Most admired? Revealed the human condition best? Entertained the most people?
I'd have to put forth Homer, Shakespeare, and...hmmm probably somebody from the far east whose works I'm not familiar with (I only read genre stuff from there.) though I might go for Euripides as a good, solid third.
On the other hand, my own personal favorites are -- Mary Renault, ummm...the other two? I have a bunch of favorites who are one step down from her as writers. Andre Norton (whose sf novels I loved as a kid), Daniel Silva, Robert B Parker's Spenser novels, Thomas Burnett Swan's fantasies, other people whose writing skills I trust enough that I buy their newest novel as soon as it comes out without even peeking inside to see what it's about.
Then there are the writers who have one or two books that were really, really good but not all their books are as good, iike Rowling's first three Potter books. Iain Banks's Culture novels.
posted
Some obvious choices might be Homer, Sophocles, and Shakespeare. Honestly, though, I find myself relating most to authors from our time (by which I mean the latter half of the twentieth century to today)--and I'm not experienced enough in either those or the classics to comment.
[This message has been edited by AeroB1033 (edited October 29, 2006).]
...as long as we're sticking with science fiction.
If fantasy is included, substitute "J. R. R. Tolkien" for Clarke.
I really can't think of any mainstream writer I'd want to put in the top three...I could go further down with the list, and include them, but who'd want to read my top three hundred? And besides, how could I rank them in proper order?
(arriki already named one other favorite writer of mine: Thomas Burnett Swann.)
Jane Austen J. R. R. Tolkien Shakespeare (though I am of the school of thought that both he and Homer are meant to be heard, not read)
But seriously? from Plato to Poe, Dickens to Dahl, even Margaret Mitchell--so many authors did so much for so many genres. I could no sooner pick a favorite star in the sky.
[Edit, because how on earth could I have forgotten the Brothers Grimm?? So my list has to be four. I'm such a cheater.]
[This message has been edited by Alethea Kontis (edited October 29, 2006).]
posted
The three writers who have affected me the most are probably different from whom I would name the 3 greatest writers of all time. I'd assume you mean fiction writers.
Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Twain. I'm very narrowly read, though.
posted
Well, if you want those that "affected me the most," it's a slightly different three. In order:
Robert A. Heinlein (whose work is literally and literarily the axis on which my life pivots---meaning if I hadn't encountered his work, I wouldn't be the guy I am today. (Hmmm...)
Kenneth Grahame (whose The Wind in the Willows moved me like no other book)
Isaac Asimov (whose commentaries and stories in The Early Asimov made me think, "If he could get those published, I should try my hand at it as well.")
Tolkien would be fourth on the list, after which it again gets harder to pick.
posted
Darn it. This is really hard. I usually don't notice an author's body of work as a whole unless I'm trying to explain why such a crappy writer is considered by so many to be so good. (lol) This is the best I could do: C. S. Lewis Shakespeare (and Euripides and Sophocles) Machiavelli (Does he count as an author? I'll add a fourth, just in case.) George Orwell/Aldous Huxley
Yeah, that's more than three. I don't make decisions well.
[This message has been edited by Faye (edited October 31, 2006).]
So I can stop scouring the internet for books by I. P. Nightly, Seymour Butts, and Major Bumsore? Jokes that keep me up all night trying to find non-existent books are not funny, Mr./Mrs./Ms. Toad.
posted
There are too many great writers to narrow down to three, but these are my three favs. I thought I'd include a writer whos's still writing:
Vladimir Nabokov (Lolita, best novel of the 20th Century, IMO) Edith Wharton (Age of Innocence is my favorite early 20th century novel) Ian Mcewan (Atonement is probably his best known novel.)
posted
Ian Mcewan is the first one named here that I can't recall ever hearing about before---though I haven't read the work of most of 'em. (I have heard of I. P. Nightly and company...just not as writers.)
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posted
3 Greatest writers for their mastery of language: Rudyard Kipling W.B. Yeats Mark Twain 3 favorites that I read over and over again: Robert E. Howard Fritz Leiber Stephen King
and for Wetwilly to save your Googling: I.P. Daily - Yellow River Seymour Butts - Moons over Miami Major Bumsore - 30 Days in the Saddle
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