[Books] Top 10 fantasy authors

[obdigore]

Don't worry, Tolkien is the Nirvana of fantasy Literature , he's great, but his writing is FAR from the best, it's not a crime to leave him from your list .

I does surprise me how many people rep Patrick Rothfuss though.. Don't get me wrong, name of the winds was AMAZING, hands down one of the best debut novels I've read... But dear god Wise Man's Fear was awful, I mean seriously WTF happened in that book? His pacing was terrible, he basically achieved nothing in the whole book. I pray that the third (and final?) book in the series is world better, or I believe Mr Rothfuss will end up on the stack of "Almost, but not quite" authors.

Also, doesn't Kvothe play a Lute, not a harp ?

I enjoyed Wise Mans Fear, but it wasn't up to the standards of Name of the Wind, although I know a lot of people that were turned off by Name because of the schooling and comparisons to JKRowlings' work. I personally think the publisher rushed him to get WMF out and that is what caused the downturn in quality. They wanted someone like Erikson who can turn out a 1,000 page novel in a year, but that isn't Rothfuss. And yes, Kvothe plays a 7 stringed (I think) Lute. It was Dennah/Diane/Deanna who was learning the Harp.

@ Aphrel -> Try reading the following, and I would guess that your bottom 3 or 4 will be pushed off your top 10 list.

1) Glen Cook. The Black Company, Garret P.I., or Instrumentalities of the Night. All very good series. Black Company is the beginning of the 'gritty and dirty' fantasy movement, Garret P.I. is a hard-bitten detective in a fantasy world (swords and sorcery, instead of current like Dresden Files) (Also, ignore the gnome with an Uzi on the cover of the first book, there are no guns in the series, despite how bad that cover is), and the Instrumentalities series is about europe/mid-east in the middle ages if the gods and local spirits were real beings.

2) Richard Morgan. A Land Fit for Heroes is the beginning of an amazing series with great writing and truly brutal scenes and characters. Morgan also has some Sci-Fi stuff that is amazing, the Takeshi Kovacs novels (which might technically happen before the Land Fit for Heroes stuff, but that is... complicated).

3) China Meiville in Perdido Street Station, The Scar, and Kraken. He is a master of imagination, a guru of worldbuilding and interactions between very different racial psyches. His pacing isn't the best, but it is still good, and the places he takes you too are very out there.

4) R. Scott Bakker with the Second Apocalypse series. I'm not a fan, but these books are either love or hate, and I know a ton of people who have opinions I respect that love them. He is a very good author and his magic system is very intriguing, to say the least.

5) Gene Wolfe. With either the Solar Cycle series, Wizard/Knight Duology, or the Soldier stuff. Wolfe is the master of prose and pacing, he tells 'memoir' stories, so even after the end of the book there is a hint of doubt at what happened. He isn't as deep into the different viewpoints as Erikson, but that is because he only tells it from one first person viewpoint.

[Trollragemore]

WTF, no love for Edgar Rice Burroughs... his Tarzan books were fantasy and the John Carter series a mix... even though it had bad publicity on Disneys part, I did like the movie based on the book princess of mars.

[Adam Jensen]

WTF, no love for Edgar Rice Burroughs... his Tarzan books were fantasy and the John Carter series a mix... even though it had bad publicity on Disneys part, I did like the movie based on the book princess of mars.

He's in my backlog.

[Ashra]

I am sad to see that some of my favorites have not been mentioned:

Simon R. Green (Blue Moon Rising is by far my favorite book from childhood)- Nightside, Secret Histories series
Rob Thurman-Cal Leandros series
Seanan Mcguire-October Daye series

Other favorites that have been mentioned:

Jim Butcher
Kim Harrison
Ilona Andrews
Lynn Flewelling
Peter V. Brett
Karen Chance
Joe Abercrombie

Most of these count as Urban Fantasy, but that is the main genre I have been reading for the past 5 years. I do highly recommend Simon R. Green's Blue Moon Rising- I wish Guillermo del Toro would make a movie out of it. Simon's Nightside and Secret Histories series have some great, crazy characters in it and are fun reads. I notice that everyone always seems to talk about the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, yet do not mention his other series, the Codex Alera, a fantastic 6 book fantasy series. Read them!

This has been a very interesting thread, thank you for starting it!

[Aphrel]

I enjoyed Wise Mans Fear, but it wasn't up to the standards of Name of the Wind, although I know a lot of people that were turned off by Name because of the schooling and comparisons to JKRowlings' work. I personally think the publisher rushed him to get WMF out and that is what caused the downturn in quality. They wanted someone like Erikson who can turn out a 1,000 page novel in a year, but that isn't Rothfuss. And yes, Kvothe plays a 7 stringed (I think) Lute. It was Dennah/Diane/Deanna who was learning the Harp.

@ Aphrel -> Try reading the following, and I would guess that your bottom 3 or 4 will be pushed off your top 10 list.

1) Glen Cook. The Black Company, Garret P.I., or Instrumentalities of the Night. All very good series. Black Company is the beginning of the 'gritty and dirty' fantasy movement, Garret P.I. is a hard-bitten detective in a fantasy world (swords and sorcery, instead of current like Dresden Files) (Also, ignore the gnome with an Uzi on the cover of the first book, there are no guns in the series, despite how bad that cover is), and the Instrumentalities series is about europe/mid-east in the middle ages if the gods and local spirits were real beings.

2) Richard Morgan. A Land Fit for Heroes is the beginning of an amazing series with great writing and truly brutal scenes and characters. Morgan also has some Sci-Fi stuff that is amazing, the Takeshi Kovacs novels (which might technically happen before the Land Fit for Heroes stuff, but that is... complicated).

3) China Meiville in Perdido Street Station, The Scar, and Kraken. He is a master of imagination, a guru of worldbuilding and interactions between very different racial psyches. His pacing isn't the best, but it is still good, and the places he takes you too are very out there.

4) R. Scott Bakker with the Second Apocalypse series. I'm not a fan, but these books are either love or hate, and I know a ton of people who have opinions I respect that love them. He is a very good author and his magic system is very intriguing, to say the least.

5) Gene Wolfe. With either the Solar Cycle series, Wizard/Knight Duology, or the Soldier stuff. Wolfe is the master of prose and pacing, he tells 'memoir' stories, so even after the end of the book there is a hint of doubt at what happened. He isn't as deep into the different viewpoints as Erikson, but that is because he only tells it from one first person viewpoint.

oh all those sounds like intresting reads! ive already had clen cook on my "to-read" list for some time, just gotta get throu whole malazan series first (just started with the bonehunters). the others will have to get in line thou, got "American gods" and "Lies of Lock Lamora" series waiting for a read aswelL!

Edit: and i have no idea how i managed to mix up instruments... could be that i can hardly tell one from another :P