Favourite authors/books/comics thread

Scott · #1 02-20-2012, 12:43 AM

Seeing as how people have liked my favourite movies/animes threads, and one of the those threads (movie thread I think) was actually briefly hijacked to talk about books :-p, I thought I'd add a favourite book thread....

I recently just finished Sex at Dawn, a book that I see has been discussed here in the past:
Book: Sex at Dawn

Don't really want to say anything about it right now, just thought that I'd start out with it as one of my favourite books.

My favourite authors:
Frank Herbert

He's my all time favourite writer. Unfortunately, he passed away at around the time that I received the first Dune novel as a gift, but what a volume of work he left behind.

I particularly liked his Dune universe; he wrote 5 books in the series and the first one was also made into a movie, as well as remake that I thought was even better. There were some made for tv movies after that but I never really saw too much of that, would like to see that later.

I've read virtually everything of his that I could get my hands on, with one exception (some novel concerning bugs taking things over, just couldn't get into it). While I've heard a lot of people talk about the Dune books, I also thought that his books (which were essentially a series), The Jesus Incident, The Lazarus Effect and The Ascension Factor, co-authored by Bill Ransom, were awesome. I hadn't tracked down his first book in this series (Destination: Void) until now, I look forward to reading it :-).

C. (Celia) S. Friedman:
Just an amazing author in my view. I had the amazingly good luck of buying all 3 of her Coldfire Trilogy novels during a time when I spent a great deal of time alone; I devoured them :-). I believe I've read all of her novels that were entirely her own creations (instead of belonging to a 'universe', I think she's only done one of that type so far), except for her last one in the Magister Trilogy which I'm currently reading. I think she's a bit closer to fantasy then science fiction; I really don't care that much about such things, what I love is deep characters and she's awesome at that. She's made a lot of characters that seem to have vampire like qualities, but only one novel that has the blood sucking kind (it was the one belonging to someone else's universe), which I prefer. I've never been a fan of the vampire stuff, though I did like one vampire novel I read.. though not because of the vampires but because of the highly sexual female character who narrated it, laugh :-). Friedman did write atleast one book that didn't seem to have any energy tapping creature in it, This Alien Shore, which had a fair amount of Science Fiction in it, definitely liked it as well.

William Gibson
Cyberpunk sci fi, I loved virtually everything he wrote. That being said, I once spoke with a teacher of mine who had a passion for reading fantasy as well, and when I asked her what she thought of William Gibson, she gave a very good answer; he's somewhat sexist; I started thinking about his novels and, well.. I think she may be right to some extent. That being said, I just love his stuff, imperfect as it may be :-p. Although I wasn't too hot about his last novel, Zero history; I read a bit of it, but just couldn't finish it. I think my favourite book of his was Mona Lisa Overdrive. "It was a culmination of his previous two novels, set in the same universe with shared characters, thereby completing the Sprawl trilogy." (Wikipedia, where would I be without you :-)?)

Neal Stephenson
To me, William Gibson and Neal Stephenson go hand in hand. Their styles certainly have differences, but I think that their similarities overwhelm their differences. However, I must admit that there were only 2 novels from Stephenson that I found to be awesome Snow Crash, and what I like to think of as a type of sequel, The Diamond Age. I just loved both of them. I just looked at his work in the link above, I think I'd like to read the book he just came out with, REAMDE, one of these days :-)

Tad Williams
I loved his Otherland Series, which is set almost exclusively in a virtual world.

Jeff Noon
The first book I read from him was Vurt. Just awesome. I think his writing is something like William Gibson's, but he's got a style all his own. I also read Pollen, the sequel, and Nymphomation, the prequel (but written last of all). Just realized he's written a fair amount more, may be reading more of him soon.

As to comics, my favourite comic series was "The Uncanny Xmen", and my favourite 4 part series in that was the Genosha series, where mutants were essentially treated as slaves; it simultaneously combined the concept of apartheid, slavery and punishing difference.. just awesome in my view.

I liked spiderman, but my favourite book of it was one of the first I ever bought, back when he was wearing the alien costume; he's seen digging himself out of a grave (he's been buried alive), a really strong scene considering my age (11 at the time :-p).

There's more, but I think this is a good starting post...

Nerdpower13 · #2 02-20-2012, 12:56 AM

I think my favorite book is Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

My favorite authors are Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, George R.R. Martin, S.M. Stirling, Timothy Zahn, and J.K. Rowling.

Scott · #3 02-20-2012, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nerdpower13

I think my favorite book is Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

My favorite authors are Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, George R.R. Martin, S.M. Stirling, Timothy Zahn, and J.K. Rowling.

Didn't read Good Omens, but I absolutely loved Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" book.. just awesome :-).

I liked Stephen King's Bachman books, but have never really been into scary stuff, so that's as far as I went, heh :-).

I've read the first book of George R.R. Martin's "Tale of Ice and Fire" series (Game of Thrones), part of the second and loved all of the first season from the Game of Thrones T.V. show as well.

As to J.K. Rowling, I've seen and liked several Harry Potter films, but I couldn't get into the first book; I've been told that it gets better but.. well maybe one day :-).

RunicWolf · #4 02-20-2012, 04:18 AM

Booooooooks! Just so happens I love to read/listen to books! I'm just going to hop into favorite authors/series.

Jim Butcher
I'm a massive fan of his Dresden Files series. I'll admit I listened to most of his books in audio book format while working in my workshop, however it did nothing to diminish how much i enjoy his work. Plus hearing them read by James Marsters made them all the more amusing. The first few books where kind of flat until James started getting into it and started using voices for characters. I credit Jim Butcher with getting me really into modern urban fantasy.

Robert Heinlein
He's one of the classic sci-fi writers in my book. While I didn't always agree with his philosophy, his books always entertained me and often I'd come away knowing more then when I started. Plus his predictions through his short stories about the future are pretty on the money.

Glen Cook
I've only recently started reading The Black Company and already I love the series. I'm really enjoying the grit he puts into the series. It's a low fantasy series written about a mercenary company. That should tell you most of what you need to know.

H.P. Lovecraft
I've been a Lovecraft fan for ages. He laid the groundwork for many of my favorite authors and works.

Timothy Zhan
As I said in another thread, I liked his Star Wars books. However his other works are just as good. The Conquerors Trilogy is fantastic.

Orson Scott Card
Only a few of his books stand out to me, but I loved the living hell out of them. Ender's Game and Enchantment in particular.

The Book of Five Rings, Hagakure, and The Art of War
Those three books stand out as very interesting reads for me. I've probably read them all a dozen times each and come out with different insights each time. While they aren't fiction, still well worth the read.

Robert McCammon
Seriously the best horror author I've read to date. Swan Song and Mystery Walk still send chills down my spine. He is, in my opinion, a much better author then Stephen King.

Now for comics. I don't read many of them, but a few stand out.

Mike Mignola
I love his work. I see his name on a book and I just have to pick it up and see what he did with it. Hellboy/B.P.R.D. in particular are amazing.

Tales of the Jedi
I adore this series. It's got high drama, action, Star Wars, and is set well before anything else in the setting.

Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers
A rare gem to come out of IDW and Transformers comics the past few years. The writer and lead artist has been a fan of Transformers, and the Wreckers, for years and years. When he wrote the miniseries, it showed. Again, high drama, action, sacrifices, and of course a last stand or three. I felt like a kid again reading it, especially when I couldn't even wait to get to the car to start reading.

ThatGirlInGray · #5 02-20-2012, 06:31 AM

Neil Gaiman.

Anne McCaffrey. (but not the Pern books)

Nora Roberts (yep, I said it!).

Patricia Briggs. (Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega)

Gail Carriger. (Parasol Protectorate)

As much as I love Ender's Game and all the subsequent books, I'll no longer give someone as blatantly homophobic as Orson Scott Card my money.

And I LOVE Stranger in a Strange Land and Time Enough For Love, and liked a couple other Heinlein books, but I've tried to read so many other books of his and just couldn't get in to them.

And Harry Potter. And, believe it or not, Twilight. (yes, I know they're awful. Kind of like eating Cheetos- no substance and SO bad, yet so good!!)

Scott · #6 02-20-2012, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatGirlInGray

Neil Gaiman.

He seems to be quite the popular author here, heh :-).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatGirlInGray

Anne McCaffrey. (but not the Pern books)

I really liked her "Powers that Be". I've also read some of the Crystal Universe, which I found to be pretty good. Looking through her entry on wikipedia, I just found out that she died recently, so like Frank Herbert, there's now a set amount of works to be read; that being said, she was quite a prolific writer :-).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatGirlInGray

Nora Roberts (yep, I said it!).

Lol :-). Not sure if it should mean anything, but I saw an attractive woman reading one at a laundromat once (yep, I asked her what she was reading :-p). A former teacher of mine (I've mentioned her previously) wasn't into her, and I decided I probably wouldn't be either, but if someone I knew in person was reading them, I might give it a try. Speaking of this teacher, I just remembered that we had an affinity for books from Stephen R. Donaldson; I've read most of his work and really liked it. There is definitely a dark streak in some if it, but then life is full of dark streaks and I really like how he at times explores the idea of a character doing something really bad, feeling remorse and atoning for what he did (yes, it seems that the characters who do this are always male, laugh :-p). The 2 characters are thinking of are Thomas Covenant's one action with a character in the very first book in the series, and Angus Thermopyle's certain action with a character as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatGirlInGray

Patricia Briggs. (Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega)

Gail Carriger. (Parasol Protectorate)

Hadn't heard of them, will try to keep them in mind.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatGirlInGray

As much as I love Ender's Game and all the subsequent books, I'll no longer give someone as blatantly homophobic as Orson Scott Card my money.

I liked his Ender's Game a fair amount too. I didn't know he was homophobic. As I mentioned to RunicWolf, I might still read something he's had to say (I frequently use the library, avoiding that spending of money ;-)), but I'll keep this aspect of him in mind.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatGirlInGray

And I LOVE Stranger in a Strange Land and Time Enough For Love, and liked a couple other Heinlein books, but I've tried to read so many other books of his and just couldn't get in to them.

I've only read 2 of his books as I mentioned to RunicWolf; I definitely really liked Stranger in a Strange Land as well as the other Glory Road, but haven't read anything else, so I may find that I don't like some so much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatGirlInGray

And Harry Potter.

My ex girlfriend was a real fan of the books, as well as the movies :-p. I liked the movies, never got into the books though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThatGirlInGray

And, believe it or not, Twilight. (yes, I know they're awful. Kind of like eating Cheetos- no substance and SO bad, yet so good!!)

Laugh :-). I've read some analysis of Twilight though, and my conclusion is that it actually does have substance; it could be seen as a reflection of modern day society. I never read the books, and didn't even finish the first movie (I got stuck at the point where the female lead was going to go to a place where I believe even she knew there'd be trouble; I hate those types of situation :-p), but that impression still holds. Also, I definitely think that the author likes playing upon what seems to essentially be a polyamorous notion (the female lead's affections for 2 men).

Scott · #7 02-20-2012, 10:51 AM

Quote: