Originally posted by Bosse de NageActually, it was a schizophrenic friend of mine, during our teenage-hood, who first introduced me to William hope-Hodgson. And, you know, crazy though my friend was, the book he recommended (The House on the Borderland) is brilliant. I then researched the author more and discovered that he was indeed a brilliant author. His imagination and convincing style of writing has not been surpassed.
How did you find out about him?
What especially do you value about his style of writing?
How do you rate The Boats of the Glen Carrig?
Thomas Ligotti is a great contemporary horror writer, subtler than Clive Barker (not to mention S. King etc). If you succumb to him, for a few days you will emit a faint odour of violets.
Originally posted by znshoH.P. Lovecraft shared your opinion. Do you like his stuff as well? Or Clarke Ashton-Smith's?
Actually, it was a schizophrenic friend of mine, during our teenage-hood, who first introduced me to William hope-Hodgson...His imagination and convincing style of writing has not been surpassed.
Originally posted by Bosse de NageYes, Clarke-Ashton-Smith is good, but I could never get into Lovecraft.
H.P. Lovecraft shared your opinion. Do you like his stuff as well? Or Clarke Ashton-Smith's?
I have not read Boats of the Glen Carrig - trying to find it, but all Hope-hodgson's books seem to be out of print.
In no particular order, this is what came to mind (yes a couple of these are series of books).
The Stranger - Camus
Fathers and Sons - Turgenev
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
A Song of Ice and Fire -George R.R. Martin
The Farseer Trilogy - Robin Hobb
Harry Potter - JK Rowling
Villains by Necessity - Eve Forward
Anthem - Ayn Rand
The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
How to Reacess your Chess - Jeremy Silman
Edit: while some of his stuff is Questionable The Gunslinger, perhaps the whole Dark Tower series by Steven King deserve mention.
Originally posted by SuzianneMayhaps because it went downhill around book 5. Unlike other authors, I read that for the storyline (his character development is questionable). Now the storyline is plodding in such a way that the suspense is minimized (oh yeah, it's become dreadfully slow).
Kinda surprised no one's mentioned Robert Jordan and his Wheel of Time series.
Also, James Clavell's Shogun is a great read.
Edit: Robin Hobb and George R.R. Martin write the best fantasy of any current authors. That said, I will still pick up book 11 of WoT when I get some cash.
Originally posted by zebanoI read the first two books when they first came out years ago and was impressed--I finished & enjoyed them, which I haven't been able to do with any of his books since Misery. So are the rest worth getting into? I note the series runs up to volume VII.
Edit: while some of his stuff is Questionable The Gunslinger, perhaps the whole Dark Tower series by Steven King deserve mention.
Originally posted by Bosse de NageYes the series is complete and is worth reading. The very last book he has a spot where there is an authors note. It says, the story ends here, but I knew people would demand more of an ending, so read on if you must. I highly suggest stopping the story where the author wanted you to. I read on and regretted it.
I read the first two books when they first came out years ago and was impressed--I finished & enjoyed them, which I haven't been able to do with any of his books since Misery. So are the rest worth getting into? I note the series runs up to volume VII.
1. Shantaram: Gregory David Roberts
2. The Culture of Make Believe: Derrick Jensen
3. My Ishmael: Daniel Quinn.
4. Magician: Raymond E Feist
5. Vernon God Little: DBC Pierre
6. The Sorrow of War: Bao Ninh
7. Filth: Irvine Welsh
8. Fight Club: Chuck Lapahniuk
9. The Heart of the Matter : Graham Greene
10. Heroes: John Pilger
D
Originally posted by abaloneI read a few of his books a long time ago and enjoyed talking with him about fifteen years ago at a sf/fantasy convention that I happened to attend when my S.O. was a fantasy writer. His The Last Defender Of Camelot, and Other Stories would have made my top ten if you had asked the question twenty years ago.
any Zelazny fans out there?