This is a list of four things: my favourite authors; authors I like but for some some reason don't get to read much; authors I've heard about and would like to read; and authors I tried and didn't like.

View section: Favourites - Like - Yet to read - Did not like.

Favourites
  • Terry Pratchett
    Whimsical humour and wonderful characters. Although usually classed as fantasy, in reality his work is more concerned with society and strong characters.
    Although from my books list you might think I read a lot of Pratchett, in fact I have about a dozen books that I dip into or re-read every so often. The rest I get from the local public libraries.
  • Patrick O'Brian
    The author of the famous Aubrey-Maturin series of novels set around 1810. Think Hornblower or Forrester, but with good literate writing. If you want good literature filled with wonderful characters, epic sea stories, sly classical references, grab one.
    It pays to read the canon from start to end; the first few novels stand in their own right, but the later ones are a series of continuous stories.
    As a sidenote, just to show some other talents of this surprising man, O'Brian translated the book Papillon (later a movie with Steve McQueen) from French to English, and wrote one of the generally recognised classic biographies of Picasso, whom he knew.
  • Lawrence Block
    My favourite crime author. Block has several themed characters, notably Bernie Rodenbarr in his "The Burglar Who ..." series, Matthew Scudder, John Keller, the professional hit man, and Evan Tanner (although Tanner appears only in his earlier work). The Rodenbarr series are more light-hearted and are written in a classical "who dunnit" style, with Bernie invariably being the accused and then becoming the accuser and solver of the crime, whereas the Scudder series are more dark and real, with complex characters and, often, moral dilemmas. The Keller series are interesting in that they portray a hit man who commits terrible crimes, yet we come to know and, curiously, love this strange individual.
    Almost all his novels are set in or around New York and, particularly in the Scudder series, it features to such an extent it becomes a character in the story.
  • Alexander Fullerton
    Fullerton served as a British naval officer in submarines before becoming a full time author. Most of his novels are naval warfare, with the exception of the Rosie spy series, set in either of the two world wars. His naval battles are superb, and I guarantee you won't find better submarine battles anywhere, including Tom Clancy. The low technology 1st World War scenarios don't disappoint as he has a fine way of making everything very real and involving to the character, and hence to us.
    That said, he insists on including romances that add nothing to the plot and that are garish to the modern reader in that they usually involve older men with much younger women.
    However, don't let that put you off reading him; these minor points are easily overlooked because of the very realistic and involving way he tells stories of naval life and warfare. If you see one involving submarines especially, grab it.
  • Iain M. Banks
    Banks is one of the giants in British literature. He writes under Iain Banks for his contemporary novels and Iain M. Banks for his sci-fi. Both types are literary; the novels are dense and rich with interesting characters. His sci-fi is simply superb and, if you have given up on this genre due to too much fantasy and deus-ex-machina, give him a go. I eagerly await his next work. (Personally, I find his contemporary works a little dark; some of it is very cruel indeed. I tend to pick and choose a bit in this category.)
Quite Like
  • Rex Stout
    Nero Wolfe
  • Orson Scott Card
    I quite liked Grinning Man, a short story, and Magic Street.
Yet to read
  • Paul Theroux
    recommended by my father
  • Joe Haldeman
    sci-fi author from the late 1970s, roughly. Recommended on HN. (The Forever War)
  • Salman Rushdie
    Midnight's Children
  • unknown
    Godel, Escher, Bach ** yet more recommendations **
  • Stephen Baxter
    Voyage
  • Ben Hunt?
    Sled Driver, an account by a pilot of the SR-71
  • Ben Rich
    Skunkworks
  • Neil Gaiman
    Stardust
  • Charles Stross
    Accelerando
  • Peter Hamilton
    the Commonwealth saga, recommended on HN as alternative to Iain M. Banks.
  • James Clavell
    Shogun, recommended on HN (Taipan less so), King Rate also recommended as a follow-up.
  • Crichton
    Sphere, recommended on IMDB by viewer(s) of the film.
  • Bill Bryson
    At Home, similar to A Short History of Everything, but in the context of a walk around his home in England.
  • Lem
    Polish author, recommended on HN sub-thread on Phillip K. Dick, examples are Solaris (heavier), Memoirs of a Space Traveller (lighter), apparently short stories are easier at first.
  • Vernor Vinge
    recommended on HN for being a scientist author with great forward-looking technological skills coupled with a literary bent. A Fire Upon the Deep (recommended on Reddit too), followed by A Deepness in the Sky.
  • Dan Simmons
    Hyperion series, on Reddit's list of best sci-fi of all time. All of the following Reddit recommendations came from this person's summary.
  • William Gibson
    Neuromancer, Matrix-like, NYTimes best-selling author, on Reddit's list of best sci-fi of all time.
  • Arthur C Clarke
    Childhood's End, on Reddit's list of best sci-fi of all time.
  • Robert Heinlen
    Starship Troopers, on Reddit's list of best sci-fi of all time.
  • Walter M Miller
    A Canticle for Leibowitz, on Reddit's list of best sci-fi of all time.
  • Peter F Hamilton
    Pandora's Star, on Reddit's list of best sci-fi of all time, although one commentator couldn't get past the first chapter.
  • Alfred Bester Simmons
    The Stars My Destination 1956, on Reddit's list of best sci-fi of all time.
  • Richard Morgan
    Altered Carbon, on Reddit's list of best sci-fi of all time.
  • Ursula Le Guin
    The Left Hand of Darkness, on Reddit's list of best sci-fi of all time.
  • John Scalzi
    Old Man's War, on Reddit's list of best sci-fi of all time.
  • Greg Egan
    Quarantine, Permutation City, Diaspora City, Schildt's Ladder, his short stories are possibly better and excellent, Egan is noted for hard sci-fi, on Reddit's list of best sci-fi of all time.
  • Gene Wolf
    Shadow & Claw, on Reddit's list of best sci-fi of all time.
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Tried, didn't like
  • Ben Bova
    Sci-fi author. The science is pretty good, but his novels are cluttered with characters who display annoyingly naive psychology. It wouldn't be so bad if they were simple characters or cyphers, but Bova clearly believes he has insight into human psychology, which he does not, and so writes his characters with what he apparently believes is some complexity. It is as though he has read one book on psychology and now believes that people are motivated by only power and sex without subtlety or finesse. Too annoying to continue reading.

Books

View the similar page on books I have read.

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