Calling all voracious readers-need author tips

[Spencermm]

I divide my reading into two catagories- day time reading and bedtime reading.
At bedtime I read soley for entertainment and I don't want to think too much.
Ya know- easy reading that primes you for sleep. I find myself in need of some new
authors to read. Here is a partial list of folks that I have read and pretty much exhausted (my tendency is to find an author I like, then read everything they've done).
Mark Twain(my hands-down, all time fav.)
Ken Follett
Dean Koontz
Vince Flynn
Ann Rice(Particularly her most recent work)
After reading that short list, anyone have any suggestions regarding who I might try
next?
Thanks a bunch,
Spencer

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Check out Tim Dorsey, and start with the book, "Florida Roadkill." Not exactly family reading... Matter of fact, it's like Hunter S. Thompson and Carl Hiaasen stayed up all night doing 8-balls and guzzling whiskey, and then decided to write a novel together. LOL

 

[Spencermm]

Well I went to the library today and picked out a Frank Peretti book- The House. I enjoyed his books This Present Darkness and Monster. I'm a slow bed time reader, so this will have me covered for 2-3 weeks.

 

[TSandM]

Maybe my favorite author in the English language is a woman by the name of Dorothy Dunnett. She wrote historical fiction, very well researched, and her prose absolutely sings. If you like beautiful language, try her stuff; if you don't like prose you have to read a little slowly, you may not like her (my husband can't stand her).

I'm a big science fiction fan, so a lot of my recommendations fall in that genre. You might enjoy William Gibson's trilogy, Count Zero, Neuromancer and Mona Lisa Overdrive. Gibson is often credited with having begun the cyberpunk subgenre. Another very good trilogy is Dan Simmons' Hyperion books, in which he constructs a beautifully detailed and complex society and technology.

Anyway, don't know if any of those will appeal, but they're some of my favorites.

 

[Steve Egner]

If you like Follett, especially Pillars of the Earth and the recent sequal, you might enjoy author Edward Rutherfurd's books. Sarum, London, The Forest, and Russka all employ a tool similar to Follett's, following generations of parallel family lines through each historical setting.

I've found a natural link from the Historical Fiction genre to Alternate Hisory... novels based on a "What if" premise. Harry Turtledove has written many, exploring what shape the world might have taken had the Third Reich prevailed in WWII, or if the Lee had emerged victorious from the Civil War. His grasp of History is amazing, and his speculations might surprise you. My favorite in this category though is S.M. Stirling.
His style is a bit lighter than Turtledove's, and his premises are often fantastic, but very entertaining. I'd recommend two of his trilogies: Island in the Sea of Time, and Dies the Fire. Conquistador and The Peshawar Lancers, also by Stirling, are great stand-alone novels.

I'm currently wrapped up in a six-novel sci-fi set by Peter Hamilton, beginning with The Reality Dysfunction. It's a great ride so far.

Steve

 

[TSandM]

You'll enjoy the whole Neutronium Alchemist series. They're great space opera.

Spencer, if you like the Pillars of the Earth approach, you might really enjoy James Michener's books. The Source is about Israel. Hawaii is self-explanatory. He has one which I think was called The Covenant which is about South Africa. They're very easy and pleasant reading, fairly long (so they keep you occupied for a while) and I learned a fair amount about each subject from reading them.

 

[Spencermm]

Hey TSandM, The Source sounds good- I'll look into that book.
How does William Gibson compare to Isaac Asimov- are they similar in terms of content?

 

[H2Andy]

another great (and little known) sci-fi-ish author to read is Philip K. Dick. "Do Androids Dream of Electric SHeep?" got made into the movie Blade Runner, and he's written a lot

i'd recommend "The Man in the High Castle," to dove-tail with the alternative history genre ... in the book, the US lost WW II and it has been split into territories occupied by Japan and Germany ...

it was written in 1962, won the Hugo, and it basically opened up the genre to "serious" writers

i've been reading mostly non-fiction for a long time now so ... not much help there

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

William Gibson is great. His book, "Virtual Light," is fantastic. So is his collection of short stories, "Burning Chrome."

You might also check out Richard K. Morgan. "Market Forces" was a kick-ass read, as well as his Takeshi Kovacks series.

 

[TSandM]

I wouldn't say that Gibson and Asimov are similar at all. Asimov was writing in an earlier phase of sf, where visions were a bit brighter and characterizations were much shallower. Gibson's writings are about the cyberworld and tend to be somewhat dark and more complex. They're very well written.

For really accessible, easy reading sf, the Hamilton books are great, as are Jack Chalker's Well World books. Alan Nourse has a series of books about interplanetary medicine that are quick and amusing reads, as are Alan Dean Foster's Flinx books. I always end up going for the darker and more complicated stuff, like C.J. Cherryh and Alistair Reynolds.