Favorite author/authors

Ah I did, it is named Bilbo in Sweden. Different titles in different countries are so annoying.

 

OK, Joacqin, I will give you my honest opinion, since you asked it. But you may not like it. Keep in mind that I'm not trying to anger anyone in this process. And that literary opinions are very subjective. No one has the final word on any of this.

For me at least, Martin is a typical genre hack writer; his work is very predictable, with very flat characters that seem to follow the formula pattern set by most hack fiction writers. When seen in this light, they are not very sympathetic. And for me that is the biggest problem, I could care less what happens to any of them in this giant, medieval soap opera, _Song of Fire and Ice_.

As far as reading all of them, I only read the first one and half the second one. I was reading the second, got to the middle, and absently started reading something else and forgot to finish it. So much for Martin. If I run out of good books to read, I may pick it up again.

Now, let me defend Tolkien against the verbal violence you did to him. My defense of him does not rest on the fact that he was an Oxford scholar - Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford. Nor is it on the asscertion that he knew more about language than anyone else during his lifetime. But on the contention that he is the most influential writer of the 20th Century. Yes, more influential than Hemingway, or Steinbeck. He is not "better" than any of these writers, but because Tolkien wrote _The Hobbit_ and TLotR, he is largely responsible for most of the fantasy/adventure that has been done in the second half of the last century. And that's a lot considering that sites such as this one may not even exist without what Tolkien accomplished.

For more, I recommend an excellent book on the subject - _JRR Tolkien: Author of the Century_, by Tom Shippey. It is a scholarly work, but still for the general reader, written by the person who followed Tolkien's position at Leeds and then at Oxford.

[ October 24, 2003, 04:41: Message edited by: Chandos the Red ]

 

But Chandos you see, you in your post is saying the exact same thing I did. What you lifted up about Tolkien is the same things I have given him credit for all along. What I said is that just because he did that, it doesnt mean that his work really is that immersive. If you wanted to defend Tolkien you should have defended what was under attack not what I gave him credit for.

It is funny that you can see the same thing in very different light. One of the reason that I love Martin is that his story and his characters break away from any formula and keeps on suprisising you. aSoIaA may well be a giant soapopera, but that is one of the main charms with fantastic fiction and a building block from the start. Look at the Arthur saga, could anyone say that that wasnt a soapopera?

 

Robert Ludlum! Never read any better thriller. May he rest in peace.

 

Tolkien, Bernard Cornwell, Tom Clancy and Rowling ( Harry Potters rock! )

 

Lynx Lupo, I agtree. Ludlum's thrillers are way above any other. Comparing, say, Clancy to them is blasphemy.

Speaking of balsphemy, the movie "Bourne Identity" made me cry. So... blasbhemous.

On a note for Tolkien: Sure, it can be said that his writing is not as good as most say (is that an oxymoron?) but the point is, this thread is about "favourites", not "the best"... Me, I am an obsessed Tolkien snot (first three parts of the Eärendil poem committed to memory and more to follow ) and thus I find myself often going "sheesh, get original, will you?" when i read fantasy literature... the fact is, Tolkien did it first. I used to argue with an old teacher of mine about Tolkien being the basis of all fantasy lit, and now... now I am on his side. I used to deny it vehemently, but now I find myself at hios standpoint.

I also admit that seeing as Tolkien's works are so very comprehensivve, writing "original" fantasy is extremely hard.

 

The root of all fantasy goes much farther back than Tolkien, he is the root of all modern fantasy though. But he himself found inspiration in a number of religous texts and stories, from the bible to the Bhamaputra (sp?), most of his inspiration he got greek mythology and the Edda. Then we have the Arthurian legeds who are a great inspiration for almost all fantasy writers. So Tolkien wasnt first.
What Tolkien was to create a mythology of his own by drawing from all possible sources into something new, that was his work much more than his novels.

[ October 29, 2003, 22:43: Message edited by: joacqin ]

 

A lot of Tolkien's world comes from Norse mythology, such as Elves, Dwarves and Middle-earth (Midgard).

 

Stephen King - especially the Dark Tower
Elmore Leonard - just found him recently
RA Salvatore - gotta love Drizzt and co
Tolkien - only actually read LotR about 3 years ago but DAMN!
James Ellroy - thanks to the LA Confidential film
James Patterson - go Alex Cross! Oh, and what's-her-name in the Women's Murder Club books

 

Oh, I DO know that Tolkien incorporated mythology. Try reading the Kalevala. the story of Turin Turambar is practically straight out of that one.

heck, even the poetic meter used in The Gall of Gil-Galad comes from Kalevala...

But I am beig way too off-topic here.

 

Tolkien for ever.
Followed closely by Steven Pressfield and Valerio Massimo Manfredi.
Margaret Weis is a good author too. I really liked the Dragonlance Cronicles trilogy (unfortunately the only dragonlance books I read).
Salvatore's books are nice but still nothing so special like LOTR or Gates of Fire.

 

Frank Herbert
William Gibson
Andrzej Sapkowski
(and Tolkien)

and for non-SF
Kurt Vonnegut
James Joyce
Dante Alighieri (Divine Comedy earned him the place, but he's a poet)
Mika Waltari

 

Couldn't resist making my own short list although it should definitely be much longer:

Guy Gavriel Kay
Roger Zelazny
Konrad T. Lewandowski
R. A. Heinlein (not all his works though for the quality differs greatly)

 

Hmm, and Julian May. Her metapsychic books just rock.

 

Lewandovski?
Am I mistaken or are you fellow middle - europian Slav in these vast english speaking boards?

(Edit): What? Czech! Ahoj.

 

Denning (for his Cormyr work)
Salvatore
Weis & Hickman (for the Chronicles)
Tolkien

for non-fantasy -- Stephen King is a stand alone, imo. His book "It" riveted me to the floor for just about every page. (And I also glanced in my sinks every time I passed one for quite some time. )

 

Weis and Hickman for the death gate series
Salvatore especially for Entreri and Jarlaxle
Martin for writing the best series ever with too many characters to write.

And michael chrighton for jurassic park.