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Authors?

Awesome! Let me know what you thought of it if you remember. It is really good imho

I try to steer people towards short story collections for first-time readers of more difficult authors. Especially those with strong styles. If you liked them, you will probably like more of their works, and the "cost" is minimal doing it that way. No need to waste 15-20+ hours on a novel if you don't enjoy the overall style.

I have a few reads before anything new but I be ordering that book so I have it ready.

Once again, thanks.
 
Louis L'Amour
HP Lovecraft
Robert E. Howard
Edgar Allan Poe
John Steinbeck.
Robert Heinlien
James Lee Burke
JT Edson
Michael Moorcock
Leigh Brackett

Big into Sword & Sorcery/Heroic Fantasy
I'm also big into the fantasy genre. Nothing disappoints more than the fact most new stuff is Roman-tasy.
As a teen-ager, I tore through all the Conan books, then Howard's other stuff. Around the same time I read all of Moorcock and a smidge of Brackett.
Steinbeck was strictly a slog through Grapes of Wrath for school.
Heinlien was a later addiction. I devoured all of his books as a young sailor.
Hemingway
Vonnegut
Percival Everett
I liked Hemingway, but loved Vonnegut. My youngest daughter is a recent devotee of his work and that makes me proud.

Robert E Howard - Conan books on their own are enough.

Tolkien - just for the Hobbit. Not really a fan of the rest as yet.

Frank Herbert - Just for Dune .

Anne McCaffrey - the Dragon books of Pern

Piers Anthony - Xanth and all his other stuff

CS Forrester or Dudley Pope - Naval fiction
As previously stated, Howard was a favorite.
As a young DnD nerd (chicken or the egg?), I had to read Tolkien's LOTR, but enjoyed The Hobbit more. Try Farmer Giles of Ham....
The Dragonrider books were OK, but the Xanth novels really did it for me.
If you like CS Forrester and Dudley Pope, try Alexander Kent's Bolitho series and Patrick O"Brian's Aubrey–Maturin series. I can't get enough of these types of books.
Stephen King
Lovecraft
Bernard Cornwell
Dostoyevsky
Robert Heinlein
Ramsey Campbell
Ursula K Le Guin
China Mieville
Dan Simmons
Ernest Hemingway
Some authors I talked about already, but big up for Bernard Cornwell! Sharpe may be my favorite (but don't make me pick). I was reading one of the series in line for chow onboard a US Submarine, when the Captain saw me. He said he was a big fan and asked what I thought of Sharpe's philosophy. I was at a loss because Sharpe had just murdered his C.O. in the story.

Some additions to the list:
I recommend William Gibson -Neuromancer, Count Zero and his other early works particularly.
Naomi Novak's Temeraire series - Combines my love of Dragons with my love of Naval fiction during the Napoleonic war.
Allan Mallinson's Matthew Hervey books, very similar to the Sharpe series but with a less roguish protagonist.
 
I'm also big into the fantasy genre. Nothing disappoints more than the fact most new stuff is Roman-tasy.
As a teen-ager, I tore through all the Conan books, then Howard's other stuff. Around the same time I read all of Moorcock and a smidge of Brackett.
Steinbeck was strictly a slog through Grapes of Wrath for school.
Heinlien was a later addiction. I devoured all of his books as a young sailor.

I liked Hemingway, but loved Vonnegut. My youngest daughter is a recent devotee of his work and that makes me proud.



As previously stated, Howard was a favorite.
As a young DnD nerd (chicken or the egg?), I had to read Tolkien's LOTR, but enjoyed The Hobbit more. Try Farmer Giles of Ham....
The Dragonrider books were OK, but the Xanth novels really did it for me.
If you like CS Forrester and Dudley Pope, try Alexander Kent's Bolitho series and Patrick O"Brian's Aubrey–Maturin series. I can't get enough of these types of books.

Some authors I talked about already, but big up for Bernard Cornwell! Sharpe may be my favorite (but don't make me pick). I was reading one of the series in line for chow onboard a US Submarine, when the Captain saw me. He said he was a big fan and asked what I thought of Sharpe's philosophy. I was at a loss because Sharpe had just murdered his C.O. in the story.

Some additions to the list:
I recommend William Gibson -Neuromancer, Count Zero and his other early works particularly.
Naomi Novak's Temeraire series - Combines my love of Dragons with my love of Naval fiction during the Napoleonic war.
Allan Mallinson's Matthew Hervey books, very similar to the Sharpe series but with a less roguish protagonist.

Great read.

While I only have a lot of books by Howard, Poe, Lovecraft, Moorcock and Burroughs I do have some......

Lord Dunsany....pretty much started with him unless we count Homer, mythlogy. Obviously it was Howard who took it to new heights.
Tolkien
A. Merritt
Clark Ashton Smith
E.Eddison
Wiliam Hope Hoghson
Otis Adelbert Kline
Karl Edwards Wagner
Fritz Leiber
Arthur Machen
Algeron Blackwell
Lin Carter
C.L. Moore
Leigh Brackett

No doubt you are famiiar with all of them, some more Cosmic Doom.

Lucian?
 
Herman Melville
Hunter S Thompson
Ed Abbey
Stephen Crane
Jack Handey
Joe Abercrombie
Mark Bowden
Jon Krakauer
Sebastien Junger
Ted Connover




honorable mention to Jim Butcher @Harry Dresden we will meet and drink one of these one day View attachment 1130584

I used to read to learn about life now I read to relax....life sucks why read more about its' suckage?
Krakauer is really good into thin air is one of the best books ive read.
 
Great read.

While I only have a lot of books by Howard, Poe, Lovecraft, Moorcock and Burroughs I do have some......

Lord Dunsany....pretty much started with him unless we count Homer, mythlogy. Obviously it was Howard who took it to new heights.
Tolkien
A. Merritt
Clark Ashton Smith
E.Eddison
Wiliam Hope Hoghson
Otis Adelbert Kline
Karl Edwards Wagner
Fritz Leiber
Arthur Machen
Algeron Blackwell
Lin Carter
C.L. Moore
Leigh Brackett

No doubt you are famiiar with all of them, some more Cosmic Doom.

Lucian?
Coming in hot with Machen. That dude was wildly original for his time, and still doesn't get enough credit. "The White People" and "The Great God Pan" were included in a collection I got when I was a kid, and it helped me get into reading weird fiction. Along with Asimov's "Flies" and Patricia Highsmith's "The Quest for Blank Claveringi" in the same collection and it was game over. I must read all the weird fiction I can from now on.
 
Fritz Leiber

Lin Carter

Leigh Brackett

No doubt you are famiiar with all of them, some more Cosmic Doom.

Lucian?
You've given me a bit too much credit!
Fritz Leiber is great though! I have read some Lin Carter and Leigh Brackett, but I'd have to look up titles to tell you which ones.

I had to google Lucian. I've read a few more serious works, but sporadically as education or interest struck - Socrates, Aristotle, Kant, Nietzsche, and Descartes for my Philosophy class. Homer, Shakespeare, Dumas, and Cervantes for personal enjoyment.

Patrick Rothfuss is quite good, and I feel like I don't have to mention George R. R. Martin......
 
Coming in hot with Machen. That dude was wildly original for his time, and still doesn't get enough credit. "The White People" and "The Great God Pan" were included in a collection I got when I was a kid, and it helped me get into reading weird fiction. Along with Asimov's "Flies" and Patricia Highsmith's "The Quest for Blank Claveringi" in the same collection and it was game over. I must read all the weird fiction I can from now on.

I have "The Great God Pan" in waiting, it's one of the stories in a great book by Lovecraft.

Book of Horror,

Stuff he recommends.

Great to find others who are up on this stuff.
 
As previously stated, Howard was a favorite.
As a young DnD nerd (chicken or the egg?), I had to read Tolkien's LOTR, but enjoyed The Hobbit more. Try Farmer Giles of Ham....
The Dragonrider books were OK, but the Xanth novels really did it for me.
If you like CS Forrester and Dudley Pope, try Alexander Kent's Bolitho series and Patrick O"Brian's Aubrey–Maturin series. I can't get enough of these types of books.

Will give it a go.

The Dragonriders books , mainly for the 3 Harper novels with Menolly and Piemur . The rest are just a bonus.

Yea, I loved the Xanth novels until about number 14 or so ....the rest of his books like Mute are decent
.


I've read all the Bolitho books but went off them. If you liked those , try the Douglas Reeman books , set around WW2 as Alexander Kent was his pen name.
 
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When it comes to the westerns I had to zero it down to the big four....

Louis L' Amour
Zane Grey
Max Brand
Luke Short

and.....JT Edson

That gang has sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many books, all the westerns anyone could read.

Speaking of Cowboy stuff

I like whiskey and coke, but this bit about walking up to the bar.....whiskey....then in one gulp, how do they do that?

Imagine being in a bar with everyone there wearing guns, whoa~~~
 
There's just too many to choose from. Camus, Steinbeck and Garcia Marquez would definitely be in the top 10. I'd have to think about an actual list.
 
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