Favourite author(s) and why?

[stop__dreaming]

Who are your favourite author(s) and why? Would be interesting to hear people's views on what draws them to certain writers

[RainingLemur]

I generally like Stephen King and Dean Koontz. They've written some of my favorite stories and I find their work easy to read.

More recently, I've been on the zombie-fic kick and really enjoy Brian Keene and JL Bourne. Their stories really excite me, and I can't put them down once I start.

[stop__dreaming]

I agree about Stephen King. Not read anything by Dean Koontz, but obviously seen his work whilst browsing.

I don't think I have a particularly favourite writer, although I do really enjoy reading Issac Asimov, Stephen King and Kurt Vonnegut.

All for different reasons, also. Asimov's creativity in science fiction draws me in more than any other, I think. Like King, his work is easy to read without bordering on complicated (maybe someone can prove me wrong but I have yet to come across one!).

I recently read Slaughterhouse-5 by Kurt Vonnegut and didn't really 'get it' considering how popular it is amongst his followers. I believe he rates it as one of his worst...?! Similarly, Mother Night was a more enjoyable read for me, as well as his short stories in Welcome to the Monkey House and Breakfast of Champions. I really admire Vonnegut's wacky tales and in person, he sounded even more amusing.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Some of my favourites right now.

+1 for Kurt Vonnegut. For his style, venom and humour. Breakfast of Champions and Cat's Cradle are my favourites so far. I liked Slaughterhouse.

Douglas Coupland is usually a good read for me.
Terry Pratchett for his wit.
Rohinton Mistry for his characterizations and life-changing reads.
Stanley Elkin for his language.
Douglas Adams. Nothing needs to be said here.
John Steinbeck for his characterizations and descriptions of regular life.

[speakingtohe]

I have too many favorite authors to list them all.
A small subset:
Robert K. Tanenbaum
Robert. B. Parker
Michael Connolly
Glen Cook
Tee Morris
Peter Abrahams
Simon R. Green
Glen Cook
Rex Stout.
F. Paul Wilson
Margerie Allingham
Janet Evanovich
I like a fair amount of action and snappy/amusing dialogue. I like series, but like it when books on the series can be read stand alone as well. Books by Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe) can be read in any order without feeling that you have missed half of the story or long detailed explanations of what went on in previous books (spoilers).
An ungoing subplot is good and interests me, but I find an odd comfort and even excitement in reading a book in a series with familiar characters that I have not yet read.

Helen

[mr ploppy]

I'm not sure I could rationalise why I like any of these, but amateur psychoanalysts could probably find a pattern in there somewhere.

Currently, Blake Crouch, JF Gonzalez, Wrath James White, David Moody.

Recent past, Brian Keene (didn't like his last 2, nothing to do with him being a dick).

Distant past, Harry Harrison, Mick Norman, James Herbert, John Christopher, Robert Heinlein, Richard Allen.

[QuantumIguana]

Terry Pratchett and C.J. Cherryh. I think Terry Pratchett's books have as much insight into humanity as do any books out there.

[Apache]

Rex Stout: I love the characters and the mysteries are well done.
Robert Heinlein: He was one of my first favorites as a kid and I still enjoy rereading his books.
Robert Parker: For the characters and an easy read.
Louis L'Amour: I love the way he uses words to describe the landscapes and characters.
Christopher Moore: I love the Satire.
Alexandre Dumas: It is nice to have a classic that is fun to read.
Steven Brust: I love the characters and the writing style of his Khaavren Romances based on Alexandre Dumas.
David Drake: He was one of the first to write good Military Fiction.
And so many others that I can not think of now.
Apache

[Pullar]

I'll give a second on Dean Koontz, but also James Patterson, as my top two, but manny many others as well. I love the strange twist the Koontz uses in many of his books, and the realism in some of pattersons.

[Mostly Math]

Brandon Sanderson is my newest fav author. Not sure what it is about his books that I love, all I know is that I cannot put them down until I am finished.

S

[fjtorres]

Many favorites.
Sometimes I'm in the mood for silly fun, but usually it boils down to the worlds in the stories and the characters that populate them. (On occasion the ideas behind the stories might be intriguing and compelling to ponder, but mostly is the worlds.)
Doesn't mean I like *everything* the author does, but the favorites go to the top of the TBR list as soon as the new book comes out.

Off the top of my head:
- Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga - The characters are fun but what makes the stories compelling is the ramifications she finds in biotech. She explores the science, the sociology, and the ethics. And she can spin a tale with style.

- Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (Oath of Fealty, Mote in Gods Eye, Inferno, etc)

- Isaac Asimov (End of eternity, The Gods Themselves, etc)

- Robert Heinlein (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers, Beyond this Horizon)

- David Weber (Empire from the Ashes Trilogy) - Modern Space Opera

- David Drake (RCN Saga) - The Librarian from heck.

- Ryk Spoor (Boundary, Threshold) - Hard SF + Paleontology

- John Moore - (Heroics for Beginners, Bad Prince Charlie) - Fractured Fairy Tales!

- Gordon Dickson - (Time Storm, Dragon Knight, Dorsai)

- Poul Anderson - (Tau Zero, There will be Time) Hard SF, compelling characters

- Julie Kenner - (Protectors saga) - fluffy superhero rom-coms

- Geoff Johns - (Green Lantern, Aquaman) - Comics; he's making Aquaman cool, Entourage or not.

[xg4bx]

David Dalglish-he's an indie fantasy author. i've bought each of his 11 novels 3 times (in ebook, hard copy and omnibus hardcopy). he combines the best of what i loved about things like Dragonlance as a kid with a far rougher,darker sensibility and a more narrow focus than those books have. i'm a 34 year old man but things like paladins crying out to their god for strength as they face hordes of undead will never stop being cool.

BV Larson. he's a semi-indie sci-fi/fantasy author. his Star Force series just fills me with nerdy glee. its basically about a computer programmer using nano-machines like a glorified lego set to build equipment to use in battle against a mechanized alien fleet. its just a fun series and has a classic "the scientist will save us all" 1950s sci-fi film feel.

Vaughn Heppner. he's another indie sci-fi/fantasy author. i really like his Doom Star series which involves an orwellian/communist nightmare version of earth locked in battle against a race of genetically engineered, fascistic supermen. its like two political extremes locked in battle with the main character, who just wants to be left alone, trapped in the middle. its an absolute political allegory but the series is a lot of fun.

Larry Correia. i'm a big fan of his Monster Hunter International series, which for all intents and purposes is testosterone fueled urban fantasy about a group of bounty hunters tasked with defending the world against all manner of monsters and elder gods. great characters and fun reads.


i notice a common thread: i read purely for fun and things that i find nerdy/cool. literary merit be damned .

[RichL]

Lawrence Ferlinghetti because he is able to show both the beauty and the horror of our everyday lives with a few well chosen commonplace words.

[BeccaPrice]

Lois McMaster Bujold, hands down. Because in addition to writing intricately plotted books that nevertheless manage to be character-driven, her writing is brilliant and occasionally, in some books, ascends to the luminous.

[theducks]

My favorite author: Subject to change without notice

Hindsight: There have been more female authors than male on the list.