Authors whose work you read before they were famous...

[Extollager]

LotR in about 1967.
I was enthusing at school about Alan Garner’s Weirdstone of Brisingamen and Moon of Gomrath, when one of the god-like beings of the Lower Sixth overheard me, and recommended this author called JRR Tolkien. Never looked back, still regularly reading LotR 55 years on. At that time, though, Tolkien was still a word-of-mouth recommendation, well before the surge of popularity that happened later.

Pyan, in the States, the Hobbit Craze was being covered by popular papers and magazines by early 1966 or earlier, so that the London Times noticed and reported on it in the 12 Feb 1966 issue. The Ladies’ Home Journal had an article about “Frodo Lives” Feb. 1967. The National Observer reported “Two Publishers Vie for Gold from Middle-earth” 30 Aug. 1965 on the Ace and Ballantine paperbacks. The San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner’s This World section 18 Dec. 1966 had cover story on the craze. Time magazine reported on “The Hobbit Habit” as “in” with youth 15 July 1966. Esquire magazine also reported on the “Hobbit Habit” Sept. 1966. The Saturday Evening Post had an article on “The Hobbit-Forming World of J.R.R. Tolkien” in its 2 July 1966 issue.

 

[Extollager]

Those were articles included in Richard West’s Tolkien Criticism: An Annotated Checklist 1970 (I have the 1972 printing).

It seems Tolkien was a certified Youth Craze in the States before his own country. The ready availability of paperback editions here had a lot to do with that. I don’t know when Allen and Unwin brought out their paperback (one volume!) of LotR for the first time.....with that lovely Pauline Barnes design on front and back covers.

I first read JRRT probably late 1966, but he was already famous. It was a library display of the paperbacks that drew my attention to him.

 

[hitmouse]

I read The Player of Games when I was about 16 and it had not long been out, a friend got it basically on its release and raved about it so I got it too and yes, awesome. I read Consider Phlebas not long after, and after that I read each new Culture book as it came out, till IMB sadly died. I feel like I jumped on that train early!

Banks (without the M, but still) made a big splash with his first book The Wasp Factory. I purchased that from a supermarket book-stand when it was published. It was controversial and got a lot of publicity. Good start to a career. Banks did not seem to have to slowly drag himself out of obscurity.

 

[K. Riehl]

Lois Bujold, I read Shards of Honor and Falling Free the first day they appeared at my local bookstore.

I read Karl Edward Wagner when Death Angel's Shadow came out in 1973. I had read some of his horror work previous to that.

R.A. MacAvoy with her debut novel Tea with a Black Dragon as an advance reader. Her popularity was immediate after winning the John W. Campbell award and was nominated for the Nebula, Locus and Hugo award. Not bad for a first novel.

K W Jeter with Seeklight and The Dreamfields. I became aware of him through reading about PK Dick and Tim Powers in the 70's.

Robert Jordon from his take on the Conan series. I read Eye of the World the day it came out and went back to my local bookstore and ordered two more 1st ed. hardcover copies. I told the owner it was going to be the next big series and he bought heavy on my recommendation(60 copies, I think). He sold out in a week and the incomming hardcovers after that were already second editions.

 

[Parson]

Lois Bujold, I read Shards of Honor and Falling Free the first day they appeared at my local bookstore.

I did too, and as far as I am concerned she never wrote another book which I would consider the equal of Shards of Honor.

 

[psikeyhackr]

I did too, and as far as I am concerned she never wrote another book which I would consider the equal of Shards of Honor.

Really?

I thought Shards of Honor was rather pedestrian because of all of the walking across the planet.

Barrayar was really exhilarating with heads rolling on tables.

 

[HareBrain]

I read Paul Kearney's A Different Kingdom before he got known for his epic fantasy.

Plus David Mitchell's (Cloud Atlas etc) student poetry, if that counts. It was good enough for me to keep printouts of (now sadly lost).

 

[Parson]

Really?

I thought Shards of Honor was rather pedestrian because of all of the walking across the planet.

Barrayar was really exhilarating with heads rolling on tables.

Well, I'll give you the heads rolling across the table bit, and it would be my third or maybe second choice of her works. I've really come to detest the Miles stories.

 

[psikeyhackr]

. I've really come to detest the Miles stories.

Can you explain why? I have probably read each one four times so I am probably somewhat tired of them but it is not like I dislike them.

 

[Parson]

Well, first, it's been years and years since I read several of them. And I read 4 or 5, so I didn't think they were too terrible. But after a time I just couldn't buy the Miles character and his exploits in war, women, and everything else. There's probably more to it, but that's what I always think of first when I think of the Miles stories.

** Now my dislike of the Miles character has always bothered me because I keep thinking he was the kind of character that I should have loved. but just don't. As they always say "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

 

[psikeyhackr]

** Now my dislike of the Miles character has always bothered me because I keep thinking he was the kind of character that I should have loved. but just don't. As they always say "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

It is the entire world building of the Nexus with the Barrayar backstory that I like. Miles meeting Gregory in jail in The Vor Game is totally ridiculous but it is made so funny with Caveulo and General Metzov that Miles is just a cog in the big picture. LOL

I seem to be less character driven than a lot of readers.

 

[AE35Unit]

Oops, wrong forum

 

[AllanR]

Too many really. One of note though. I was listening to Hitchicker's Guide radio at about the time the books were being published.

(I had a glow in the dark t-shirt with friendly letters spelling out Don't Panic, in 1980)

 

[psikeyhackr]

I read Bujold's Barrayar some time in the early 90s. I really don't know how famous she was at the time. I had never heard of her.

Barrayar (1991): Lois McMaster Bujold

★★★★ A Vorkosigan Saga Novel: Book 2 It’s taken me over two years to write up my thoughts on Barrayar, the second in the loosely-knit Vorkosigan Saga. I’ve actually read it twice in the…

theidlewoman.net

Barrayar kind of blew my mind with how good it was and not being the kind of harder science fiction that normally pushes my buttons. I had read Shards of Honor but it was mostly just OK though it got better in the last third.

William Gibson seems to be more famous though I like Bujold's SF writing far more. Gibson is the posterboy for the cyberpunk subgenre. I tried 3 of her fantasy books, managed to finish 2. I guess fantasy doesn't work for me regardless of the writing.

 

[pogopossum]

Read LOTR somewhere in 56'. I can date it pretty well as I stayed up most of the night reading and practically flunked my High School freshman exams. (Yes I'm that old.)
Read Herbert's The Green Brain (1966) · The Eyes of Heisenberg (1966) · The Heaven Makers (1968) ·& The Santaroga Barrier (1968) practically when they came out. I started to say the same thing about my favorite, Dragon In The Sea, but looking up it's date it must have been a while post pub.
I remember reading the first half of Dune when it was serialized in Analog and thinking that it was a let down from his good stuff (Great cover though.
I had the advantage of being the youngest of a family of science fiction fans. Dad, brother, sis and ma all read. Stuff was always lying around.

 

[pogopossum]

Correction: (Too late to edit)
After saying that I could date reading LOTR, I then blew it. It would have been 62'