Author Topic: Recommend Me Some Fiction Authors (Read 11314 times)

Hedgetrimmer · « **on:** 19 March 2015, 09:33:53 pm »

Reading Stephen King's "Dr. Sleep" at the moment. I love his writing style, but have trouble finding other fiction stuff that will hold my attention. Who're your favourites, what genre do they write (horror, sci-fi/fantasy, crime, comedy etc) and what do you like about them? Need to get my head around something different.

ChristoT · « **Reply #1 on:** 19 March 2015, 10:12:57 pm »

At the moment, I'm reading 2 authors: Terry Pratchett for light-hearted silliness with a cynical sense of humour, or Clive Cussler for the penny thriller style. Writing is crap, storylines are all similar, but it whiles away an hour or three.

If you like well written action / thriller, I can recommend Alistair MacLean or Hammon Innes. Personally, I prefer the latter, as his characters are more human, better developed. If you're after a book to work through, Robert M Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" is a good read, if somewhat hard work in the second half.

noggythenog · « **Reply #2 on:** 19 March 2015, 10:29:34 pm »

Joe Abercrombie - The first law series, 3 books.

Yamazer-92 · « **Reply #3 on:** 19 March 2015, 10:41:08 pm »

Quote from: ChristoT on 19 March 2015, 10:12:57 pm

If you're after a book to work through, Robert M Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" is a good read, if somewhat hard work in the second half.

I read that once Christo, it started well pretty interesting and some of the theories and stuff I liked. Then it got to a point where I could read a whole page and couldn't actually tell you a single piece of it in any sense if you asked me. The words were just nonsense so I didn't finish it.

Best trilogy I ever read was by Raymond E Feist. The first book is called Magician. I'm not a big reader, but my dad recommended them to me and at first just looking at the cover and reading the back I thought it looked a bit poncey but once I started I couldn't put them down. Excellent charachters and story in my opinion. Game of thrones is really good too, but quite long and ponderous at times. I like the series better because I'm a lazy foccer

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bigralphie · « **Reply #4 on:** 19 March 2015, 10:42:35 pm »

Yea I like Joe too

If you like SK then I think you will like John Connerly's Charlie Parker novels
http://www.johnconnollybooks.com/charlie-parker-books.php

Or SK son Joe Hill

darrsi · « **Reply #5 on:** 19 March 2015, 10:57:21 pm »

"The Great Escape" by Freida Convict

Billy Balthorpe · « **Reply #6 on:** 19 March 2015, 11:21:44 pm »

Joe Haldeman (Sci Fi) - The Forever War, 3 books (I think) easy reading and good action, believable portrayal of long term space travel and the effects of relativity.

Harry Harrison (Sci Fi) - The Stainless Steel Rat series, very good Thief turned Investigator type stuff.

Issac Asimov (Sci Fi) - Foundation series.

Arthur C Clarke (Sci Fi) - Rama series. Also, get the Collected Short Stories, they are all in one (big) book, some really good stuff in there.

Stephen King and Peter Strawb (Sci Fi/Fantasy) - The Talisman.

Julian May (Sci Fi/Fantasy) - The Many Coloured Land, 3 books (I think). People who chose not to fit in with society choose to be sent back to the Pliocene epoch on a one way trip. Good stuff!

There's lots more, in my loft, under the bed, on bookshelves, bloody everywhere. Ive been buying books (mainly Sci Fi) since I was about 8, and never sold or thrown any away. The wife has threatened to give them away, I told her I'd give her away first!!

griff86 · « **Reply #7 on:** 20 March 2015, 07:42:53 am »

Try Richard Laymon, similar to Steven King but I prefer Laymon's writing. The Beast House trilogy is really good.

Punkstig · « **Reply #8 on:** 20 March 2015, 08:08:23 am »

Dean Koontz is similar to Stephen King except he doesn't go off on the massive tangents that king tends to, after reading Koontz I didn't go back to King and have now read the majority of his books, the odd Thomas series is good, I'd suggest intensity or fear nothing as a first read!

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #9 on:** 20 March 2015, 09:43:08 am »

Quote from: Billy Balthorpe on 19 March 2015, 11:21:44 pm

Joe Haldeman (Sci Fi) - The Forever War, 3 books (I think) easy reading and good action, believable portrayal of long term space travel and the effects of relativity.

Harry Harrison (Sci Fi) - The Stainless Steel Rat series, very good Thief turned Investigator type stuff.

Issac Asimov (Sci Fi) - Foundation series.

Arthur C Clarke (Sci Fi) - Rama series. Also, get the Collected Short Stories, they are all in one (big) book, some really good stuff in there.

Stephen King and Peter Strawb (Sci Fi/Fantasy) - The Talisman.

Julian May (Sci Fi/Fantasy) - The Many Coloured Land, 3 books (I think). People who chose not to fit in with society choose to be sent back to the Pliocene epoch on a one way trip. Good stuff!

There's lots more, in my loft, under the bed, on bookshelves, bloody everywhere. Ive been buying books (mainly Sci Fi) since I was about 8, and never sold or thrown any away. The wife has threatened to give them away, I told her I'd give her away first!!

I finally got rid of all my books and read everything on a Kindle now. I got fed up with having to pack them all up every time I moved, and will be moving again shortly, so I glad I don't have to lug that lot again! The extra space is much appreciated. Probably not what you want to hear, I was quite attached to mine and didn't really want to get rid but needs must an all that. Just don't let your missus see this post!

I dithered over that Arthur C. Clarke collected short stories last night, didn't go for it in the end. I think I might though. I tried my first foray into sci-fi last week (first apart from Ray Bradbury's "The Illustrated Man" , which we did at school for English Lit - bit dated now, but good stories): "The First Exoplanet" by T.J. Sedgwick; again, good story but not particularly well written I thought. I need good writers!

Isaac Asimov...that's one of the names for sci-fi I was trying to think of last night

I didn't necessarily want to just stay with horror, and had considered both Dean Koontz and James Herbert before, may come back to them later, although I have just bought a couple by Joe Hill (Stephen King's son) on recommendation though. I also got a crime thriller sampler and some other sci-fi sampler just to try some new authors in different genres to what I usually read.

Christo, I might try that Terry Pratchett one; could do with some good comedy stuff. Anyone got more suggestions in the comedy genre?

Thanks all for your suggestions so far

Arfa · « **Reply #10 on:** 20 March 2015, 09:55:49 am »

Always been a big fan of Neil Stephenson's work. He's done quite a mix, from his early cyberpunk (Snow Crash, Diamond Age) stuff, to a huge swashbucklying pirate, Newtonian, renaissance epic trilogy (The Baroque Cycle), crazy WW2/modern crypto/gold hunting fiction (Cryptonomican), to slightly theoretical sci fi (Anathem), that's not a million miles away from Ian M. Banks' Culture series.

risticuss · « **Reply #11 on:** 20 March 2015, 10:04:20 am »

If you can find it/them, Roald Dahl's short stories are worth a read, 'Parson's Pleasure' in particular left me feeling cringy for ages.

Or David Sedaris' 'Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary'. I'm not usually one for short stories, but they are cleverly written and make you chuckle in a dark way.

My wife has been reading fantasy for years now and got me into reading (had maybe read 5 or 6 whole books before I met her) with the 'Across the Nightingale Floor' trilogy (now 4 or 5) by Gillian Rubenstein, as well as Garth Nix's Sabriel/Lirael/Abhorsen books if you fancy a bit of magic etc.

I used to just browse charity shops and the like for different reading material as they're the best place to pick things up cheap to try without thinking " I just spent £8 on this book, I know nothing about it, and I don't know if it'll be any good."

Hatfield was always good for the when I was at Uni as the town centre is pretty much just charity shops.

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #12 on:** 20 March 2015, 10:29:51 am »

Quote from: risticuss on 20 March 2015, 10:04:20 am

I used to just browse charity shops and the like for different reading material as they're the best place to pick things up cheap to try without thinking " I just spent £8 on this book, I know nothing about it, and I don't know if it'll be any good."

Hatfield was always good for the when I was at Uni as the town centre is pretty much just charity shops.

Kindle do a selection of free and very cheap books, so I dip into that now and again. Got a couple last night, some free, some at about 99p. You can even "borrow" books on there for free.

Red Ceri · « **Reply #13 on:** 20 March 2015, 11:50:25 am »

Have Read a lot of Ian Banks (AKA Ian M Banks), both Sci-Fi and general fiction only one book of his that I couldn't get to grips with called 'The Bridge'

Unfortunatley he died last year, so no new stuff

Billy Balthorpe · « **Reply #14 on:** 20 March 2015, 02:15:50 pm »

Comedy books.

The Guards Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett. Very funny! In fact, all of the first 10 or 15 Discworld novels (excluding the Truckers trilogy and the Dark side of the Sun) are hilarious.

"What a Good Do", James Whithams' autobiography, very good, very funny, ive lost count of how many times ive ever read it, I just tend to open it and start reading nowadays.

ChristoT · « **Reply #15 on:** 20 March 2015, 02:36:00 pm »

Quote from: Billy Balthorpe on 20 March 2015, 02:15:50 pm

Comedy books.

The Guards Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett. Very funny! In fact, all of the first 10 or 15 Discworld novels (excluding the Truckers trilogy and the Dark side of the Sun) are hilarious.

"What a Good Do", James Whithams' autobiography, very good, very funny, ive lost count of how many times ive ever read it, I just tend to open it and start reading nowadays.

Just re-reading the full series again. "Raising Steam" was great fun, although it'll take a while to get round to that one. Just started "Mort" today.

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #16 on:** 20 March 2015, 02:36:25 pm »

Quote from: Billy Balthorpe on 20 March 2015, 02:15:50 pm

Comedy books.

The Guards Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett. Very funny! In fact, all of the first 10 or 15 Discworld novels (excluding the Truckers trilogy and the Dark side of the Sun) are hilarious.

"What a Good Do", James Whithams' autobiography, very good, very funny, ive lost count of how many times ive ever read it, I just tend to open it and start reading nowadays.

Ok, just downloaded the first Discworld book, I'll give it a whirl

Jamie's autobiography not available on Kindle

And one for red98: Grumpy Old Git Jokes by Ian Allen.

A little taster: man goes to Doctor's. Doctor says "All you've got is hypochondria"
Man replies: "Can you give me anything for it?"

Think this one'll be right up my street (if they haven't dug it up to fix the water main again

).

Also comedian Arthur Smith's autobiography. The review sounds good, and I've always liked his take on things.

Edit: Hmmm, so maybe not just fiction I'm looking for, just a good read.

ChristoT · « **Reply #17 on:** 20 March 2015, 02:39:05 pm »

Quote from: nick crisp on 20 March 2015, 02:36:25 pm

Quote from: Billy Balthorpe on 20 March 2015, 02:15:50 pm

Comedy books.

The Guards Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett. Very funny! In fact, all of the first 10 or 15 Discworld novels (excluding the Truckers trilogy and the Dark side of the Sun) are hilarious.

"What a Good Do", James Whithams' autobiography, very good, very funny, ive lost count of how many times ive ever read it, I just tend to open it and start reading nowadays.

Ok, just downloaded the first Discworld book, I'll give it a whirl

Jamie's autobiography not available on Kindle

And one for red98: Grumpy Old Git Jokes by Ian Allen.

A little taster: man goes to Doctor's. Doctor says "All you've got is hypochondria"
Man replies: "Can you give me anything for it?"

Think this one'll be right up my street (if they haven't dug it up to fix the water main again ).

Also comedian Arthur Smith's autobiography. The review sounds good, and I've always liked his take on things.

Edit: Hmmm, so maybe not just fiction I'm looking for, just a good read.

The 1st Discworld book (Colour of Magic) is technically in 2 parts, you need to read "The Light Fantastic" afterwards to get to the end of some of the storylines.

johnnyg · « **Reply #18 on:** 20 March 2015, 02:55:31 pm »

try Malcolm Mackay - The necessary death of Lewis Winter (first book in a trilogy)
Agree Terry Pratchett & Dean Koontz are both well worthwhile
Also maybe try Chris Brookmyre (crime)

Billy Balthorpe · « **Reply #19 on:** 20 March 2015, 02:59:59 pm »

Quote from: nick crisp on 20 March 2015, 02:36:25 pm

Jamie's autobiography not available on Kindle

I know its old fashioned and you have to go through the bother of turning the actual page, but 69p + P+P?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/James-Whitham-What-Good-Do/dp/1844257118/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426863371&sr=1-1&keywords=what+a+good+do

Billy Balthorpe · « **Reply #20 on:** 20 March 2015, 03:34:34 pm »

Just had an Amazon moment.

My Name is Daphne Fairfax, Arthur Smith Autobiography

Stalin ate my homework, Alexye Sale Autobiography.

BSB reviews '09, '10 and '11 on DVD.

BSB review 2000 on VHS, I think I'm missing this one, i'll find out at Easter when I go to France and check the "Bike Video cupboard".

All for £18 delivered, I love Amazon I do!

Hedgetrimmer · « **Reply #21 on:** 20 March 2015, 03:41:17 pm »

Quote from: Billy Balthorpe on 20 March 2015, 02:59:59 pm

you have to go through the bother of turning the actual page

Hmmm, might overtax me

Buzz · « **Reply #22 on:** 20 March 2015, 03:49:26 pm »

Anything by: -

Chuck Palahniuk - Fight Club/Choke
Iain Banks - Wasp Factory/Crow Road
Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting/Filth/Maribou Stork Nightmares

I can send you the MOBI files if you need them

Oldgit · « **Reply #23 on:** 20 March 2015, 05:35:26 pm »

Alex Salmond "The Dream Shall Never Die"

fireblake · « **Reply #24 on:** 20 March 2015, 06:14:09 pm »

I love Wilbur Smith's writings. He does family sagas and stand alone books. Mostly about Africa.Michael Connolly is another favourite. Jeffrey Archer is an enjoyable read, his prison diary was very interesting. I get a lot of books on audio as they while away the hours whilst driving my lorry.

Mickey