This Top Ten Tuesday is actually on a Monday, but don't worry, I haven't got mad quite yet; this is to make some room for tomorrow's post! Today I'm listing some of my favourite authors of all time - I hope you agree with me!
1. Joanne Harris
I've shown my love for this lady on many, many occasions, so it's only right that I put her right at the top of my post. Her writing is emotive, descriptive and her books are exquisite. Read one, read any one, and you will fall in love as well.
2. Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Every single book I read with this man's name on the front sends shivers up my spine. Some times in a good way, sometime in an 'I'm terrified' way (depending on which book I'm reading). His stories for children are equally as good as those for adults, and the adult ones are so deliciously complex, you are completely absorbed.
3. Ben Aaronovitch
If you haven't read the Peter Grant series yet, put it on the TBR pile, because you utterly need to. It's funny, serious, murderous and full of magic; exactly what you need in a good fantasy police drama. Rivers of London (that's Midnight Riot in some places), the first book, is creepy and cool in equal measure, and I love the way I can relate to these places, because once in a while I can say I've seen them.
4. Terry Pratchett
This man has the most vivid and eccentric imagination I have ever read. His books are witty and silly and engrossing, and the world he has given life to has even been adapted into TV Movies. If that's not a sign of good literature, I don't know what is.
5. Neil Gaiman
Stardust, Coraline, Neverwhere; this author's list of adapted works doesn't seem to end. His collaboration with Terry Pratchett (Good Omens) is absolutely brilliant and his other works are beautifully strange and wonderful. I love reading Neil Gaiman, because it doesn't matter which story you read, it always manages to pull you head-first into the world he has created. Oh, and he wrote a couple of purely awesome Doctor Who episodes.
6. Markus Zusak
I know I've only actually read one book by this man, but it is the best book I've ever read in my life. I love The Book Thief like I'd written it myself. It is a remarkable book, and therefore he is a remarkable author. I'm looking forward to reading more from him.
7. Brandon Sanderson
This guy has an incredible imagination. Have you read his Mistborn series? Trust me, they're so involved and so, so good! He was also chosen to ghost-write the end of the Wheel of Time series, so he's got to be good, right?
8. Philip Pullman
How could I leave this man out? His Dark Materials is a trilogy that I'll keep with me for the rest of my life. It was the first truly epic book series I ever read, that really verged on things I had never thought about before; other worlds, souls, death, trepanning (look it up, it's gross). Ok, Harry Potter did get epic, but I read this whole series before I read that whole series, and this somehow still holds the edge. Which brings me nicely on to...
9. J. K. Rowling
When you hear that name, a mention of Harry Potter soon follows. What a remarkable mind to go from a single vision of a wizard on a train to this all-encompassing battle between the natures of good and evil, personified in a young man and a dark lord. This series is my childhood, and I have spent most of my life absorbed in a Harry Potter bubble which burst not long ago, but it will never be forgotten.
10. George R.R. Martin
My new bubble arrived in the form of A Game of Thrones (well, and Doctor Who, but since were doing authors, I'll let that one slide). If there was anything to get anyone into fantasy, this series would be it. It is possible the most bloodthirsty set of books I've ever read, but still you read on, if only to find out who dies next. I'm halfway through this series, and it doesn't ever let up, no book is ever boring and no character is skippable. The TV show is immense, but to me the books will always be better. I guess I'm a traditionalist.
Are there any authors you would add to the list, any that you disagree with? Comment and let me know!
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