Best SF&F humorists

[clovis-man]

Sorry for bouncing around here, but has Fritz Leiber been mentioned? I'm thinking mainly about the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories.

 

[dask]

Probably not fair to bring up anyone you've only read minimally (I may or may not have read a story of his) but I don't think I've seen Ron Goulart's name mentioned yet. I do remember Richard E. Geis saying in Science Fiction Review that RG was a master of the first sentence. After performing the obvious test I do believe there is some justification to that remark.

 

[Hugh]

Looking through this thread, unless I've missed it, I see that no one's mentioned R.A.Lafferty, the writer who may have put the quirk in quirky. In fact I'm amazed that I haven't already put his name forward.

While I haven't read any of his novels, I've read a fair number of his short stories, mainly because years ago almost every other anthologist seemed to include "a Lafferty" because they provided such a change of pace.

One of my favourites is "All Pieces of a River Shore" (1970), because of the style and development rather than the ending.

As you may well know, the Neil Gaiman story "Sunbird" is a tribute to Lafferty.

 

[hitmouse]

RA Lafferty is very good in small doses. His prose can be gnomic and impenetrable in places. Of his novels I particularly like Past Master.

 

[clovis-man]

L. Sprague DeCamp has been mentioned, but I think his collection of time travel stories, Rivers Of Time should be highlighted.

 

[Matteo]

I've never heard of John Sladek but I'll have to check him out. Either he's never been in any anthology I've read, or I haven't remembered his contributions.

Which Asimov stories are you thinking of that are humorous? The only humorous Asimov story I can think of is "Spell My Name With An S", which was OK but not exceptional. However the commentary in the anthologies he edits has a humorous tone.

The short Azazel stories are quite funny.

 

[J-Sun]

The short Azazel stories are quite funny.

Definitely. A lot of Asimov is funny. Perhaps my favorite is "Left to Right" but I've also never been able to forget "Sure Thing."

 

[stephen g parks]

I didn't notice anyone mention Unidentified Funny Objects, an annual anthology of humorous sf/f. I believe they're on their sixth year.

 

[SilentRoamer]

As this also covers fantasy I find Joe Abercrombies dark humor very British and very funny. In the First Law series there are a few tie in scenes about Jezal dan Luthrr and his jawline, I literally laughed out loud.

 

[WaylanderToo]

the things is are we looking for novels or stories with humour or humorous stories?

 

[Galactic Journey]

Probably not fair to bring up anyone you've only read minimally (I may or may not have read a story of his) but I don't think I've seen Ron Goulart's name mentioned yet. I do remember Richard E. Geis saying in Science Fiction Review that RG was a master of the first sentence. After performing the obvious test I do believe there is some justification to that remark.

I said in a recent review that Ron Goulart passes the comedy test -- namely, his stories make me laugh.

Robert Sheckley's stories can be funny, and they're almost always sardonic. The AAA Ace pieces are particularly fun.

 

[D.A. Xiaolin Spires]

I just started reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers and a lot of the dialogue and characterizations are pretty humorous.

Yes to Pratchett, Gaiman and the UFO – Unidentified Funny Objects (Alex Shvartsman, ed.) anthologies. Daily Science Fiction often has humorous shorts. Also Rick & Morty, but that's TV...

Of course some of the classics as others have mentioned can have moments of pure hilarity.

 

[picklematrix]

Jack Vance illicits the most amusement from me. Its rare that comedy from a long time ago will hit the mark now, but for some reason the purple prose dialogue tickels me.

 

[WaylanderToo]

Have we mentioned Skippy and his merry band of pirates (aka Craig Alan so and his ExFor series) yet?

If not give 'em a read, fun scifi

 

[awesomesauce]

Adams and Pratchett always give me the giggles. Christopher Moore is super funny; I'm not sure where on the SF&F spectrum he falls. The first thing I read by him was Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story. So vampires there. He's also got demons, death-as-a-character, zombies, etc.

Currently I'm carefully rationing Robert Bevan's Caverns and Creatures short stories because I've read all the novels. They make me laugh as much as Adams or Pratchett. Bevan's on my short list for funniest living writer.

 

[Rodders]

Greg Larson.

Okay, maybe not what you’re asking, but a lot of his cartoons had a Sci Fi element to them.

A second for Adams and Pritchett. Probably two of the funniest writers I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.

I’d like to throw Iain M. banks in, too. There were a lot of humour in his books, imo.

 

[Vince W]

I’d like to throw Iain M. banks in, too. There were a lot of humour in his books, imo.

Good call on Banks. He's rarely credited for his humour, but he should be. It's not as silly as Hitchhiker's or Discworld, but there's definitely a sly wryness to his humour.

 

[merritt]

The Aluminum Man - GC Edmondson
very enjoyable, fun, intoxicants

 

[2DaveWixon]

I can't believe I forgot, earlier, to mention that great Fredric Brown. Hard to find now though...I must go dig out my collection...
They're mostly short stories.

 

[2DaveWixon]

A little digging has produced my copy of MARTIANS, GO HOME!, Fred Brown's story of the Earth invaded by little green men.
My memory seems to have selectively brought up F.B.'s funny science fiction, but I forgot about all of his mysteries, which included THE FABULOUS CLIPJOINT.
Brown specialized in very short shorts, though, and that's what I was remembering. Specifically, the collections ANGELS AND SPACESHIPS, HONEYMOON IN HELL, and NIGHTMARES AND GEEZENSTACKS.

Above all, I remember the story about the man who discovered that human history was being written as it went, by a divine typesetting machine -- and that the machine was malfunctioning, periodically misplacing an "e" -- and so the hero used that information, properly timing his movements to end up in Heaven...