1. Stephen King, he has a way of scaring the bejesus out of me or making me scared to go to bed.

2. Dean Koontz, I've read Strangers and Watchers, both are riveting and suspensful.

3. Laurell K. Hamilton, I've read her entire Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series, it goes in-depth on the title character and how she grows throughout the whole series and I have a feeling that it isn't done yet. She also made her world very believable and you feel yourself immersed in her world of magic and mayhem. I'd recommend anyone that likes to write in 1st person to give her work a chance. Her title character is gruff, and brutally honest and Anita is tough. I could go on for a while on her writing, but I'll change the subject for now.

4. Mary Shelley. I read Frankenstien once and it was very entertaining and morbid.

5. Brahm Stoker. Dracula, need I say more.
I'd like to think of him the "father" of the vampire genre.

Orson Scott Card -- everything I've read by him is an attempt to answer a fundamental philosophical question, What does it mean to be human?

Jon Hassler -- a regional writer who hails from Minnesota, and like Card all of his fiction seeks to answer another fundamental philosophical question, What does it mean to live? Especially recommended: Simon's Night

Ernest Hemingway -- I like the way his stories deal with a character coming to a new awareness, either of himself or the darker side of the world around him. Favorites: "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," "Indian Camp," "The Killers," "Up in Michigan," "Hills Like White Elephants" and The Old Man and the Sea

Stephen King -- he's more influential on me than I'd like to admit: I read everything by him when I was in high school, and I often turn to the pages of On Writing for inspiration, though I have to say I'm not too impressed with him anymore. He's not a deep writer, but his writing is energetic and his characters are real; and he's a great writer of the macabre.

Raymond Carver -- I love his simple style, which is very much in the tradition of Hemingway; in fact, he's very much a disciple of Hemingway. Especially recommended: "Cathedral"

Flannery O'Connor -- The way she imbues her stories with hidden spiritual depth. Especially recommended: "A Good Man is Hard to Find," "The River," and "Good Country People."

Graham Greene -- The way he imbues his stories with obvious spiritual depth. Especially recommended: The Power and the Glory

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And yes, Monolith, Bram Stoker is indeed the father of the vampire genre, though I'm not a very big fan of Dracula.

I think Stephen King has more influence on most of us than we like to admit. The fact is, he's a really good writer. But only when he takes the time to do it right. A lot of his stuff feels very mass-produced to me, and I don't much care for it, but when he writes quality, the man writes quality. Specifically, "The Dark Half" which I thought was one of the most gripping page-turners I've ever read, and of course "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" which is a masterpiece of modern fiction. I think most writers can learn a lot from him. That said, I think a lot of writers pick up bad habits from him as well. I have mixed opinions about him.

OSC, of course. An absolute master at making you really care about his characters. The ending of "Lost Boys" was one of the most emotional moments I've ever had reading a book, precisely because he made me care about the characters so much.

Henry James. I've also posted about him already, but the man was a master of subtlety. There is so much going on psychologically with his characters, and it's all between the lines. He's credited as being one of the first great psychologcal writers. What's infinitely more important, I think he's still one of the best psychological writers ever. "Turn of the Screw" was of course great, among other masterpieces that he wrote. Also, one of the best writers I've read at making a story downright creepy.

Anne Perry: Accurate details and thoughts on her character's parts. I hate writers who tell a tale of years ago and the characters think and talk like modern people. (such as PC terms and thoughts)

Sue Grafton: love her on liner funnies

Tony Hillerman: research and his understanding and ability to put across a culture he was not born into and present it in a non stereo type manner--all but his last book have been wonderful. The last book stank, though.

Patrica Cornwell: again accurate details and good writing.

Nevada Barr: hmm, well, not real deep books but they come across very well and they are well written--her own experience as a park ranger come across very well in her character.

Tracy Hickman: always liked his books as escapism and now that I have had the chance to get to know him a bit I like his work even better. Great man and so is his wife.

I read so many--for me the writer has to make me feel along with the characters.

Tolkien - He made Middle Earth come alive. It's a real place.

Weis and Hickman - The Dragonlance saga was incredible. The characters were real people. The places actually exist.

God - No explanation needed.

quote:

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I think Stephen King has more influence on most of us than we like to admit.

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Rux

J.R.R. Tolkien: What a visual artist! the ultimate good vs. evil, and hope rules the day! The Original, 'nuff said.

Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman: I liked the Dragonlance Series, but the Death Gate Cycle is their most picturesque story. The best world-building I have seen. And I do mean seen.

Terry Brooks: Knight of the Word series. Great vivid characters and a very good hero, or heroes. Modern day fantasy at its best.

Robert Jordan: I know, but he has really created something. I think it is unlike anything written before in fantasy. Yes it seems unending, but what a marvelous world he has created. I feel as though I have been to every nook and cranny, and met most of the people too. probably why it is so long.

Orson Scott Card: Alvin Maker is what did it for me. I read Enders Game but it didn't click with me so much. But When I bought the Hatrack series, I was totally impressed. Almost too much to mention.

And I dare not leave out J.K Rowling. As much as I hate to be mainstream, I gotta hand it to her. The story just gets better with every book.

ps. Honorable mention to Terry Goodkind. He can write some of the best gorey scenes I have ever read. I cringe at some of the stuff. I am always amazed at someone who seems comfortable writing the sick stuff.

OSC--I don't think I have ever read anyone who tells a story so well. I just finished Lost Boys. I cried. I NEVER cry in books. I kept wondering as I read the book why he was spending so much time with what is to me very day to day stuff--the church things, the family things in particular. But by the end of the book I came to realize that being immersed in their lives made me care about them so deeply that the gripping end was an absolute heartbreak. My favorite OSC book, however, was Enchantment. A wonderful tale, a mix of reality and fairy-tale, a marvelous love story. I recommend it to everyone and have a waiting list of people who want to borrow my copy.

Robert Jordan: Has done the first unique thing with the middle earth environment since J.R.R. Tokien in my opinion. If only he had quit while he was ahead, I would say he has written the best fantasy I have ever read. As it happens I still think his world is rich and his characters are real and deep, everyone and everything grows and changes and his worlf feels so real, so complex, just like real life. Despite the fact that I refuse to read 10, and I will not read any further books until he's finished, I love what he's done.

Terry Brooks often comes up as a favorite author. I liked his Knight of the Word, and I have enjoyed on a juvenille level some of his other things, but I put down his most recent trilogy unifinished. I was completely uninterested in anything that was happening and already had a mind for how it ended (But if I was wrong, I didn't care enough to find out.) I find him to be a very OK writer.

Orson Scott Card: Write unforgettable stories. I don't always love his style, but after I read a book I rarely remember the style nearly so much as the story. He's had a few stinkers, don't get me wrong, but in general...

Agatha Christie (no one said these had to be scifi/fantasy, did they?): Puts together great puzzles and great twists.

Pierson Anthong: (Pretend Xanth doesn't exist) I find his style to be light and amusing. It's just good fun. Oh yeah, pretend his Mode Series doesn't exist either. So, maybe he's about fifty/fifty, but I really like the stuff I like...Incarnations of Immortality and Adept series.

Mercedes Lackey: I like her characters more than anything else.

Patricia McKilip, for what she did to revive the fairytale genre and for her style, which can be a bit heavy at times but is also the most beautiful one I have ever had the opportunity to come across.

Ursula Le Guin, both for her thought-provoking novels exploring the inegalities between sexes, and for her style.

Zelazny, for the first five books of the Amber series (the quality of writing and plot took a nosedive after that), and for Lord of Light, the most inventive science fantasy novel I read in a while. Works on every level.

Dorothy Dunnett, to change a little, for her convincing depiction of life in the time of Mary Queen of Scots (well, actually, in the era where she was still a child). If you haven't read the Lymond Chronicles, go and buy them NOW.

Andre Norton - Although her style is light, she has created some incredible sci fi and fantasy. I've read at least twenty of her books, and only once did one bore me to the point of putting it down (early 60's book, just didn't grab me). I still enjoy her books. Some good ones: The Crystal Griffon series, The zero stone, Iron Cage...and I could go on and on...

Roger Zelanzy - Amber series, the first one, the second one was not near as good. I loved the multitude of sub plots that kept me from realizing what was going on till it was meant to be understood. I didn't feel cheated at all. I've read some of his other works as well, they weren't bad either.

Harry Harrison - The stainless steel rat series was hilarious, while keeping things light. Then the Eden series was almost like reading a different author. The big "what if" that had dinosaurs still roaming the earth, and some of them were quite intelligent. I would not suggest "Bill the Galactic Hero" series, I read the whole set (after managing to locate them all), and well, disappointment would be a word.

Larry Nivnen - No one has mentioned him yet, but although I can't say his writing is the greatest...his stories are. Legacy of Herrot being one of my favorites.

There are more, but those are ones I almost always look for when in a book store, amongst some of the ones already mentioned.

LORD OF THE FLIES--I loved the way that I became so involved with the characters that when I got to the end I experienced the most violent paradigm shift I can ever remember. Wow! Powerful story.

Tony Hillerman's descriptions really work for me, and I'm not a reader who tolerates a lot of description very well. (I had the opportunity to ask him one time how he did it, and he didn't know.)

Tony Hillerman also did an amazing thing as a writer when he had Jim Chee spend a goodly chunk of his investigation time on a case thinking about his girlfriend. The way he integrated Chee's thoughts about her with Chee's thoughts about his investigation (and the things Chee did in the process of the investigation) is something I think every writer should study. (The book is THE GHOST WAY.)

What did you think of it?

It wasn't particularly original (the first James Bond movie starring Timothy Dalton had a person being smuggled through a pipeline in a pig), but I thought it was a pretty effective way to smuggle anything across the border.

I hope the border guard sat up and took notice.

This reminds me. When I started writing...I wrote exactly like early Terry Pratchett! (He writes in a unique style, switching tenses at certain times, in a snarky 3rd omniscent.) And I had been digesting his works for 2 years, and it had warped my mind!

It took 6 months to overcome this problem.

Ray Bradbury started me off as a kid, and while much of his stuff is really melancholy fantasy, the sense of wonder and occasional horror gripped me.

Arthur C. Clark - Cool hard science ideas with good characters - Rendezvous with Rama still rocks.

Issac Asimov - the master - good writing, interesting ideas, some of it feels quite dated and flat now, but tha goes for so much of the older stuff.

Heinlein - great broad range of ideas, I only got annoyed when he got so excited that he could publish sex in his stuff that he felt that he had to try every weird sex fetish he could think of.

Larry Niven - Great ideas, fun quirky characters.

Fred Pohl - Interesting ideas, almost always has tortured main characters, lots of hubris.
Zelazny - been covered.
Newer writers:
Card - great characters - what everyone else said.
David Brin - Incredible universe creation, masterful way of using multiple POVs to show a complicated story and yet keep it all totally involving and clear.

Vernor Vinge - I still can't articulate what makes him so good, but I have to make sure to block out time before I pick up one of his books because I am almost powerless to put it down once I start.

Walter Jon Williams - Very versatile, powerful author who really looks deep into personal and societal implications of his stuff. If you live in near the big rivers (Missouri/Mississippi) and havenn't read The Rift, read it and then move to higher ground.

Timothy Zahn - Another author who manages to weave good characters, orgininal ideas, and usually a mystery or two into good books.

Greg Bear - Great hard science with good characters with moral dilemmas.

Lois McMaster Bujold - Great characters with cool byzantine society and never-ending (how does she do that?) plot twists.

Could have just been me.

Side note: did you see the PBS movies made from his books?

Shawn