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Recommended Reading, Abby Style

With links to author's sites.  Click the names!
. . . and here's the latest books I'm reading.

Favorite Speculative (Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror) Authors:
      These authors get my stamp of approval!  If you admire some of the following authors, then you may enjoy my book reviews, and perhaps my writing.
  1. Stephen King (I'm a #1 fan, but luckily for him, I'm not a psychotic nurse)
    aka Richard Bachman (even crazier than King, but it's the same guy we know and love)
  2. Robert Jordan (I'm addicted to his Wheel of Time series)
    aka Reagan O'Neal (competent writing, but the characters of the Fallon historical fiction series lack charisma)
  3. George R.R. Martin (prose as engaging as Stephen King's; need I say more?)
  4. Anne Rice (always disturbing, and usually riveting)
  5. Richard Adams (If you even remotely enjoy fantasy, try Shardik and Watership Down)
  6. Lois McMaster Bujold (I really love what I've read from her so far)
  7. Greg Egan (hard science fiction with awesome characters and page-turning plots)
  8. Tad Williams (I am awed by his Otherland series)
  9. Octavia Butler (avante garde style, and strong characters)
  10. Jean Auel (her series was awe-inspiring when it began, but has lost momentum)
  11. Margaret Atwood (beautiful wordsmith)
  12. Richard Preston (mainstream, but he pulls you along)
  13. Jonathan Kellerman (I don't usually enjoy the thriller/mystery genre, but he's worth it)
  14. Dan Simmons (I imagine that his books will be considered timeless classics someday)
  15. Neal Stephenson (fresh style)
  16. Brian Lumley (the Necroscope series is highly entertaining, but avoid his attempts at science fiction)
  17. Dean Koontz (fun for airplane reading)
  18. Thomas Harris (he's good with suspense)
  19. Robert R. McCammon (When he's good, he's good)
  20. Daniel Keyes (Flowers For Algernon)
  21. Michael Crichton (he made science fiction popular in the 80s)
Favorite Classics:
  1. Alexandre Dumas (fast paced and suspenseful, like contemporary best-sellers)
  2. H.G. Wells (fun, fast-paced, with twisted characters)
  3. Edgar Allan Poe (master of atmosphere)
  4. William Golding (Lord of the Flies, you know?)
  5. Herman Hesse (engaging prose)
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien (father of modern fantasy)
  7. Mary Shelley (the fact that Frankenstein was written by an 18th century teenager is impressive)
Favorite Young Adult and Children's Authors:
  1. Steven Gould (you can't beat his fun, adventure and superhero stories)
  2. Philip Pullman (dark fantasy)
  3. John Bellairs (dark magic realism)
  4. L. Frank Baum (dark fantasy)
          Here are some short stories by L. Frank Baum.
  5. Christopher Pike (a "Dean Koontz" for young adults)
  6. J.K. Rowling (fantasy)
  7. Roald Dahl (even his few adult books, such as The Story of Henry Sugar, are great)
  8. Lois Duncan (my first taste of good, worthwhile horror)
  9. William Sleator (my first taste of good, worthwhile science fiction)
  10. Judy Blume (I believe she's already Scholastic reading for most kids)
  11. Ellen Conford (what a great sense of humor, and lots of fun to read)
  12. E.B. White (gotta love Trumpet of the Swan and Stuart Little)

I have mixed feelings about these authors:
  1. China Meiville (awesome atmospheric prose, but loose plotting)
  2. Tess Gerritsen (hit and miss)
  3. Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts (I've only read Daughter of the Empire, but plan on finishing the trilogy)
  4. Isaac Asimov (I enjoyed Nemesis and The Last Question.)
  5. Amy Tan (The Kitchen God's Wife was good, but forgettable)
  6. Anne McCaffrey (I dislike her style, her prose, and I find her plots too contrived)
  7. Charles Dickens (I must be crazy, but I was bored by A Tale of Two Cities)
  8. C.J. Cherryh (too much philosophy, not enough plot, but I've only tried one book)
  9. Ray Bradbury (his short stories gave me many hours of entertainment)
  10. Jules Verne (bad translations aside ...)
  11. Douglas Adams (I finally read The Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy, and it was too silly! But I recommend it to anyone who likes Monty Python.)
  12. Greg Bear (Blood Music is worth reading)
  13. Lewis Carroll (just a bit too incohesive and abstract for me)
  14. Mark Twain (there are so many contemporary authors to try with similar twisted senses of humor)
  15. Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game was a good read, but such a simple story that I had no desire to read the sequels)
  16. Wally Lamb (She's Come Undone was a great work, though it was outside my favorite genres)
  17. J.V. Jones (great stuff for the fantasy fan)
  18. Patricia A. McKillip (Song For the Basilisk was beautifully written, but I haven't had an urge to try another by her)
  19. Peter Straub (I couldn't get into Ghost Story or Koko)
  20. Robert A. Heinlein (A masterful storyteller, but a little sexist and dated for my taste)
  21. Susan Kay (Phantom was well written, but less original than I'd hoped)
  22. Caleb Carr (one of the few authors who can powerfully convey the ambience of another era)
  23. Tom Clancy (I was pleasantly surprised by Patriot Games, but maybe that was just because my expectations were so low after hearing so much bad press about him)
  24. Toni Morrison (Sula was beautifully written, but there is an incohesive quality to her work reminiscent of Clive Barker)

Thumbs Down:
      These are the authors whom I will never buy another book by.  If you are a fan, please don't be offended!  I fully recognize that this is a matter of personal taste, and has nothing to do with how talented the author actually is.
  1. Dan Brown (I feel as if he talks down to the readers)
  2. Ayn Rand (The Fountainhead was too much philosophy, and not enough character or plot)
  3. Clive Barker (Lord of Illusions; Nightbreed, and several short stories until I realized how bored I was)
  4. Frank Herbert (great story, but lots of telling without showing)
  5. George R. Stewart (Earth Abides was an influence on Stephen King, but not on me)
  6. Guy Gavriel Kay (as with Frank Herbert, I found The Summer Tree to be lacking in enthusiasm)
  7. Alfred Bester (just too 1950s for me)
  8. Herman Melville (Moby Dick is a pretty dry read)
  9. James L. Halperin (The First Immortal and The Truth Machine had me, then lost me)
  10. John Grisham (he's actually a talented writer, but I find his subject matter to be boring and preachy)
  11. John Saul (I unfortunately read his books until I discovered Stephen King)
  12. John Steinbeck (he was required school reading)
  13. Poppy Z. Brite (I was unable to empathize with any of her protagonists)
  14. R.A. Salvatore (Reading The Crystal Shard was like reading a literary version of a Saturday morning cartoon.)
  15. R.L. Stine (I read his Fear Street books compulsively until I discovered Christopher Pike)
  16. Stephen Donaldson (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant was promising until I began to hate the protagonist)
  17. Terry Brooks (The Sword of Shannara seems to be a wooden imitation of Tolkien's Middle Earth)
  18. Terry Goodkind (The Wizard's First Rule series also failed to captivate me)
  19. V.C. Andrews (Flowers in the Attic; Sweet Audrina...too much incest, not enough interest)

Updated  May 18, 2008
Last Ten I've Finished: I Plan To Read or Am Currently Reading:
  • Unabridged Audio or Paperback:
    • The Golden Cord, by Paul Genesse
    • Writers of the Future XXII anthology of 2006 contest winners
    • Magazines/Serials:  Realms of Fantasy and Escape Pod
    • Unpublished novels (from critique workshops)
  • Not Acquired Yet:

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All material Copyright © 2008 Abigail Goldsmith, except where otherwise noted.
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Document updated: 17 May 2008 - 23:40:51

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