Si-Fi / Fantsy / horror Kwick read recomendations

Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden books are quick reads but really good and enjoyable urban fantasy series. Its fast paced but also well written characters,world wise.
 
Well, most of Charles L. Grant's books are fairly short (to quite short). They're more "quiet horror" than blood-and-thunder, but well worth a look. You might try his Oxrun Station series of books, which are of varying types, but all set in the same milieu.

For fantasy... I'd also suggest Alan Garner (yes, he wrote some YA, but it's damn good fantasy, nonetheless) or Thomas Burnett Swann... that last you'll have to get in second-hand editions, as I don't know what (if anything) of Swann's is in print these days, but I'd argue darn near all of it should be. A unique writer, with a special voice that was stilled much too soon.

SF... Most of the sf from the 1940s-1970s was of fairly brief length; a lot of it was very easy to get into, and a fair proportion of it is still well worth looking up for an enjoyable story and some mental stimulation... and you may be surprised how often you'll find some real gems in there, as well. I'd suggest, for instance, Edgar Pangborn's A Mirror for Observers, or Fritz Leiber's The Big Time.

And then there are the many writers who focus largely on the short story which, though an increasingly neglected form these days, well repays examination. Some of the best of all three fields can be found in shorter tales....
 
Yes, my local one is driven by what people take out, and books which aren't borrowed a certain number of times a year are withdrawn and sold off for 20p - good in one sense, I must have picked up dozens of SFF titles over the last couple of years, but it does mean that the shelves are full of bad thrillers Maeve Binchley and chick-lit.
I'll have a scan through my own collection and put up some suggestions...
 

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