Author discovery of the year
I didn’t happen to read many new authors in 2015. I spent a fair amount of the year reading 4 series by authors I’d read before — Dune, The Quintaglio Ascension, Spin, and Old Man’s War. The big winner is Charles Stross for Accelerando and the runner ups are Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson […]
Authors you can’t go wrong with, part 7
This list continues from part 6. Peter S. Beagle Beagle also wrote the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Sarek.” Masterpiece The Last Unicorn Good book A Fine and Private Place Christopher L. Bennett Bennett’s Star Trek books are always worth reading. Great books TOS: Ex Machina TNG: Greater than the Sum TITAN: Orion’s Hounds […]
Authors you can’t go wrong with, part 6
This list continues from part 5. It contains 60 authors, and I’m going to call it done for now. Ray Bradbury Bradbury’s masterpiece is a linked sequence of stories set on Mars, where humans are colonizing despite the Martian inhabitants. Masterpiece The Martian Chronicles Great book Fahrenheit 451 Good book Dandelion Wine David Brin Both […]
Authors you can’t go wrong with, part 5
This list continues from part 4. Jeanne Cavelos In addition to writing some brilliant Babylon 5 novels, Cavelos is also the founder of the Odyssey writing workshop. Masterpieces Babylon 5 The Passing of the Techno-Mages — Casting Shadows The Passing of the Techno-Mages –Summoning Light The Passing of the Techno-Mages –Invoking Darkness Good book Babylon […]
Authors you can’t go wrong with, part 4
This list continues from part 3. Joanne Bertin Bertin’s 3 fantasy books are all in her Dragonlord series. There was a 13-year gap between the second and third one. Hopefully she will now continue to write more. Masterpiece Dragon and Phoenix Great book The Last Dragonlord Good book Bard’s Oath James Clavell Clavell’s historical fiction […]
Authors you can’t go wrong with, part 3
This list continues from part 2. James Alan Gardner All of Gardner’s science fiction books are set in his League of Peoples universe. Sadly he hasn’t published a book in the last 10 years. Masterpieces Radiant Gravity Wells (collection) Great books Expendable Commitment Hour Vigilant Hunted Ascending Trapped Frank Herbert Herbert is best known for […]
Authors you can’t go wrong with, part 2
This list continues from part 1. Douglas Adams Adams’ most famous work, the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, started out as a radio show. He also worked on TV shows and computer games. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is the funniest book ever written. Masterpieces Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy […]
Authors you can’t go wrong with, part 1
If you pick up any book by these authors, you will be well rewarded. There may be some off-by-one errors in my ratings for books I read many years ago, but this gives you a good idea of the books I like. Isaac Asimov Asimov wrote more books than just about anybody, in a wide […]
Author discovery of the year
I read a fair number of books by authors I’d read before in 2014, but I managed to squeeze in a few new ones. The winner of the big prize is Douglas Preston, for his wonderful book Blasphemy. Runner ups are Peter F. Hamilton for The Reality Dysfunction, Carrie Vaughn for After the Golden Age, […]
Author discovery of the year
2013 was a great year of reading for me, and in particular a great year of discovering new authors. The winner of my author discovery of the year is Iain M. Banks. I read three of his books, including the brilliant The Player of Games. Runner ups are Sarah Zettel for A Sorceror’s Treason, Michael Swanwick […]