...information on Authors and books I like, in no particular order.
Anything written by C.J.Cherryh - Since I grew up (What! did it happen yesterday my friends all cry...) She is the most consistently brilliant author I have found. She spans the realms of Fantasy and Science Fiction with an apparently effortless grace. Especially good is the 'Foreigner' series; and the 'Chanur' books are the best narrative about inter-species wheeling and dealing I have ever read, an absolute must-read, and Humans are only incidental characters! www.cjcherryh.com
Anything written by Azimov - Although a lot of the earlier stories now seem a little dated in concept and style they nonetheless remain a 'jolly good read'. I am a devoted believer in reading as escapism, I want to be entertained and enthralled and possibly educated. I remain a fan of the concept of entertainment, whilst recognizing that in other circumstances, there are rewards to be gained from putting more effort into a work. (Most of the time if it is hard work to read, I too am lazy! I mean if you really have to strain to get your head round the characterization, motivation and plot it soon ceases to be relaxing.) The Encyclopaedia Galactica - fansite.
Anne Mccaffrey Dragon Series and Pegasus Trilogy. www.annemccaffrey.org
'Dilbert' - In almost any medium I find hilarious. Scott Adams is a truly sad and unappreciated genius, who has nevertheless created a character more pithy and insightful than the average cocaine-fuelled psycho-analyst, and probably earned a fortune besides! www.dilbert.com
Michael Moorcock - He has written a vast number of interconnected works, mostly great, some of which I failed to understand I suspect, all of which leave you wondering what will happen... Sweet Despise - Michael Moorcock Fansite
Agatha Christie - Despite the countless film and stage adaptations and the various incarnations of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, I still think the written word is the best way to enjoy Christie. If you exercise the little grey cells, as Poirot would say, you really can spot the inconsistencies, inexactitudes and illogicalties which tell you 'Who done it!' Clue Here!
David Brin - The Postman. The book, unlike the film, was more thought provoking rather than gung-ho (Apologies to Mister Costner!) and makes you think about things like authority, tribalism, uniforms, the credulity of the masses and so forth. [How come 'I' am never 'one of the masses'?] The Uplift series, although I think they are getting a little over-blown these days... The Practice Effect is hardly great literature but the original idea behind it is so great that you don't care at all.
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle - these guys are simply great and the sum of the parts is greater than the whole... Niven's Ringworld series will always be a classic, and Pournelle's ability to walk the line between hard Sci-Fi and soft Fantasy is incredible. Somewhere they have probably been involved in a less than marvellous project, but I have not come across it yet. Go here for Niven 'stuff' and here for Pournelle
Robert Heinlein - The man wrote on an epic scale - and to be fair could sometimes do with some serious editing; but even when he was rambling off on a wild diversion, he was constantly entertaining, and you get a whole lot of reading for your money! Time Enough for Love and Stranger in a Strange Land will repay several readings with different insights. Here for Heinlein-land.
Terry Pratchet - Clever man, very funny. I have read nearly everything he has written (published anyway...) and I have to say that the standard is very high. He is one of only three people in my life who have made me actually laugh out loud while reading their work. The others were Spike Milligan and someone else. I read more of the someone-else but none of it was funny - shame. So far only one duffer in the Discworld series, and that was still worth reading. I am waiting for the 'Wizard's Knob' website to be up and running in the meanwhile use Google to find pratchett-stuff.
Frank Herbert - The man who wrote Dune - need I say more. The film of Dune was nothing less than a heroic attempt to put a story of galactic scope on a small screen in 3 hours or less... and the fact that it was only good and not great is just because the story is so massive in scale - like the Worms! At the other end of the scale The Godmakers is set on a much smaller scale and written in episodic fashion, but it makes you think far far more, about if, and what, you believe. This is the Dune Fans link.
to be continued when time permits...