This is my list of the authors that I like the best. I don’t expect anyone else to share my views so if you don’t like my choices then you can lump them so to speak. Anyway here they are in more or less descending order.
Michael Slade
Is the pseudonym currently for canadian crime lawyer Jay Clarke and his daughter Rebecca. Originally the brain-child of Jay Clarke and his law-firm partners the collaboration has penned eight(I think)novels to date. The novels feature the special X branch of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and usually involves the team solving a series of gruesome murders. The novels fall under the Horror/Crime category and are noted for their high content of police and legal procedures. Some of his best work can be seen in Ripper, Ghoul & Head-Hunter.
Terry Pratchett
Writes sci/fi books. The majority of his work deals with the imaginary disc world. I like his books because they transport you to a completely different world which although imaginative is curiously ordinary too. All of his characters are personalities in their won right. My favourite being Death. His books are also full of satire which is very enjoyable too.
Michael Crichton
First heard about him when I read Jurassic Park. The went and started reading his other books. I like the aspect of fact that he brings to his novels. They are all clearly well researched and boy does it show.
Stephen King
Words don’t really describe his works. A seminal horror/thriller and general odd story writer. A very prolific author who writes huge novels like the Stand as well as many many short stories. King writes as both himself and Richard Bachman. Many of his stories have been made into succesful films.
Alexander Dumas
Brilliant writer of the swashbuckling epic. Has created a number of characters such as the Three Musketeers & the Count of Monte Christo that wil live on in the hearts of many for years to come.
Gerald Durrell
Being fond of animals in general a neighbour introduced me to My Family and Other Animals by Durrell. Although it contains vivid descriptions of flora and fauna it also contains many anecdotes about Durrell’s eccentric family. After finishing the book I promptly went out and read as many as I could get my hands on. They always make me laugh and are a joy to read again and again.
Armistead Maupin
Armistead Maupin is the creator of what USA Today calls’One of the richest panoplies of characters in modern American fiction.’ His hugely popular’Tales of the City’ series has evolved from a groundbreaking newspaper serial to six best-selling novels to several television miniseries. Tales of the City revolves around the lives of a group of people sharing apartments in an large house on Barbary Lane. Set in and around San Francisco the novels really bring the city and the people of San Francisco to life. Inherently side splitting - I will never tire of reading his books.
James Herriot
Alf Wight a yorkshire vet penned these names under the pseudonym of James Herriot as he felt readers would want a posh sounding name. The stories are all based on people, animals and the cases he saw during his time of being a vet. The majority of the stories span the period of just prior to and just after the second world war and Herriot really encapsulates the life of those times in his books. All though characters such as Siegfried & Tristam will not be forgotten it is the animals that are the heroes of Herriot’s books the most famous being Tricky-Woo. While most of his stories are funny there others that do bring a tear to your eye.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Probably the only Indian Author that I really like. Most of her books feature Indians caught between two cultures and often feature stories about Indians living abroad. her protagonists are always female and vary between being very independent characters to women bound within bleak existences. Her stories cover a range of issues and are always entertaining. My favorite book of hers is the Mistress of Spices.
Poppy Z Brite
One of the new horror authors. Has penned several novels and Short story anthologies. Writes psychological horror with a twist of the super-natural.