Who is your favorite author?

I'm usually not a thread starter, but I will contribute a little here.

Who is your favorite author (or authors) and why?

My favorite atuhor is Terry Brooks. I read his first novel The Sword of Shannara in public school. It was one of the first books I ever read on my own (not forced to by school). It was an engaging and breathtaking world I found. The characters always seemed real to me for some reason and I actually cared about what happened to them.

Very fun stuff. I have read every book of his since! I am very much looking forward to his newst book, A Princess of Landover, coming out in August I believe!

Now tell us yours Ben!

Good choice in Brooks. Always a read I look forward to.

Well, I have 2 favorite authors. Probably 4 or 5 if I really wanted to go that far.

First and probably foremost is Robert Jordan. His Wheel of Time series has just always thrilled me. I love his detail. Most people complain about how detailed he can get, but I love it. I love the magic system. But most of all I love the characters. Every character of significance is unique and memorable to me. (<-- This will be a theme).

Second, and almost equally first, is Jacqueline Carey. Great, engaging story. She gives us a fantasy world and takes away the magic (or near enough as you can get) and makes it all believable. When I read her books I feel like I'm there. She gives, in my own opinion, the strongest female character I've ever read about. Great character builder.

The honorables that I may explain why at a later time are:

Patrick Rothfuss (Best character I've read about in a long time: Kvothe)
Robin Hobb (Probably my most emotionally tied to character ever: FitzChivalry Farseer)
Brandon Sanderson (Most original magic system I've read about in a long time)

Those that are also high up:

Steven Erikson (HUGE, deep, and pleasingly complex series. Not complex hard, but rather complex as in A LOT going on.)
George R.R. Martin (Not afraid to kill people. I know that sounds weird, but I really get tired of the good guys always going unscathed.)

Very nice. Thanks for the share. I may check out some of them in the future because of your post!

My all-time favourite is Terry Goodkind. I love the characters and the situations of the Sword of Truth novels and just everything about it really.

I also like George R.R. Martin. Full of treachery and intrigue.

J.R.R. Tolkien. I wanted to live in Middle Earth when I was a kid.

J.K. Rowling. Anyone that can get kids reading instead of sitting in front of the tv or games console is brilliant in my opinion. (And I like the story too)

Christopher Paolini. Because I love dragons.

I'm so lazy I'm COPYING and PASTING just three lines from the other site.

Obviously Goodkind.

I also enjoy King, Crichton, Koontz, James Patterson, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Clancy.

I'm really starting to get into Dan Brown now; good fantasy author.

Interesting take on Jordan Ben, since my biggest complaint about him was that his characters are too alike and repetitive in their mindset and attitudes about certain things - the female characters in particular. More importantly, too many of those attitudes are just not believable for me, and by that I mean I've never seen or heard of any human being ever acting or thinking like that. I've also heard critiques from female readers that he has no clue as to the female psyche, but I can't testify to that.

That said I love his books, as they are a prime example of an epic world builder (see what I did there? ). The history, or 'mythology', is very detailed and you know he had everything already in mind by the time he wrote the books. He's also good at developing his plot in general, though by the last few books I think he had too many story lines. As in, it took him three or four books to complete A LOT of story lines that he began earlier (Perrin saving Faile, Mat with Tuon, etc). I've heard someon say that Jordan feel victim to the problem a lot of authors have in not knowing quite how to finish his series and I tend to agree with it partly.

Terry Goodkind is up there as well, and he's kind of opposite Jordan in that I like him for his characters. You get the greatest good and evil exhibited in certain characters, but then you get all the shades of grey in others. His plot in the first half was excellent, and didn't suffer from following too many story lines.

Others include the Crystal Cave series by Mary Stewart, an excellent trilogy and take on the myth of Merlin and Arthur; and the Skystone series, also of Arthurian legend by Jack Whyte.

Favorites:
Terry Brooks: Great world, great characters, and engrossing stories. I can't help but love the world of Shannara.

George R. R. Martin: What can I say? GRRM is as epic as it gets. I care not for the long waits, every word is worth the time waited and dime spent. Fantastic writing, complex universe, brilliant characters, this guy has it all.

Orson Scott Card: Very fun sci-fi writer, his universe is wonderfully imagined, detailed, and the philosophy contained within his writing is something magical.

Scott Lynch: Urban fantasy at its best. Brilliant mix of wit and sophistication, Lynch has an amazing mind for connecting his stories and characters to a very believable world.

David Morrell: First class action/thriller writer, and first class guy, Morrell is hands down one of his genre's top notch players. Classics such as First Blood (Rambo) and Brotherhood of the Rose, and more traditional (but still amazing) thrillers like The Fifth profession and Double Image, all the way to suspenseful mysteries like Creeper. I have yet to read something from Morrell I did not like (And I've read all but like 3-4 of his books).

Others I enjoy:
Lian Hearn: Great mix of historical fiction and fantasy. A must-read for anyone who enjoys pre-modern Japanese culture.

Niel Gaiman: Amazing writer, truly. Gaiman has an imagination any writer would kill for.
*Paulo Coehlo (The Alchemist): This book is truly incredible. Well written, with great characters and an amazing journey of self-discovery.

T.A. Baron: What can I say, I loved reading about Merlin's early years. A very fun YA series, to be sure.

Dan Brown: Lets ignore the fact that the info in his books is 80% made up. Ok, having ignored that, Brown's books are entertaining, if ridiculous, and with mediocre prose.

Joe Abercrombie: I've only read his fantasy series, but it was excellent. Abercrombie doesn't shy away from anything. What other authors might consider going too far (except GRRM), this guy is just getting started. Well written and lots of fun.

Mathew Reilly: This guy's characters have more luck than can possibly exist in the universe. Despite that, Reilly's stories are fun, and very fast-paced. Action at it's most hardcore.

*Christopher Priest (The Prestige): Fascinating book, this one. A lot of fun to read, and very well written. If the movie was good, the book is brilliant. (And the movie was very good.)

There are probably others, but I cant remember them all currently.

* For these authors, I have only read one book, but I loved that particular work by the author.

Dan Simmons.

Hyperion/Fall of Hyperion/Endymion/Rise of Endymion are the best sci-fi series that exists. It starts out by wowing you with its authenticity and scope, and then bedazzles you with its commentary and critique on real issues that impact real humans on a day to day basis. It has everything. Science, Fiction, Non-ficiton, poetry, literature, love, understanding, philosophy, religion, technology, evolution and its stresses. I really cant say enough about it. Rise of Endymion is the only fantasy book that ever impacted my perception more than FoTF, for you Goodkind fans.

Illium/Olympos - if you like human history, human future, literature, adventure, or a really really solid story. You will love these two books.

Memnoch wrote:

Illium/Olympos - if you like human history, human future, literature, adventure, or a really really solid story. You will love these two books.

I give them:

My favorite author would be Terry Goodkind. I found his books when i was in middle school and have been reading and rereading ever since. I love the story line but my favorite part about all of the books are the hidden themes and concepts.

Depends on what mood I'm in really. But it'd be between three.

Terry Goodkind *This should come as no surprise. The man is a master of his craft, and his book Wizard's First Rule which I read at the age of 11 opened me to the world of Fantasy for good. As a note, I know TG says he's not fantasy, but that was the world he opened me to nonetheless.*

Jim Butcher *With every book I read of his, whether it be the urban fantasy of the Dresden Files or the Medieval warfare of The Codex Alera, I find him climbing higher and higher up my list of favorite writers. Within a year or two I would not be shocked if he claimed the top spot*

Brandon Sanderson *Some of you may have heard his name as he was chosen to finish Robert Jordan's last novel, but far more incredible are his own characters and storylines. NEVER have I read books so original with incredibly entertaining characters, complex yet easy-to-grasp magic systems, and storylines that will make your jaw drop. If you haven't read his books, start now.*

*Runner up* Christopher Moore *You haven't read humor until you've read this guy. Possibly the most twisted mind to be published in a long time. If you're squeamish or sensitive, don't read. But if you want to laugh for a very long time...you'll pick his novels up and never go back.*

I read books across a wide spectrum of genres but a few of my favorite are Terry Goodkind, JK Rowling, Robert Ludlum, Dean Koontz, Anne McCaffrey, Stephen King, JRR Tolkien, and Louis L'Amour. Yes, I read westerns but he writes other things as well.

... just found this thread ... time to ressurect it

I guess my list of favorites must start with the two authors that will forever be in my heart as they are the ones that opened the door to Reading for me. Franklin W. Dixon (yes, I know it's a pseudonym for a group of authors) and Clive King. For those that don't know, Dixon is the Author listed for the Hardy Boy novels, King wrote Stig of the Dump.

David Eddings, Terry Goodkind & Jim Butcher are also at the top of my list of favorite authors. Eddings is a magician at creating characters that are so real you can almsot hear them as you read the pages. Goodkind is a true story-teller that also manages to put valuable lessons (to me) in his stories as well. Butcher is just unique in his approach to creating a story - his subtle way of includinghumor and sarcasm into his stories mesmerizes me.

Other notables:
Trudi Canavan, Dan Brown, James Rollins, Stephen King & George R.R. Martin.

Yeah, as of right now my favourite author is Brandon Sanderson. He combines all the best elements that make a good fantasy author, IMO.

Obviously (to anyone who's known me) Mr. Goodkind is at the top. So is Tolkien.

Patricia C. Wrede is a very good author as well. Her Enchanted Forest Chronicles were my introduction to fantasy (well...ish, anyway; my first concious steps into the genre), and with the exception of a few plot holes in "Calling on Dragons" hold up pretty well.

Patrick McManis needs an honorable mention. The man is a genius at humor writing. You kinda have to be a bit rustic to get a lot of it, but he captures the essence of many people I've known. Rancid Craptree is a perfect combination of whit, ignorance, not giving a damn, and sheer genius, and only someone who loves hunting, fishing, and the outdoors could possibly write what he writes. Truly fantastic books. Just don't read them when your spouse is sleeping--falling off a chair laughing is a good way to wake them up, and "He made the slingshot out of tire innertubes!" just doesn't work as an explanation.

In non-fiction I'm going to go with Peter Ward and Steven J. Gould. Brilliant men who show that the point of science isn't to establish dust-dry facts but to figure out the story of where we came from, how we got there, and where we're going.

OOhh!! a quick Google and Patrick F. McManus looks to be right up my alley Seems my local library has a couple of his books ... guess that'll be on the reading list now too

Two more authors have entered my list of favourites in the last couple of years.

David Eddings - Have read the Belgariad and Mallorean and loved them. Great characters.

Brandon Sanderson - The Mistborn novels are right up there with SoT imo. Just fabulous.