George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire)
The trollmaster wrote a list of all the best fantasy and historical fiction reads you can get busy with while waiting another 84 years before he publishes the next installment in the A Song of Ice and Fire series.
(The list is organized for your convenience with Goodreads links here)
Among his classic fantasy recs are Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry, Ursula K. Le Guin's the Earthsea Cycle, Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast and T.H. White's The Once and Future King.
For newer fantasy reads GRRM recommends Scott Lynch (The Gentlemen Bastards series), Joe Abercrombie (Best Served Cold, Heroes) and Daniel Abraham (The Long Price Quartet, The Dagger and the Coin).
And his favourite historical fiction reads include Maurice Druon (The Accursed Kings), Bernard Cornwell and Sharon Kay Penman.
You can also keep up with what he's reading here.
Ursula K. Le Guin (The Earthsea Cycle)
Her favourite fantasy books are Alice in Wonderland; Gormenghast; The Sword in the Stone, The Jungle Book, The Lord of the Rings.
Her favourite sci-fi books are Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle, Arnason’s Ring of Swords, McIntyre’s Dreamsnake, and China Miéville’s Embassytown.
She also wrote lists of "books she liked", but are not necessarily favourites, on her website. The lists include Blindness by José Saramago, Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon, Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, and graphic novels like Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, Age of Bronze: The Story of the Trojan War, by Eric Shanower. She wrote very nice blurbs for the books so it's worth checking out the source.
Cixin Liu (The Three Body Problem)
His favorite science fiction authors include Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, and Jules Verne (Journey to the Centre of the Earth was his favourite book as a boy). His favorite books are 2001: A Space Odyssey, Rendezvous with Rama, The Martian Chronicles, and Nineteen Eighty-Four.
In terms of Chinese science fiction novels that have not been translated into English yet, he recommends Dooms Year by He Xi. "It is an apocalyptic novel that vividly depicts the different Chinese social classes during a disaster".
Photo by Laura Hanifin, copyright 2015
N.K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy)
Her favourite recently-read books (as of 4 years ago, so not so recent anymore) were: Martha Wells' Books of the Raksura; Kate Griffin's Matthew Swift chronicles; Kate Elliott's Spiritwalkers trilogy; Stephen King's Dark Tower series; Naomi Novik's Temeraire books.
Favorite male authors who write outside of medieval Europe would be Stephen King, China Mieville, Guy Gavriel Kay, and Steven Boyett.
Jemisin also has a regular column in the New York Times ("Otherworldly") where she writes about her favourite SFF releases. Here is the latest.
Scott Lynch (The Gentlemen Bastards series)
Lynch actually uses his Goodreads account, so you can browse his "read" shelf and see his ratings and reviews. His 5-star books include Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, Caitlín R. Kiernan's The Red Tree, and Walter Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz.
These recs by Scott Lynch aren't his all-time favourites, but recent faves. (Check the source out for all the recs, and the full blurbs). They include The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison: "I think [Addison] deserves all the attention she can get. [...] I want to throw that book at everyone I can and see who it sticks to. I understand it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it was mine, so I’m recommending it to everyone I can".
Ken Liu (The Paper Menagerie)
Not counting classics and dead people, his favourite author is Jin Yong.
Liu wrote a list of some of his favorite fiction and nonfiction books that confront the role of technology in fantasy. There are blurbs for the books so it's worth taking a look at the source. Among his recs are:
The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik -"The Napoleonic Wars with dragons—that's the pitch, and it's pretty much true. What makes this series so much fun is the meticulous manner in which Novik works out all the infrastructure, mundane and otherwise, necessary to support a fleet of warring dragons. The tactics are so intricate and thoroughly developed that you can practically write your own Art of War adapted to this world."
Black Wolves by Kate Elliott - "When the word 'technology' is mentioned, we often think of machinery and weaponry, but some of the most powerful technologies shaping human history have been linguistic (think of the alphabet), economical (think of double-entry bookkeeping), and political (think of the coup d'état and the election). In this layered, rich epic fantasy, Elliott explores how these social technologies in law, economics, and political systems can be every bit as magical and revolutionary as an army of dragons or a fleet of silk-and-bamboo airships. Many epic fantasies have been criticized for waxing nostalgic for absolute monarchy—not this one."
Robin Hobb (The Farseer Trilogy)
The authors Robin Hobb reads now include George RR Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire), Steven Brust (Jhereg), Louise Marley (Terrorist of Irustan) and Guy Gavriel Kay (Sailing to Sarantium), Lynn Flewelling, Martha Wells, Fiona McIntosh, Vonda McIntyre, Robin McKinley, Robert Holdstock and Alma Alexander. The list of authors who influenced her at an early age and left a strong mark on her work includes Rudyard Kipling, Louisa May Alcott, Walter Farley, T.H. White and Fritz Leiber.
In terms of epic fantasy she recommends, she says: "I’ll throw Joe Abercrombie’s name in the hat there. I’m currently reading his book Heroes, and wow, in his string of books he’s definitely attacking epic on the very small and personal scale, which I like. I’ve read Prince of Thorns, and wow, that’s a strange and wonderful ride. I started into Prince of Thorns going, 'Why on earth did my editor send me this? This is hard and this is dark and, oh gosh, it’s disgusting. This is a horrible character.' And then of course you turn the page! So I’m looking forward to his next book, and I think that he is definitely a writer to watch. Mark Lawrence. I’ll toss in one more — Richard Morgan’s The Steel Remains, now that was one I really enjoyed. Oh, and Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn".
Naomi Novik (The Temeraire series)
"[...] There are a bunch of books that I first came across in childhood and middle school that I still re-read on a regular basis, (typically when I get sick) [...] -- Tolkien, LeGuin's Wizard of Earthsea, Robin McKinley's Damar books, Patricia McKillip's Forgotten Beasts of Eld and Riddle-Master trilogy, Pride & Prejudice, Georgette Heyer's Regency romances, the Nero Wolfe books, Sherlock Holmes, the Little House on the Prairie books".
Neil Gaiman (American Gods)
There's a list of his favourite audiobooks here (includes Dickens' Bleak House, Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner and his awful wife's book). Here is a list of scary books he recommends for young readers (includes The Witches by Roald Dahl, The Time of the Ghost by Dianna Wynne Jones, and Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury).
Among his ten favourite books are:
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe -- "The best science fiction novel of the last century".
Lud in the Mist by Hope Mirrlees -- "My favourite fairy tale/detective novel/history/fantasy".
Viriconium by M John Harrison -- "I could pick any Harrison book, though. It could as easily be Light, his recent sci-fi novel, or Climbers, his astounding mainstream novel. He's a master of prose and ideas".
Codex Seraphinianus by Luigo Serafini -- "A guide to an alien world, in an alien language. The strangest book I own".
Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones -- "The best writer of magical children's fiction of our generation. I don't know if this is the best of her novels, but it's my favourite".
Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive)
Favorite authors, in no particular order: Robert Jordan, Terry Pratchett, Victor Hugo, and Dan Wells. Single books he thinks are fantastic: A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge, Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly, Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay, and Sabriel by Garth Nix.
Here he wrote about some of his favourites, with blurbs, including N.K. Jemisin ("I think N.K. Jemisin is doing some very fascinating things in fantasy right now. She’s a great storyteller") and Brian McClellan ("He’s a former student of mine, who just had the first in a series come out with Orbit. The book’s called Promise of Blood, and it’s quite good. It’s a flintlock fantasy, where people are using magic mixed with gunpowder in really cool ways").
Sanderson suggests a BUNCH of books on his own website, including: Terry Pratchett ("Going Postal is my favorite Pratchett right now. If you read him, don't start with the first book. Start with the books in the middle of his career, like Guards Guards, not the beginning because his books get better and better as he goes along. His later books are pure genius!"); Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn ("one of my favorite books of all time"); Anne Mcaffery ("If you haven’t read her books I don’t know why you’re reading mine. You need to go and read hers immediately!"); "anything by Robin Hobb, but particularly the Fitz books"; and Mary Robinette Kowal ("[she] writes regency-style fantasy novels. I find them different, clever, and fun").
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