While I’ve never really been the type of writer to loudly proclaim which famous authors influences me, I don’t mind sharing a few of favorites. Sure, I’ve mentioned Stephen King and John Green like a million times here, but they aren’t the only ones I enjoy reading.
Here are three (actually four) others worth mentioning. They’re not necessarily my top three and I haven’t even read all of their novels, but they’re three writers I feel like paying homage to at the moment.
Jack L. Chalker
I picked up the first book of his Quintara Marathon trilogy in high school mostly because of it’s awesome cover, which displayed a giant demon encased in glass and surrounded by spaceships. It was my first experience with space opera and I just loved it. It’s still a fun trilogy that I read again a few years ago after our son was born. (Here’s a dirty little secret. I read a lot of this, along with the Fair Tax book by Neal Boortz, to him when he was a baby. He’ll thank me later, I’m sure.)
I enjoyed a few other books by Chalke, especially And the Devil Will Drag You Under, which was a really fun ride. Sadly, Jack L. Chalker passed away in 2005, but he leaves a legacy of over fifty novels, most parts of various trilogies or series.
Eric Nylund
I haven’t read any of his Halo stuff since I haven’t played the games (and never will because I suck at shooters) but I did read everything he published before then and a couple of things after. When I first read Pawn’s Dream, I was thoroughly impressed. Here was a new author with a cool idea and a fast-paced novel that was a fun read. Also, if you can find a copy of A Game of Universe, I’d highly recommend it.
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Their claim to fame is obviously the Dragonlance series, but the Darksword Trilogy is also worth a look and I remember all the kids raging about the Death Gate Cycle a few years (okay, decades) back as well. But back to Dragonlance, the first two trilogies of the series, Chronicles and Legends, had some of the best character development I’ve even read.
That was a nice trip down memory lane. I’ll have to go back and revisit a few of these.
Oh, and just for fun…What am I reading now? I’m on book two of The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson.
Who are some of your favorite authors and what are you reading right now? Let us know in the comment section!
