SFX's Top 100 SF&F Authors

[Astra]

[quote name='Werthead' post='1403855' date='Jun 18 2008, 14.04']Goodkind, like Brooks and Eddings, does well with people who don't read much and those writers are the only ones they pick up on. Generally, the second people start reading more in the genre and come across the really good writers, these authors are consigned to the dustbin. What is quite amusing is that wherever you go, the people who do really like Goodkind tend not to pick up on his 'important human themes' (unless it's a Goodkind message board) and just enjoy it as a cheesy fantasy adventure with dragons and magic. And even they usually lose the will to live somewhere around Book 7.[/quote]

We will see :)
I am going to give SoT a chance in about 1 year time :) (after I read all of Andrzej Sapkowski, Perumov, Robin Hobb's two last trilogies, maybe Coldfire trilogy as well and some stand alones along the way...)

[Werthead]

[quote name='Shryke' post='1403980' date='Jun 18 2008, 15.15']All true, except for this part.

I've introduced alot of people to fastasy. You'd be surprised how many people are HUGE ASOIAF fans, and still love Sword of Truth and Eragon and other utter shite like that.[/quote]

Actually, I forgot to take into account the nostalgia factor. I actually read [i]The Sword of Shannara[/i] in 1993 or so, as the first 'proper' epic fantasy I ever read (I'd been exclusively into SF up until then, and maybe Pratchett) and I enjoyed it. Two years later I read [i]Lord of the Ring[/i] and saw some rather big problems in [i]Shannara[/i]. It's a decent gateway book into the genre, but if I went back to re-read it now I suspect it would not get a favourable review.

[Shryke]

Nope. I'm talking people who were introduced to the Fantasy genre with ASOIAF, reading Goodkind and saying "Not bad".

[Isis]

It's [u]nowhere[/u] near as bad as I expected it to be actually. Apparently some people who have read books published before 1996 voted in that poll. Phew.

Robert Rankin in the top ten though? Get the fuck out!

[hadaad]

Um... Lloyd Alexander? Come ON! His Prydain Chronicles was way better than Narnia.

Ah well, I guess he doesn't have a big Hollywood production out of one of his books.

[Jaerv]

Rank four for Douglas Adams?

:huh:

I surmise this is the same kind of humour I can't find humorous when I read his books...

[Foxblood]

[quote name='Joe Abercrombie' post='1403905' date='Jun 18 2008, 06.35']Too much honour to the list or to your ass?


This is news?

And may I just say...

81 muthafukas!

Take THAT Brian W. Aldiss! In your FACE Chris Priest! Read 'em and WEEP Scott Lynch! Have at you now...

Hold on.

GEORGE 1984ing ORWELL is supposed to be a better writer than ME????????

MMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE???????????

Hello? Complaints department?[/quote]


Am I the only one who found this response FUCKING hillarious??

Because of this post I actualy decided to post after over a year of lurking!!

I have not read your books yet Mr. Joe Abercrombie but you just sold me on at least a purchase with this post.

I know, I know I should purchase them based of my love of kick ass fantasy books......BUT come on......how could anyone resist the need to read the 81st best SF&F Fantasy Author!!!

[The Pita]

That also seems to be the first post of his in which he is not defaming himself, at least that I've seen.
I'm trying to get his books, but the circulation in Israel seems sorta shitty. Bakker has also gotten this treatment from my bookstores.

[Gabriele]

[quote name='Werthead' post='1402305' date='Jun 17 2008, 17.29']There are some dubious votes in there (Goodkind, Douglass, Canavan)[/quote]

Well, the reason could be that more of Sara Douglass' books are avaliable in the UK than the US, among them the [i]Crucible[/i] trilogy which I consider her best.

But we could replace Goodkind by say, Greg Keyes, Paul Kearney or Brian Ruckley. ;)

[Datepalm]

[quote name='Un-Yearded Pita' post='1404666' date='Jun 18 2008, 22.03']That also seems to be the first post of his in which he is not defaming himself, at least that I've seen.
I'm trying to get his books, but the circulation in Israel seems sorta shitty. Bakker has also gotten this treatment from my bookstores.[/quote]

Really? I've seen Bakker plenty (most non-peripheria Stiematzky, some Tzomet) , never seen Abercrombie [i]anywhere[/i]. (I have The Darkness that Comes Before and I hate it. In case you haven't read it, it's yours if you want it (and are anywhere in my vicinity.)

Seems like a reasonable list, all things considered, except for Susanna Clarke, caught my eye - Shes only published [i]one [/i]book! Surely thats a bit early to be in the top 100.

[Filippa Eilhart]

I didn't realise people still read Aldiss or Bester.

[Werthead]

[quote name='Datepalm' post='1404724' date='Jun 18 2008, 21.40']Seems like a reasonable list, all things considered, except for Susanna Clarke, caught my eye - Shes only published [i]one [/i]book! Surely thats a bit early to be in the top 100.[/quote]

Two, but yeah, I get your point. I'm assuming that's why Rothfuss and Ruckley are also absent.

[quote name='Filippa deSuisse' post='1404732' date='Jun 18 2008, 21.50']I didn't realise people still read Aldiss or Bester.[/quote]

Since the SF Masterworks list reprinted them, sure. In fact, SFX gets to sway the vote quite a lot because they cover classic books in their book club, and they covered [i]Non-Stop[/i] and [i]The Stars My Destination[/i] fairly recently. They also did [i]A Game of Thrones[/i] a while back which attracted more commentary than any other club they've done, and I suspect boosted GRRM up into the list.

One thing I can't replicate are the truly insane and pithy comments that accompany the choices. At one point they suggest that people who like David Eddings may like Erikson (WTF?). The writer also struggling hard to find nice things to say about Erikson and Jordan in the face of mass popular acclaim was quite amusing.

[Lord O' Bones]

[quote name='Werthead' post='1404034' date='Jun 18 2008, 07.39']Actually, I forgot to take into account the nostalgia factor. I actually read [i]The Sword of Shannara[/i] in 1993 or so, as the first 'proper' epic fantasy I ever read (I'd been exclusively into SF up until then, and maybe Pratchett) and I enjoyed it. Two years later I read [i]Lord of the Ring[/i] and saw some rather big problems in [i]Shannara[/i]. It's a decent gateway book into the genre, but if I went back to re-read it now I suspect it would not get a favourable review.[/quote]
Same story here (except I read it in like, '88) and if you remember it fondly, don't read it ever again.

Unlike our list, all of my guys, but Lloyd Alexander made this one. Excepting Banks, they're all American.

[Ashamanic]

Well, I followed a link from Neil Gaiman's blog and ended up here, but of the top 10, there are only 2 I haven't read and 4 more in the top 25. Going further, there are more, but a lot of the ones in the higher numbers, I don't know at all.
Seems fair enough to me, though I wouldn't have Tolkien so high

[Werthead]

[b]100. James Herbert[/b]
99. Gwyneth Jones
[b]98. Sara Douglass[/b]
97. Charles Stross
[b]96. Terry Goodkind[/b] (for my sins)
[b]95. Brian W. Aldiss[/b]
94. Ken MacLeod
93. Olaf Stapledon
92. Michael Marshall Smith
91. Jon Courtney Grimwood
[b]90. Christopher Priest[/b]
89. Jonathan Carroll
[b]88. Scott Lynch[/b]
87. David Weber
[b]86. M. John Harrison[/b]
85. Jacqueline Carey
[b]84. Kim Stanley Robinson[/b]
83. Theodore Sturgeon
[b]82. J.V. Jones[/b]
[b]81. Joe Abercrombie
80. Joe Haldeman[/b]
79. Simon Clark
[b]78. George Orwell[/b]
77. Samuel R. Delaney
76. Charles de Lint
[b]75. Julian May[/b]
74. Edgar Rice Burroughs
[b]73. Robert Silverberg[/b]
[b]72. Susanna Clarke[/b]
71. Stanislaw Lem
[b]70. Larry Niven[/b]
[b]69. Alfred Bester[/b]
68. Katherine Kerr
[b]67. Jack Vance[/b]
[b]66. Harry Harrison[/b]
[b]65. Marion Zimmer Bradley[/b]
[b]64. Richard Matheson[/b]
[b]63. Dan Simmons[/b]
62. Elizabeth Haydon
[b]61. Terry Brooks
60. Richard Morgan
59. Stephen Baxter[/b]
58. Jennifer Fallon
[b]57. Mercedes Lackey[/b] (still trying to forget this)
[b]56. CJ Cherryh[/b]
55. Harlan Ellison
54. Jasper Fforde
53. Octavia Butler
[b]52. J.G. Ballard[/b]
[b]51. Robert E. Howard[/b]
50. Sherri S. Tepper
49. H.P. Lovecraft
[b]48. Mervyn Peake[/b]
47. Jules Verne
[b]46. Alastair Reynolds
45. Neal Stephenson
44. Clive Barker[/b]
43. Jim Butcher
[b]42. Tad Williams[/b]
41. Kurt Vonnegut
40. Trudi Canavan
[b]39. Michael Moorcock
38. David Eddings
37. Alan Moore
36. Orson Scott Card[/b]
[b]35. Stephen Donaldson
34. Gene Wolfe
33. China Mieville
32. Raymond E. Feist[/b]
31. Lois McMaster Bujold
[b]30. Roger Zelazny
29. Anne McCaffrey
28. Steven Erikson[/b]
27. William Gibson
[b]26. Guy Gavriel Kay
25. CS Lewis
24. Diana Wynne Jones[/b]
23. John Wyndham
[b]22. Philip Pullman
21. Robin Hobb
20. Stephen King[/b]
19. Ray Bradbury
[b]18. Arthur C. Clarke
17. Robert Jordan
16. JK Rowling[/b]
15. Robert Heinlein (never been able to get into him)
[b]14. Frank Herbert
13. Peter F. Hamilton
12. David Gemmell[/b]
11. Ursula K. LeGuin (bad of me, I know)
[b]10. Robert Rankin[/b]
9. HG Wells
8. Philip K. Dick (even worse, yeah)
[b]7. Iain M. Banks
6. Isaac Asimov
5. George RR Martin
4. Douglas Adams
3. Neil Gaiman
2. JRR Tolkien
1. Terry Pratchett
[/b]
Bolded the ones I've read. A large number of them in fact, but not reading Dick, Wells or LeGuin is embarrassing, I know.

[Lord O' Bones]

[quote name='Werthead' post='1405243' date='Jun 18 2008, 19.37']Bolded the ones I've read. A large number of them in fact, but not reading Dick, Wells, or LeGuin is embarrassing, I know.[/quote]
Throw in Bradbury, Vonnegut, and Verne, as well. :whip:


Edit: Not so sure about LeGuin, myself. More like not-having-read-Gibson odd.

[Gigei]

[quote name='Lightsnake' post='1402457' date='Jun 17 2008, 12.50']Michael Moorcock so high is a travesty, though[/quote]

It's only on these forums that Moorcock isn't liked, on every other forum he does fine.

Pratchett is that high because his books appeal even to those who don't read fantasy. The type of person who would never read Tad Williams or Ursula Le Guin would read Pratchet because he is just fun. :)

[Red Sun]

[quote name='efendi 'in kemik' post='1405257' date='Jun 19 2008, 04.47']Throw in [b]Bradbury[/b], Vonnegut, and Verne, as well. :whip:


Edit: Not so sure about LeGuin, myself. More like not-having-read-Gibson odd.[/quote]

That's what I thought as well. ;) However, I shouldn't say anything, because I have not read half as much authors from that list as Werthead.

I have to say, that, even though, I really like Terry Pratchett, I think he is overrated on this list. I would place some of the classic authors, much higher.

ETA: However,

[quote name='Gigei' post='1405323' date='Jun 19 2008, 05.25']Pratchett is that high because his books appeal even to those who don't read fantasy. The type of person who would never read Tad Williams or Ursula Le Guin would read Pratchet because he is just fun. :)[/quote]

this is very true. So, I guess it's more a top 100 based on popularity in the UK.

[mormont]

[quote name='Gigei' post='1405323' date='Jun 19 2008, 04.25']It's only on these forums that Moorcock isn't liked, on every other forum he does fine.[/quote]

Actually lots of people on these forums like Moorcock. There are one or two who don't and are vocal about it, but you should never mistake the presence of a couple of vocal nay-sayers for the general feeling of a forum. ;)

[Willie McBride]

[url="http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/763/authorsdy7.png"]The authors I've read from that list.[/url]

Too bad this board doesn't allow the usage of the 'img' tag... :(