Discovered Authors 2011

[Connavar]

Mark Lawrence (Prince of Thorns) was a nice bith fresh air in the genre.
James Crumley (The Last Good Kiss) - modern classic PI novel that was brilliant read.

 

[Extollager]

J. Mark Bertrand, with two police procedurals about inspector March in Houston, Texas: Back on Murder and Pattern of Wounds. These were published by a Christian publisher. March is not a Christian and deals with his inner demons by focusing on his job and with the help of his wife. The main way in which that is manifested is an unobtrusive freedom from profane and obscene language and a more tactful handling of sexuality than is usual. March is not a Christian and deals with his inner demons by focusing on his job and with the help of his wife. I thought the two books were good, perhaps the second one especially, and certainly will want to read the third book as soon as it appears.

 

[Valko]

I read the first 2 books in Michael Manning's Mageborn saga this weekend. He's a brand new writer, which to be honest does show. However they're both easy reads which made a pleasant change from the epic fantasy I've been reading lately. The first book is only 77p on Kindle. Absolute bargain.
I've now moved onto another writer I've just discovered - Brandon Sanderson. Apparently he took over the Wheel of TIme books but it's his Mistborn series I'm reading. The first book is moving along at a great pace and I'm addicted to it already.

 

[Rodders]

I've noticed Space Captain Smith by Toby Frost on the shelves in my local bookshop for soem time now and after reading some positive feedback on these very forums, i decided to take the plunge and get all three novels. Glad i did. I've just finished the first one and found it to be hugely entertaining. Now on to the second.

 

[Fried Egg]

The authors I discovered last year were as follows (in the order in which I discovered them):

Fred Hoyle ("The Black Cloud") - Enjoyed what I read but not sure from what I've heard whether he has written much more that will interest me.
Joe Haldaman ("Forever War") - Fabulous read and I'm sure I will revisit this author at some point.
Tim Powers ("Anubis Gates") - Good but I suspect he can do better and look forward to reading more by him.
Sheri S Tepper ("Beauty") - Enjoyed this a lot and have "Grass" on my shelf lined up to read.
Martin Sketchley ("Song Birds") - Only a short story but absolutely fabulous so worth a mention here.
David L. Clements ("In the long Run") - Another short story but also very good.
Michael Cisco ("The Divinity Student") - Weird, but very good. Definitely want to read more of this author.
John Ajvide Lindqvist ("The the Right One In") - A good read but sure that his style of horror is really what I'm looking for.
Jonathan Thomas ("Midnight Call and Other Stories") - Great horror collection that is definitely the kind I am looking for. I look forward to reading his new collection.
Harlan Ellison ("I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream") - Outstanding collection of stories and I already have "Deathbird Stories" lined up to read.
John Brunner ("Stand on Zanzibar") - Very disappointed by this. I'm not inclined to seek out more by him but I already have "Jagged Orbit" on my shelf so will read that at some point.
Dashiell Hammett ("Maltese Falcon") - An interesting read well outside of my comfort zone. A good read and I may well read another at some point.
Lord Barron ("The Imago Sequence and Other Stories") - Another great example of what modern horror can offer. His new collection is in my sights.
Henry Kuttner ("Ahead of Time") - Actually a collaboration with C. L. Moore (who is also a new author to me) I enjoyed this collection a lot and would like to read more by him.
Vladimir Nabokov ("Terra Incognita") - Short, introductory trilogy of stories to this author that I liked but not sure if I will read more of his work.
Yevgeny Zamyatin ("We") - Great stuff but not sure if there is anything else I should read by him?
Walter James Miller ("A Canticle For Leibowitz") - Very good book and I want to read his collection "Dark Benediction" next.
Hal Clement ("Mission of Gravity") - I know many people like this but I thought it was atrocious. I have no intention of reading anything else by him.
Aleister Crowley ("An Experiment in Necromancy") - A short story but very powerful and has piqued my curiosity to read more of his work.
Kate Wilhelm ("Where Late The Sweet Birds Sang") - A brilliant story that seems to (for some reason) divide readers. I'll certainly be interested to read more.
Sea Kings Of Mars ("Sea Kings Of Mars") - A very good collection that grew on me as I read it. I certainly wouldn't rule out reading more by her.
C. L. Moore ("Black Gods and Scarlet Dreams") - A fascinating collection although I've certainly had my fill of Northwest Smith. Would like to read other stuff by her though.
Mark Lawrence ("Prince of Thorns") - A very good debut novel and I'm quite interested to read the sequel when it comes out.
Jonathan Carroll ("Voice of Our Shadow") - Another book that appears to divide readers but I loved it and definitely want to read "Land of Laughs" next.

Wow, looking back I didn't realise how many new authors I actually read last year. There were more but I only included the authors of short stories if they particularly inspired me to want to read more by them.

 

[CyBeR]

John Brunner ("Stand on Zanzibar") - Very disappointed by this. I'm not inclined to seek out more by him but I already have "Jagged Orbit" on my shelf so will read that at some point.


Yevgeny Zamyatin ("We") - Great stuff but not sure if there is anything else I should read by him?

I will recommend greatly The webs of everywhere and The long result from Brunner. Especially the second I've found to be among the best Sci-Fi I have ever come across. I've yet to read Stand on Zanzibar but I already know the author can be finicky with his works (Times without number was especially turgid).

All that I've found from Zamyating, aside from the excellent We has been The flood (or something, never found the English title for it) and although it wasn't bad, it's really a whole different thing from his dystopia.

 

[AE35Unit]

I will recommend greatly The webs of everywhere and The long result from Brunner. Especially the second I've found to be among the best Sci-Fi I have ever come across. I've yet to read Stand on Zanzibar but I already know the author can be finicky with his works (Times without number was especially turgid)..

Ive only read his The Squares of the City, what a boring read that was! I have Zanzibar on my shelf, will get to it sometime.

 

[Nearly Headless Ned]

Daniel Woodrell. Read Winters Bone because I liked the film so much. Absolutely gorgeous prose and great characters. Will be reading The Bayou series of books by him soon.
Kelly Link-Evocative and surreal short stories, devoured all three of her collections this year and was disheartened to hear that she's barely written anything new in the past few years.

 

[AE35Unit]

OK heres my final list from last year- it aint very big!

http://sfaddict.blogspot.com/2012/01/discovered-authors-2011.html

 

[TedKeller]

I've discovered Brian Aldiss in his epic fantasy - space opera guise with the Helliconia trilogy. I do believe that that's where the vibe of the Game of Throne things comes from.

 

[Randy M.]

John Jacob Horner, Southern Gods -- debut novel; horror, Lovecraftian; not great and not especially edifying, but entertaining in a "beach read" way.

Charlie Stross, "A Colder War" -- short story (it's in The New Cthulhu and The Book of Cthulhu, as well as Stross' collection, Wireless); extraordinary story that plays with reality. Lovecraftian in the best possible way in that it avoids the cliches and aims at that sense of otherness, of things vaster and more powerful than mankind, that feeds a sense of dread and impending doom. I hope to get to his Laundry novels in the near future.

John Langan, a variety of stories I read in a variety of places in 2011, largely propelled by reading his novel House of Windows late in 2010. He takes the furniture of horror -- werewolves, vampires, ghosts and Lovecraftian entities -- and twists them, looking at them from a new perspective. I hope to get and read his collection, Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters sometime this year.


Randy M.

 

[charleshudgen]

Enrique Vila-Matas has pioneered one of contemporary literature’s most interesting responses to the great Modernist writers.Never Any End to Paris novel was his third in English when he spent his time in Paris as a young writer. It was a brilliant ironic novel about literature and somehow I can relate to his life in Paris as a writer and so was I.

 

[GOLLUM]

Enrique Vila-Matas has pioneered one of contemporary literature’s most interesting responses to the great Modernist writers.Never Any End to Paris novel was his third in English when he spent his time in Paris as a young writer. It was a brilliant ironic novel about literature and somehow I can relate to his life in Paris as a writer and so was I.

Interesting observations.

Being someone with a particular interest in Latin American and Spanish mainland works, I have two of Vila-Matas' novels, Never Any End to Paris & Bartelby & Co, which is supposed to be his greatest work. Matas certainly seems to have had a very distinguished literary career to date and someone whose works I would like to read this year.