i’m an escapist. i admit it. no particular order.

^{ursula le guin and margaret atwood- scifi/fantasy and philosophy – a match made in heaven.}

robin hobb for her vivid, detailed, and original fantasy worlds.

terry pratchett, because life on the back of a giant turtle really is that much fun and no one can intellectuallize the genre better than him.

michael moorcock – his lead character is a dark and brooding genius albino with serious family issues.

Steven Brust – witty and fun. and a fan of Dumas.

Tolkien – who else could make such a long walk so compelling?

Elizabeth Moon – for The Deed of Paksennarion – an interesting take on women in the military.

Patricia Wrede – Dealing with Dragons – for a younger crowd typically, but does a great job of mixing up the traditional fairytale/fantasy storyline.

Barry Hughart – A Bridge of Birds – a fantasy set in midieval China, with lots of humor, mythology, and heroism.

Lewis Carroll – like a tea-tray in the sky

Stephen Lawhead – i quite liked his take on the King Arthur tale. made me want to go read up on the well-known characters.

William Goldman – The Princess Bride. this story has everything,, but most of all it has humor. it gives greater detail than the film.

George R. R. Martin – because structuring a fantasy on the war of the roses was a great idea.

Mervyn Peake – because structuring a fantasy on WWII was a great idea.

Garth Nix – the abhorsen trilogy – the only books involving zombies that i have ever liked.

Guy Gavriel Kay – tigiana – poetry as literature

C.S. Lewis – i think i’m obligated to put him here because i was raised catholic. i remember enjoying him as a kid, but rereading him hasn’t been easy. the man himself though was amazing and i really like how he put his books together.

Gregory Maguire because he reminds me to take a different perspective on things.

i’m sure this list is incomplete, yet completely makes me look like a total fantasy geek. which i likely am. fantasy makes up about a third of what i read. fantasy/scifi makes up probably about half of the books i read. and the rest i split between modern lit and ‘weightier’ items.