Authors you read no one knows about in your suroundings

[Lobolover]

Well,around me,at least,its Lovecraft and Ewers-no one ever has anything for me, then a blind stare.I know id get the same response for W.C.Morrow.

 

[JQH]

Well, non-SF readers of my acquaintance have barely heard of any SF authors except Asimov, Clarke and Banks.

Within the SF community most have heard of the authors I read -except the obscure writers lurking in my magazine collection.

 

[Lobolover]

Care to name some of the latter?

 

[j d worthington]

I suppose a good 80-95% of the writers I read would fall into this category. A fair number of the people around me don't read at all; those who do read little sf, fantasy, or horror; those who do tend toward the modern writers; those who do there tend toward King, Koontz, Poppy Z. Brite, Clive Barker, and Ann Rice. A few have read Lovecraft. A few have read Robert E. Howard. A few more have read Tolkien. As for the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century writers I read so much... I'm lucky if one or two are read at all by one or two people I know.

Hence, the list I would provide would, I fear, take up several pages.....

 

[Lobolover]

Thats the challenge of the internet.Care to name some ?

 

[j d worthington]

At some point, when I actually have some time, I may do so. At the moment, repeating a list of those I read is a rather low priority, I'm afraid....

 

[Connavar]

Just few examples since there are many i read that people around me dont know.

Jack Vance - greatest author i have read that it seems like its unknown outside SFF.
Lord Dunsany
Sheridan Le Fanu
Cornell Woolrich
Jim Thompson
Ross Macdonald
CJ Cherryh
Tanith Lee
Richard Stark/Donald Westlake
William Hope Hodgson
Dean Koontz
Jim Butcher


Authors i like to read that people who dont read or read often will know the name of :

Robert E.Howard
HG Wells
Philip K. Dick
Robert Heinlein
Asimov
Clarke
Poe
Arthur Conan Doyle
David Gemmell

 

[Lobolover]

Hodgson?I thought he was actualy quite well known.

 

[clovis-man]

I get blank stares from my mainstream friends for Charles Sheffield, Peter F. Hamilton, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress & Kage Baker, just to name a few.

 

[tangaloomababe]

I would say that in my circle of associates and friends I would be the only person who reads sci-fi, so I doubt any of them would know any of the authors or books that I read. Sad but true.

 

[j d worthington]

Hodgson?I thought he was actualy quite well known.

To afficionadoes of the genre, Hodgson is slightly better known than some, but largely through either "The Voice in the Night" or one or another edition of Carnacki. Even so, the majority of readers of weird and horror fiction have never heard of him, any more than they have Wakefield, Benson, de la Mare, or Amyas Northcote....

 

[Lobolover]

Northcote-that reminds me,ive a few tales downloaded,which do you think are good?

Also,for some personal recomending:did you ever try reading "The Lusitania Waits" by Alfred Noyes or "A strange Goldfield" by Guy Boothby?Both are very good and in fact,the second one is very disturbing,it comes to Onionsian territory with its implications and I actualy laid pondering it several hours after I read it,when I went to bed.Both are quit short and should feel interesting after "The follower" by Cornell-in fact,I have the Cornell,the Boothby and the J.Bryson Taylor tale ("In the dwellings.....") in my essay under "various",and Plan to describe them as a trio of "prospecting/archeological" tales,because they are very similar.

 

[Werewoman]

Authors? I've got to get them to understand the concept of books, first!

I call my house "The Mancave". There's socks hanging from the ceiling fan, the TV screen is approximately the size of Montana and requires about the same amount of electricity to operate; holes from air-rifles, a pool table, dart board, and bullet reloading station in the formal living room, and a gun safe in the alcove of the formal dining room.

When I read, I find myself having to dodge various flying objects, sometimes a cat.

Now, with all that going on, do you think any of these bozo's I live with READ? Much less notice what I read?

My intellectual friends don't know I read books by Bobbie Ann Mason or Robin Cook. Lowbrow but colorful stories that are great for bobbing about in my innertube in the gulf.

well, you asked......

 

[Pyan]

I would say that in my circle of associates and friends I would be the only person who reads sci-fi, so I doubt any of them would know any of the authors or books that I read. Sad but true.

Have to go with you there, tanga: one of the reasons I'm here so much...

 

[Kettricken]

There's quite a lot of people who do read in my surroundings (hurray!), however, they don't all read fantasy, sci-fi and horror. I tend to read a lot of books that haven't been translated to Dutch, so lots of people don't know those authors.

Most people know Tolkien of course, whether they've read it or not; most people know that the movies have been based on a book (I hope...). All have heard of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, of course.

Some people know bestselling translated books like Feist (though I don't read his books...), Robin Hobb (who is very popular among the fantasy fans here in Holland), Neil Gaiman and possibly Tad Williams and George R.R. Martin.
They usually don't have a clue if I talk about authors like Jeff VanderMeer, R. Scott Bakker, Carol Berg, etc.

 

[Nesacat]

Among the people I know and spend time with here in Malaysia, I'm the only one who is really keen on science fiction, fantasy and horror.

Admittedly it does not help that the stores here tend to stick to bestsellers in the genre so most people would have at least heard of Stephen King, JK Rowling, etc. Even more would have watched the movie and not read the book. Some will be shocked that there was a book in the first place. Any mention of Lovecraft usually results in some very odd looks heading my way.

I have been waving writers like Lovecraft and RE Howard at one friend and she's slowly beginning to see the light . Otherwise I spend my time here.

 

[Werewoman]

I have been waving writers like Lovecraft and RE Howard at one friend and she's slowly beginning to see the light . Otherwise I spend my time here.

Me, too Nesacat. I started by scanning a few letters between the two of them and attaching them to e-mails, and now I have him up to reading Bran Mak Morn stories and "One Who Walked Alone" by Novalyne Price Ellis. Also, I just ordered a 'Best of' Lovecraft book of horror stories for his birthday.

I need to stop posting in the middle of the night because I get REALLY silly as is apparent by my last post. Well, some of it is true.....

 

[Simian]

Hardly anyone I know reads much at all, sadly. A couple of people at work like sci-fi and fantasy, but working shifts our paths cross pretty infrequently, so we seldom get a chance to discuss authors. That said, when we do see each other we make a point of trading of trading notes (which has reminded me to take some books into work tomorrow for one of them). In my circle of friends I'm the only one who reads a lot, or so it seems from the (good natured) stick I get for it.

 

[dask]

Just few examples since there are many i read that people around me dont know.

Jack Vance - greatest author i have read that it seems like its unknown outside SFF.
Richard Stark/Donald Westlake

I remember reading an introduction by Michael Moorcock to some sf book (reference I think) where he expressed shock that some college professor somewhere was teaching a class in science fiction and he (the professor) had never heard of Jack Vance!

To Richard Stark/Donald Westlake you could also add Curt Clark, a pen name Westlake used for his sf novel Anarchaos.

 

[Rosemary]

Most of my family are avid readers but not of SFF! I might mention a book I am reading and I seem to get a rather pitying look!

The only two who understand are my eldest who's discovered Pern (with a lot of help from me and the lady in the bookshop, when I hand over my precious dollars!