Who's your current favourite author?..............

[psikeyhackr]

I am as old as grass

The earliest firm records of grass pollen are from the Paleocene of South America and Africa, between 60 and 55 million years ago (Jacobs et al., 1999). This date is after the major extinction events that ended the age of dinosaurs and the Cretaceous period.

http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/125/3/1198.full

Beware of the Internet. And nerds on the Internet. And dinosaurs on the Internet.

psik

 

[althea]

Don't take everything you read too literally.

 

[SilentRoamer]

This is such a difficult one for me to choose as I love a lot of authors. I will definitely miss something that I feel should be included, maybe im just not picky in that I have dozens of novels/authors I really like. I am however, the same with film.

I have a few authors for different reasons.

My classic 3:
Frank Herbert - I only need to say one word to include FH: "Dune"
Isaac Asimov - Foundation series is one of my favourites.
Arthur C. Clarke - Rama is probably my favourite hard SF.

My recently contemporary 2:
David Gemmell - the author who got me interested in reading, if I never picked up a Gemmell I may never have rekindled the love for books which I seemed to lose somewhere in growing up. I have read everything Gemmell has written and enjoyed it all. Theres just something of the noble spirit in Gemmell and he always gives me something I find difficult to describe called "the feels".
Robert Jordan - gave me the sprawling WoT epic and for me set the stage for other epic scale series. Not erveryones favourite and the series is not without flaws but I still love it.

My contemporary 2:
Joe Abercrombie - I have read The First Law Trilogy and Half a King and find them really enjoyable. TFL in particular has a dry, brutal sense of humour that seems very British.
R. Scott Bakker - The Second Apocalypse series which consist of The Prince of Nothing trilogy and the Aspect Emperor trilogy (with the third book on the way) is probably my favourite SFF series of all time - or if not it would take some serious beating. The scope is epic and you really get a sense of place in the series. The prose is fantastic and Bakker writes beautifully.

 

[althea]

I agree about David Gemell,Frank Herbert,Isaac Asimov and Arthur C.Clarke.
I got about halfway through Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time and gave up.Not because it is bad writing,but because I thought it was starting to ramble and repeat a bit.
I tried The Knife Itself by Joe Abercrombie and thought,do I really want to read about torture and pain right now.I may try it again at another time.
I have now added R.Scott Bakker to my list.

 

[Michael Colton]

I rarely like to classify favorites, so I will just mention the perpetual authors I always have to go back to. Sticking within the genres we talk about on this site, I'd have to say William Gibson and Anne Rice (and no, I don't really care whether someone considers Rice fantasy or not).

Anne Rice is probably the most read, reread, and rereread author in my life. She can be partly blamed for why I have read so little fiction written in the last fifty years. I just keep rereading her when I take a break from the classics.

 

[althea]

I like William Gibson too.Anne Rice is not my taste,but my daughter in law loves her books.
Each to his own.
I can now announce that I think I have read all of PKD's books.
Some books appealed to me more than others,but overall,I have enjoyed the whole experience.
I am now reading a book by Neal Stephenson,Quicksilver.
So far so good.....................

 

[Michael Colton]

I like William Gibson too.Anne Rice is not my taste,but my daughter in law loves her books.
Each to his own.
I can now announce that I think I have read all of PKD's books.
Some books appealed to me more than others,but overall,I have enjoyed the whole experience.
I am now reading a book by Neal Stephenson,Quicksilver.
So far so good.....................

Rice is one of those that people seem to really like her or not care for her at all. I haven't quite been able to pin down what causes that. I've had friends that I usually have similar interests/lists absolutely hate her and find her books incredibly boring. Other times, friends that I usually disagree with regarding books agree with me about her.

 

[Alter Business]

That's a tough one. My favourite author of all time would have to be Frank Herbert simply for Dune.

My favourite author currently writing would have to be Alistair Reynolds, although Peter Hamilton is not far behind.

My favourite new author is Ernest Cline. Ready Player One was a treat and I can't wait for his next book.

 

[Alter Business]

I agree with you about Frank Herbert. I like the Robot series by Asimov, though the last book was disappointing.

 

[Editorinchic]

Having been reading now for almost 40 years I've had a few favourite authors along the way.
I remember as a very young child Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski were high up the list with their Meg and Mog books. I eventually read every single book in the children's section of our local library with Douglas Hill being the outstanding author that had the most influence on my future reading. In my early teens Douglas Reeman and Alastair MacLean were popular until I read Tolkien who shot to the top of the list. In my late teens and early 20's then without doubt it was Stephen King, with Clive Barker and James Herbert following closely behind. In my 30's I'd say it was George R.R. Martin and now in my early 40's I'd say Joe Abercrombie is right up there at the top. I've really enjoyed everything I've read by him so far. I'm almost at the end of Red Country (should finish it tonight) and Half A King is waiting on the shelf. Joe's books are exciting, they're humorous yet dark and violent. Characters who you least expect to like become your favourites for a spell. His world making is excellent and there's a magic here and there without it being complicated. If you haven't read anything by Joe then I'd definitely recommend his works.

I met him in person at the recent signing in Manchester and have to say he's a top bloke. Definitely someone who if I had the opportunity I'd like to spend some time with over a pint or two.

If I was asked who's next novel would I most like to read then Winds of Winter by GRRM would probably be my answer, simply because I seem to have been reading ASOIAF for a very long time. That said, Joe's a relatively young author and I'm hoping to read much more of his works in the future.

Over to you, who's your current favourite author and why?..........

Sidney Sheldon. Hands down.

 

[Mark Ragland]

Wow. So tough.

Right now, I'd have to say Brad Thor. Read every one of his books.