it's been a couple of years since I read it so I might be wrong.

Oh yeah I loved that book when I was younger. I think I was about 12 or 13 back then. Borrowed it from someone and read it through in one weekend. It gets weird in the end indeed, but it was an interesting plot and thought to ponder over.

In general I like philosophy a lot, I just cannot push myself to achieving real results. I love to read about it and think about, but only in my time, drawing my conclusions and when there's a flow in my thinking and I know it, I want to be able to ignore it.

Written by Lucas on 08.04.2008 at 21:55

Written by GT on 28.03.2008 at 18:38

Written by Ernotar on 24.03.2008 at 22:29

My favourite author is Jostein Gaarder. He's a Norwegian author, who writes really philosophical books. His most famous book must be "Sophia's world" (not sure about the English title though).

Yeah that's a great book, especially if you're into philosopy and psycology. I remember it getting a little wierd in the end though, but it's been a couple of years since I read it so I might be wrong.

Oh yeah I loved that book when I was younger. I think I was about 12 or 13 back then. Borrowed it from someone and read it through in one weekend. It gets weird in the end indeed, but it was an interesting plot and thought to ponder over.

In general I like philosophy a lot, I just cannot push myself to achieving real results. I love to read about it and think about, but only in my time, drawing my conclusions and when there's a flow in my thinking and I know it, I want to be able to ignore it.

If you want to know more about philosophy i recommand philosophy by stephen law, it's some kind of encyclopaedia about many philosophers and branches in philosophy. My personal fav writers are poets; f.e. ovid, milton, dante,... mostly writers who had religious influences

I used to write myself and I give a huge importance to style and form, the use of symbols and metaphors. I am choosing classics then. For their whole work, Virginia Woolf and James Joyce, though they can be quite boring -their plots are hard to get if they exist at all-. Shakespeare is also amazing, but hard to understand even if you are English. Plots and wording are astonishing. So I am recommending two books more than two authors.
"Picture of Dorian Grey" by Oscar Wilde
"Frankestein" by Mary Shelley.
They wrote some other novels but they are not brilliant or even known. Oscar also wrote some theatrical dramas and comedies, but I do not like them. He was not Shakespeare.

I mainly prefer Spanish or Latin American writers. So for the Spanish related metal stormers, I recommend Raul J. Sender, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Pérez Reverte and world famous Isabel Allende and García Márquez.

Great idea for a thread! But can I just ask something? By ''authors'', you only mean prose writers, right? Not poets as well? Sorry if it's a stupid question, just wondering...

Anyway, my favorite prose authors...hmm.....well, many gothic authors of mostly the 19th century, but mostly obscure ones (yes I've always had this tendency to prefer the obscure gems of anything, because they're still undiscovered jewels)...so yeah, loads of gothic authors, I can't give you names though, as there are just too many.

My favorite authors would have to be Terry Goodkind, Robert Jordan, George RR Martin, Neil Gaimon, and of course Tolkien.

For Goodkind and Jordan, they can produce a really good story and the detail and the depth they go into with their charachters is amazing. When I am reading either of their books I am just entranced in the stories because they are very well done. Martin pretty much has the same affect on me with his too but just not to the extreme as the others. And Neil Gaimon, with Neverwhere, American Gods and Stardust, those books just have so much imagination and craziness in them, that I find them easy to get into. And Tolkien, its pretty obvious because he was just talented as hell with his stories and made a huge ass world out of them.

I like many authors, but as the most favorite, I like Stephen King..
Some of his stories which I really liked are Lunch at Gotham Cafe, The Mist, 1408, The Shining and Thinner.. His stories are confusing and I like that kind of writings.. Especially 1408 was a killer piece of story.

Has to be Stephen King, my favorites would be Pet Semetary, Misery, Running Man, Christine and Tommyknockers. I also like James Herbert. The Fog and 48 are really good books. A more recent favorite is Max Brooks, his two books on zombies are amazing, although fictional accounts, the author is so convincing that you just get engrossed with the accounts of zombies roaming the world. I alsio really like Asimov, especially his Foundation cycle. And of course Tolkien, especially Bilbo and LOTR, the others are very hard to read and follow.

Michael Crichton was (R.I.P.) awesome author of "real world sci-fi" (no starships, no spacetravelling etc) novels...i liked everything i have read by him (Jurassic Park, Lost World, Andromeda Strain, Sphere, Prey, State Of Fear, Flight TPA 545)

another of my favorite authors is Tolkien, i guess i dont have to say why

and for last but not for least - the pair "Alan Cole and Chris Bunch"...together they have created a sci-fi world for Karl Sten - which is "hard SF" from the world, where almost all universe is controlled by "Eternal Emperor" (who found way how to live forever surviving since about 2020 many thousands of years) and Karl Sten is one of those "immortal rambo ultragood guys born as noone in very poor and bad place" who started to work for him, rising from ordinary agent to the leader of Emperor's security and finally...but i wont tell the plot...it are 8 books, quite solitary, but together building one great saga...and what i especially like about this universe are the ideas - of alien species, of "how it will work in future" etc...and it is also a glorious allegory of current world with rich and poor, good and evil etc...this is what makes it different from tons of other such a stories and why i love it

I'll be laconic - Jerome K. Jerome, Jules Verne and Stephen King. The End.

One of my new favorites is J.C. Hutchins. He is mostly known for his podiobook series 7th Son (which you can download and listen to for free on iTunes), about these 7 clones who must stop an orginization and a killer from destroying the world. It is an awesome series, and J.C. Hutchins really narrates the story well, bringing the characters and the story to life. He also just came out with a horror novel, Personal Effects: Dark Arts, set in an insane asylum. You can read more about the novel, and where you can buy it, at J.C. Hutchins' site: http://www.jchutchins.net (He also has a contest where you can win a real sword!)

Some more of my favorite authors are:

Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy is a brilliant, hilarious, sci-fi novel that everyone should read.

Stephen King - One of the masters of horror. His books The Stand, Misery, Firestarter, and more are epic works of horror.

Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game is a really unique sci-fi novel. Check it out if you haven't already.

J.R.R. Tolkein - Need I say more?

J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter is epic. End of story.

Stephen King - Read The Dark Tower and you know

Robert Jordan - WoT has a world, unlike everyother fantasyseries.

Terry Pratchett - Brilliant parody.

Ahh yes, Wheel Of Time by Robert Jordan is epic.
Anyone here tried Ian Irvine? He's pretty good too if you like fantasy

Never even heard this name and i really like fantasy...

Kurt Vonnegut. I guess because Slaughterhouse Five is my all-time favorite book.

The only authors I've read more than a work are Lovecraft and Hemingway, so I can't say a lot. I plan to read more by Wilde and Dostoevski though.

Mine are Edgar Alan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft and John Fowles (even though I can hardly read a sentance without getting my dictionary out!)