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[Monchinski]

Who do you guys like to read, fiction-wise? (I apologize as this is probably a redundant thread repeated elsewhere, but I'm trying to stir up some conversation here...)

I grew up on men's-action adventure novels. Anything by Jerry Ahern, Don Pendleton, Gar Wilson, Dick Stivers, etc. Funny enough I have no desire to read these types of books anymore because, politically, I've done a 180 from what they represented. But they helped teach me how to write an action scene, especially Jerry Ahern's Survivalist and Track series.

Vonnegut has always been one of my favorites and Eden is dedicated to Kilgore Trout.

Cormac McCarthy is probably my favorite contemporary writer, though I also really enjoy Sherman Alexie and Russell Banks. Larry Brown I feel never got the attention and praise he deserved before he died and Thom Jones hasn't lived up to his promise of "The Pugilist At Rest."

Robert Kirkman is a master storyteller and his characterization is right on. I'll read any comic by him.

And I can't forget George Pelecanos and Andrew Vachss. I will read anything by these two gentlemen.

When it comes to the zombie genre...I'm almost embarrased to say this, but I haven't read a whole lot...I really like Max Brooks, especially WWZ (in part because I am a big Studs Terkel fan)...just finished JL Bourne's Day by Day Armageddon last month and really enjoyed it...anyway, I am going to be reading more in this genre soon!

[freshqueen9]

I have nothing to say about horror fiction, but my novel better be a great sales in both Canada and US.

[prutig]

Fiction authors for me are largely H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Bloch, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, M.R. James, Poe, Stephen King and Clive Barker's shorter works (much more the former than the latter; Barker tends to be very hit or miss for me), and a whole slew of 1920's-'30's pulp writers I could name.  Not much of a novel fan at all really.

[Thom Brannan]

Robert B. Parker
Michael Marshall Smith
Jim Butcher
Robert R. McCammon
Joe R. Lansdale
Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir + (almost) all the ghostwriters
Robert A. Heinlein
Max Barry
John Steakley

[Monchinski]

Robert B. Parker
Michael Marshall Smith
Jim Butcher
Robert R. McCammon
Joe R. Lansdale
Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir + (almost) all the ghostwriters
Robert A. Heinlein
Max Barry
John Steakley

Boy, I feel ignorant. I don't recognize any of these guys! (I am not so well read in certain areas of fiction)

[Monchinski]

Actually Heinlein I have read and enjoyed, so I am not absolutely ignorant!

[Monchinski]

Fiction authors for me are largely H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Bloch, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, M.R. James, Poe, Stephen King and Clive Barker's shorter works (much more the former than the latter; Barker tends to be very hit or miss for me), and a whole slew of 1920's-'30's pulp writers I could name.  Not much of a novel fan at all really.

Do you think King's current stuff is as good as his early stuff?

I started reading King in lare middle/early high school and thought books like Salem's Lot, Carrie, The Shining were absolutely amazing. But lately I haven't been enjoying his stuff as much and the last work I read was The Cell. I was also disappointed when he praised The Ruins as teh greatest 21th century horror novel thus far...but I continue to read King every month in Entertainment Weekly.

[HOO-HAA]

Fiction authors for me are largely H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Bloch, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, M.R. James, Poe, Stephen King and Clive Barker's shorter works (much more the former than the latter; Barker tends to be very hit or miss for me), and a whole slew of 1920's-'30's pulp writers I could name.  Not much of a novel fan at all really.

Do you think King's current stuff is as good as his early stuff?

I started reading King in lare middle/early high school and thought books like Salem's Lot, Carrie, The Shining were absolutely amazing. But lately I haven't been enjoying his stuff as much and the last work I read was The Cell. I was also disappointed when he praised The Ruins as teh greatest 21th century horror novel thus far...but I continue to read King every month in Entertainment Weekly.

CELL was pretty good but, in general, his glory days are probably behind him for the most part. CARRIE was a gem - pretty much established me as both reader and writer of horror...

I think you'd be hard pushed to find a much better horror writer, today, than Dave Moody.

[John Harper]

Do you think King's current stuff is as good as his early stuff?

The last thing I read of his was the Dark Tower stuff (mixed opinion on that one.  later.  maybe).  Personally, I like the subject matter of his that dealt more with personalities and the psyche than the supernatural (D. Clairborne, Misery, and Shawshank for example).  On the other hand, The Stand (in spite of its density and mixed feelings about the climax) holds a certain fondness.  One of his novellas, "The Long Walk", always stands out.

Other fiction writers?  Bradbury, Serling, Vonnegut, Capote, Herbert ... just off the top of my head.  There are WAY too many good ones.

[DeadMama]

I love Tolkien (of course!), Richard Matheson, Stephen King, Dan Simmons, Cormac McCarthy, Issac Assimov, Lovecraft, Amy Tan......and some other authors that maybe I am ashamed to admit to! Like, Margaret George, some Philippa Gregory books, Gregory Maguire, these are my guilty pleasures! Of course, around PP I love Kim Paffenroth and just about everyone else. One of my fav authors growing up was Gary Paulson, and I have luckily gotten my kiddos into his books.

[TheBlackEmpty]

It is hard to pick my favorites because there are so many, but I’ll try.
Just about all Richard Matheson.
Cormac McCarthy's The Road.
Orson Scott Card’s Ender novels
F. Paul Wilson’s Repairman Jack novels and the Adversary series.
Kim Paffenroth's Dieing to Live.
I love Permuted Press’s Zombie anthologies
D. L. Snell’s Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines
Robert R. McCammon's older stuff.
Clive Barker's Hell raiser, Weave world, and Mister B. Gone among others.
All Brian Lumley but mostly his Necroscope novels.
Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan novels
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s Special Agent Pendergast Novels.
Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter novels.
Alan Dean Foster’s Alien novels 
Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series I am not ashamed to say, they make me laugh.
All Stephen King, not always happy with some of his endings, (Dark Tower), But a story ends how a story ends, sometimes the writer is just a vessel in this respect. I loved his last few including Lisey's Story, and Duma Key, he continues to entertain me.
lastly but not by any means the least, Dean Koontz, for his ability to break my heart without cutting it open like Steven King loves to do. I really love all of his work, but mostly the Odd Thomas novels, the first one is a bloody heart breaker Steven King style. I have a lot in common with Mr. Koontz as far as his childhood experiences, and his writing has always spoken to my heart. I read Watchers when I was in my teens and it pulled tears from my black heart.
A great many of the writers listed in this thread, I have never read and more than likely never will. A large amount of their work just seems to be over my head or something.
The first novel I ever read was Peter Benchley’s Jaws, got it for a quarter at a neighbors garage sale. That one will always be special for me, quite a bit of it was inappropriate for a reader of my age at the time.
I’m certain that I’ve forgotten many of the authors that have broadened my horizons throughout my life, but I love them all whom ever they are.

TBE.. The constant reader

[Lord Anubis]

Hmmmmm... In alphabetical order, from my bookshelf.

Dan Abnett-- Writes comics and also a lot of books for Games Workshop's private press, The Black Library.  His Gaunt's Ghosts books (I think there are a dozen of them at this point) are required reading for anyone who wants to juggle a large cast of characters-- or whittle one down.

Clive Barker-- Dark and twisted, yet his stories always have this odd sense of truth to them.  Even his made-up mythologies sound like they should be true.

Ray Bradbury-- God.  Nothing else can be said.

Edgar Rice Burroughs-- The John Carter stories were my first introduction to pulp and the idea of "iron-thewed men."  I bought most of them at Garfield's bookstore, found the rest on my Uncle Tim's bookshelf.  I still have all those original books I bought as a kid.

Neil Gaiman-- If you only know The Sandman, you are missing out on soooooooooo much cool stuff.  American Gods left me breathless.  Anansi Boys made me feel better than any book has in years.

Nathaniel Hawthorne-- Read the classics. You can't know real horror until you've read "Rappacinni's Daughter"... 

Steven King-- There's a reason he's the King.  No, not just because it's his name...  To this day "The Boogeyman" is still the most terrifying story I've ever read, and I know at least two other people besides me who've had their sleep-patterns forever altered because of it.

Dean Koontz-- Half his stuff is modern-day pulp.  A quarter of it is crap.  And that last quarter... Wow.  Just wow.  Fear Nothing.

Harper Lee-- She wrote one book.  Read it.  It's the greatest book in the English language.

H.P.Lovecraft-- Is there a horror writer alive today who doesn't cite him as an influence?  No?  So start reading!!   

Brian Lumley-- Necroscope didn't really do it for me, but the Titus Crow books... again, wow.  Six novellas leading to a punchline that will blow your mind.

Will Shakespeare-- Yeah, that's right. The bard!  Macbeth isn't just about destiny and man's will and all that crap-- it's a damned good story about witches and a prophesy that comes true no matter how much you try to dodge it.  Hamlet's practically about posession.  The Tempest is about people getting shipwrecked on this weird island where they have to deal with monsters and creepy natives-- hey, someone should update that... 

[Monchinski]

Hmmmmm... In alphabetical order, from my bookshelf.

Dan Abnett-- Writes comics and also a lot of books for Games Workshop's private press, The Black Library.  His Gaunt's Ghosts books (I think there are a dozen of them at this point) are required reading for anyone who wants to juggle a large cast of characters-- or whittle one down.

Clive Barker-- Dark and twisted, yet his stories always have this odd sense of truth to them.  Even his made-up mythologies sound like they should be true.

Ray Bradbury-- God.  Nothing else can be said.

I am eventually going to get around to Neil Gaiman as I hear so much great stuff about him and his work.

Edgar Rice Burroughs-- The John Carter stories were my first introduction to pulp and the idea of "iron-thewed men."  I bought most of them at Garfield's bookstore, found the rest on my Uncle Tim's bookshelf.  I still have all those original books I bought as a kid.

Neil Gaiman-- If you only know The Sandman, you are missing out on soooooooooo much cool stuff.  American Gods left me breathless.  Anansi Boys made me feel better than any book has in years.

Nathaniel Hawthorne-- Read the classics. You can't know real horror until you've read "Rappacinni's Daughter"... 

Steven King-- There's a reason he's the King.  No, not just because it's his name...  To this day "The Boogeyman" is still the most terrifying story I've ever read, and I know at least two other people besides me who've had their sleep-patterns forever altered because of it.

Dean Koontz-- Half his stuff is modern-day pulp.  A quarter of it is crap.  And that last quarter... Wow.  Just wow.  Fear Nothing.

Harper Lee-- She wrote one book.  Read it.  It's the greatest book in the English language.

H.P.Lovecraft-- Is there a horror writer alive today who doesn't cite him as an influence?  No?  So start reading!!   

Brian Lumley-- Necroscope didn't really do it for me, but the Titus Crow books... again, wow.  Six novellas leading to a punchline that will blow your mind.

Will Shakespeare-- Yeah, that's right. The bard!  Macbeth isn't just about destiny and man's will and all that crap-- it's a damned good story about witches and a prophesy that comes true no matter how much you try to dodge it.  Hamlet's practically about posession.  The Tempest is about people getting shipwrecked on this weird island where they have to deal with monsters and creepy natives-- hey, someone should update that... 

I am eventually going to get around to Gaiman. Have heard great stuff about his work! Last summer I read the trade papers of Ellis' Preacher series and thought it was awesome!

[Monchinski]

I love Tolkien (of course!), Richard Matheson, Stephen King, Dan Simmons, Cormac McCarthy, Issac Assimov, Lovecraft, Amy Tan......and some other authors that maybe I am ashamed to admit to! Like, Margaret George, some Philippa Gregory books, Gregory Maguire, these are my guilty pleasures! Of course, around PP I love Kim Paffenroth and just about everyone else. One of my fav authors growing up was Gary Paulson, and I have luckily gotten my kiddos into his books.

Yeah, Tolkien! My uncle gave me the Hobbit and then the trilogy when I was in Middle School. I think I've read each six or seven times since and of course have gotten more out of it each time. Hope del Toro does a knockout job on the 2 Hobbit movies...
Same uncle got me into early Terry Brooks' Shanara. Loved the first three or so trilogies, kept reading even when I felt Brooks had fallen off, but don't read him much anymore. Garet Jax the Weapons Master will always be one of my favorite characters in fantasy fiction and the assault on the keep at the end of the third book where they nearly all die always brought a tear to my eye...

[Monchinski]

It is hard to pick my favorites because there are so many, but I’ll try.
Just about all Richard Matheson.
Cormac McCarthy's The Road.
Orson Scott Card’s Ender novels
F. Paul Wilson’s Repairman Jack novels and the Adversary series.
Kim Paffenroth's Dieing to Live.
I love Permuted Press’s Zombie anthologies
D. L. Snell’s Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines
Robert R. McCammon's older stuff.
Clive Barker's Hell raiser, Weave world, and Mister B. Gone among others.
All Brian Lumley but mostly his Necroscope novels.
Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan novels
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s Special Agent Pendergast Novels.
Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter novels.
Alan Dean Foster’s Alien novels 
Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series I am not ashamed to say, they make me laugh.
All Stephen King, not always happy with some of his endings, (Dark Tower), But a story ends how a story ends, sometimes the writer is just a vessel in this respect. I loved his last few including Lisey's Story, and Duma Key, he continues to entertain me.
lastly but not by any means the least, Dean Koontz, for his ability to break my heart without cutting it open like Steven King loves to do. I really love all of his work, but mostly the Odd Thomas novels, the first one is a bloody heart breaker Steven King style. I have a lot in common with Mr. Koontz as far as his childhood experiences, and his writing has always spoken to my heart. I read Watchers when I was in my teens and it pulled tears from my black heart.
A great many of the writers listed in this thread, I have never read and more than likely never will. A large amount of their work just seems to be over my head or something.
The first novel I ever read was Peter Benchley’s Jaws, got it for a quarter at a neighbors garage sale. That one will always be special for me, quite a bit of it was inappropriate for a reader of my age at the time.
I’m certain that I’ve forgotten many of the authors that have broadened my horizons throughout my life, but I love them all whom ever they are.

TBE.. The constant reader

Loved the first Ender novel and mean to get around to the rest (which I have) sometime...