What sorts of fiction do you like?

[Pielorinho]

Not really! Except perhaps that Pielorinho has good taste.

Gosh, thanks, you too! Oryx and Crake is wonderful, if just a wee bit grim.

Yeah, Le Guin wrote Left Hand of Darkness; on another messageboard, my handle is Left Hand of Dorkness, a sort-of homage to the book. My favorite by her is probably The Dispossessed, but really most of her stuff is great; the last book I read by her, Changing Planes, is a Gulliver's Travels type of short story collection that's going to be great inspiration for my upcoming planes-hopping D&D game .

Daniel

 

[Desdichado]

Who are your favorite authors?

Tolkien is all time favorite. I've also enjoyed Raymond Feist, in the same vein (D&D-like fantasy), Bernard Cornwell (historical fiction), Robert Asprin (the M.Y.T.H. books are classic), and lots of others.

What style of writing do you prefer?

Fairly lush. For instance, although I really liked the stories, Glenn Cook really kinda turned me off with the sparse, Spartan nature of his prose. I like intricate, political, intrigue driven plots as well, although a good straightforward hack-n-slash is fun sometimes too.

Do you enjoy novels? Comics? TV? Movies? Theater?

I don't read novels nearly as much as I used to; it's too time consuming and too easy to get distracted by real-life, dropping my books halfway, unfortunately. Comics are easy and fast to read, but not as satisfying, for the most part. I watch very little TV, but both my wife and I are movie junkies. I see very little theater, but not for a dislike of the medium, just for lack of good options.

Anything else you'd like to say?

I actually read more non-fiction than fiction these days. Like someone mentioned already, I'm finding fewer and fewer fantasy that I really like. I was especially disappointed in Terry Goodkind, after thinking millions of buyers must know something...

 

[RaceBannon42]

Who are your favorite authors? George RR Martin, Robin Hobb, David Gemmell, Greg Keyes, JV Jones,(new discoveries for me) David Eddings, Raymond Feist, Terry Brooks, Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind (older favorites whos current work is not up to par anymore IMHO) In the non fantasy genre I like Dan Brown and Tom Clancy

What style of writing do you prefer? Epic Fantasy, Plot twisting intrigue/mystery

Do you enjoy novels? Comics? TV? Movies? Theater? I've never really been to the theatre, small local productions is all, mainly to see friends perform. I Buy 6-8 comic titles a month, I probably average 2-3 novels a month, I love TV though I only follow a few shows regularlly, wacth a lot of History Channel at night. I am a huge movie buff.

Anything else you'd like to say? I write, so I'm trying to figure out what people like. I don't really intend to change my style, but I do have a lot of different ideas in my head, so I'll probably work on the ones that seems like the most people will enjoy.

I'll enjoy reading what folks say.

Good luck! Write what you like, not what you think others do.... and keep reading!

 

[Ferret]

Go read J.V.Jones, you should like the books. They are fantasy but has 'magic is old and doesn't hapen any more' feel, I would go pick up A cavern of Black ice.

 

[Olive]

Gosh, thanks, you too! Oryx and Crake is wonderful, if just a wee bit grim.

Just a touch.

Yeah, Le Guin wrote Left Hand of Darkness; on another messageboard, my handle is Left Hand of Dorkness, a sort-of homage to the book. My favorite by her is probably The Dispossessed, but really most of her stuff is great; the last book I read by her, Changing Planes, is a Gulliver's Travels type of short story collection that's going to be great inspiration for my upcoming planes-hopping D&D game .

The Dispossesed is my favourite of the Hainish books (although thta really reflects my RW politics as much as anything. I just can't stop loving the Earthsea stuff though (except Tenanu), especially the recent book of short stories she did (Tales from Earthsea?). The main novella in it was just marvellous and incredibly compelling. One of the best things about her is that her characters don't go in for the sort of Vance/Lieber-esque flights of dialogue that so many fantasy writers do (and so many DnD players love thanks to Gygax).

Actually, that applies to all my favourite authors pretty much, plain speaking characters.

 

[your father is]

Lots of good stuff in this thread. You guys have good taste

I've gotten really into short fiction over the last few years. The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is my favorite magazine, and I also quite like Black Gate and SCIFICTION. I'll probably be picking up the new Amazing Stories as well.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

I like a bit of everything. I'm a pop-culture junkie, as well, with more DVDs than is at all reasonable given my income. Though current trends in programming have me generally fleeing the TV, but for the Simpsons, Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, Discovery, and a few others.

I'm also a fan of the theater, which doesn't seem terribly common here. I'm kind of lucky that Ithaca has a wide variety of theater. We have a couple of good independent theaters, Ithaca College has a tremendous theater department, and Cornell's student productions make up in enthusiasm what they lack in talent.

As for books... I own way, way too many books. But my girlfriend and I are both voracious readers, so they get out of hand easily. I think if I sold off half of my books I could earn the better part of a year's salary.

But while I like a little bit of everything, I can be picky as all get out. I am an irritable and fickle geek, and while I will praise an author in one breath, I will turn on him in the second.

For example, I think Dickens was absolutely brilliant... on the rare occasion he forgot he was being paid by the word and just told the bloody story. Tale of Two Cities may still be my favorite book of all time, but I can't read more than a few paragraphs of Great Expectations without foaming at the mouth from its sheer craptasticy.

I like pulp fantasy, as long as it's written by Howard. Moorcock and the rest leave me either cold or in fits of apoplectic rage that their nonsense passes for good fiction. Howard, btw, is among the best ever at writing action.

I like High Fantasy in the Dunsany vein, though I get very irritated with imitators who can't come within miles of Dunsany's prose. Actually, Dunsany is one of a very few authors with whom I've never found myself irritated. He has such beautiful prose and can evoke moods and wonder like no one else, IMO.

I like a very few of Stephen King's books, and am sorely disappointed in the rest. However, I do think that he, Charles de Lint, and Neil Gaiman are the ONLY people who should be allowed to write any form of modern and/or urban fantasy. Most urban fantasy makes me want to retch.

I love HG Wells, Jules Verne, and Ray Bradbury... but I think they are wildly inconsistent, particularly Bradbury and less so Verne.

I feel no need to get into my discussion of Tolkien again. You can jump up and down screaming "Orwell's a hack!" here and no one will get on you about it, but if you so much as question the pacing of Tolkien, you tend to get the thumbscrews.

 

[Celtavian]

re

Who are your favorite authors?

Tolkien is my favorite author, yet there are plenty of other authors who have written books I enjoyed.

What style of writing do you prefer?

As long as the writing is good, I can enjoy many different styles. There is no particular style I like over another. I definitely like to read authors who have a distinct voice.

Do you enjoy novels? Comics? TV? Movies? Theater?

I like it all as well, though I haven't had the opportunity to enjoy theatre.

Anything else you'd like to say?

Don't restrict yourself to one genre. There are lots of great novels out there.

 

[Pielorinho]

I'm also a fan of the theater, which doesn't seem terribly common here.

I hadn't even noticed that. That may partly be due to the fact that, whereas the wonders of Gutenberg make books widely available to anyone, not everyone has good theater in their town.

Asheville actually has a pretty good theater scene; since a friend of ours is a professional actor, we end up going to see a half-dozen or so plays a year, and they're usually quite good.

Daniel

 

[Dark Psion]

Who are your favorite authors? I don't really have a favorite author, there are some names that get my attention, but that's no guaranty I will like the book. The theme of the book is more important to me.

What style of writing do you prefer? Well Written Style
OK, as with above, it's the theme and subject that gets my attention and keeps it. I have read stories with a varity of styles, and a few that changed styles in mid stream, but as long as the story is good, I can forgive it.

Do you enjoy novels? Comics? TV? Movies? Theater?
Novels: Off and on. I would say I prefer paperback books to hard covers. I have a very good memory and if you point to a book on my shelf, I can probably tell you about that book, maybe even chapter to chapter. Because of that, I don't like to spend too much on a book. Besides, paperbacks fit in my back pocket.
Comics: Used to. Between losing my local comic shop and big story changes in my favorite books, I stopped reading a while ago. Everynow and then I read about something that gets my intrest, but not having any nearby source for the books, the feeling passes.
Movies: On DVD and Video Yes. In movie theaters, not since Star Trek 6. That was when our local theater closed and considering how fast movies come out on DVD and the cost of that DVD compaired to going to the see the movie once, I'll stick with the DVDs.
Theater: Nope, brings back bad memories from school field trips.

Anything else you'd like to say?
I do read a lot of short stories on several storysites and the one thing I would mention is the "Arabian Nights" rule. You must grab your audience's attention in the opening moments and never let go.
There have been stories and books that I have started, but never finished because the author got lost, went off on a different tangent, got too focused on little things or just got boring.