Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
17 books/authors that influenced my writing and reading
17
items We all stand on the shoulders of giants, and it's no different for a writer like myself. Everything you read influences your own writing style and choices, and of course your later reading habits. And here are mine!
The order of this list is roughly chronological (i.e. when I read it, not when it was written), not a ranking of quality and/or preference. Also, a warning: most of these, like my writing, are SFF, and especially the early ones were written at a time...
The order of this list is roughly chronological (i.e. when I read it, not when it was written), not a ranking of quality and/or preference. Also, a warning: most of these, like my writing, are SFF, and especially the early ones were written at a time...
My author bio says “Christian fell in love with the fantastic after following Lucy through an enchanted wardrobe.” The image shows the cover of the edition I read more than 50 years ago.
(Note: no Oxford comma ;-) )
(Note: no Oxford comma ;-) )
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis
Because, duh. Without Tolkien, fantasy today would look very different, with lots of ripple effects. No orcs and elves, no D&D, no Stranger Things! We'd probably still have dragons, because, hey, dragons!
I don't own that edition with Barbara Rem...
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Added the SF to SFF. Asimov's dialogue-driven storytelling was a big influence for me.
Some of it feels quaint today—like future technology being based on nuclear power—but that doesn't detract from the solid storytelling.
Some of it feels quaint today—like future technology being based on nuclear power—but that doesn't detract from the solid storytelling.
The Foundation trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
Current me is somewhat embarrassed by this inclusion, but 12yo me loved the book, and this is supposed to be an honest list. In fact, I owned all 20 of the Tarzan books available at the time. I never liked the films, though, they were always too dumb...
Tarzan of the Apes, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Another book/series I read at least five times, and it wowed me every time.
A Wizard of Earthsea (Books of Earthsea 1)
If you grew up in the 70s in Germany, boy or girl, you probably read Karl May's adventure stories, mostly his Wild West books around the noble Apache chief Winnetou, told in 1st person perspective by his white friend Old Shatterhand. The ones set in ...
Karl May was an interesting character who pretended to actually be a widely travelled man and all his stories to be based in actual fact. Either way, he captured the imagination of millions of kids in Germany.
Karl May was an interesting character who pretended to actually be a widely travelled man and all his stories to be based in actual fact. Either way, he captured the imagination of millions of kids in Germany.
Durchs wilde Kurdistan (Across Wild Kurdistan), by Karl May
Stanislav Lem is surprisingly little known in the US, considering he is one of the giants of 20th century SF. In the current age of gen AI and Techbros running amok, he stories filled with philophical and ethical musings feel particularly appropriate reading; definitely worth a (re)read.
Stanisław Lem
Another classic I loved as a teen and later. I admit to even liking the bungled David Lynch film with Kyle MacLachlan. Dune is on my to-read list-read short list because it's one of the few modern SFF books that masterfully use third person omniscien...
Dune, by Frank Herbert
This book showed me how to think REALLY big when world building.
Ringworld, by Larry Niven
I started playing 1st edition AD&D in 1984, the year Stranger Things is set, with the same books the boys are playing with. (Although I was already a bit older.) That was when I REALLY discovered I enjoyed building worlds, and telling stories.
I still have my old campaigns settings, and the novel I am currently writing (a fantasy mystery) is set there.
I still have my old campaigns settings, and the novel I am currently writing (a fantasy mystery) is set there.
The AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide, by Gary Gygax
Heinlein's works have generally not aged all that well, but I still have fond memories of Job, a book near the top of my “most read” list. The style and irreverence was what I needed at the time.
Job: A Comedy of Justice, by Robert Heinlein
I don't think there is a fantasy author in the Western world who hasn't been influenced by Sir Terry Pratchett and his Discworld. Of those, the books where Death is the MC, or at least a major character, are my favorite. (Closely followed by Vimes an...
Mort, by Sir Terry Pratchett
Dave Duncan is my writing hero; he broke into writing in his fifties, after a long “normal” career, and continued writing for thirty years.
The first chapter of The Reluctant Swordsman is on of my favorite first chapters ever.
(Note: doesn't currently seem to be availabe for purchase.)
The first chapter of The Reluctant Swordsman is on of my favorite first chapters ever.
(Note: doesn't currently seem to be availabe for purchase.)
The Seventh Sword, by Dave Duncan
Of all Gemmell's lone wolf heroes, Waylander was the lonest. Re-read it a year ago, and it still works. (For me.)
This is book 3 of the Draenei saga; they don't have to be read as a series, though.
This is book 3 of the Draenei saga; they don't have to be read as a series, though.
Waylander, by David Gemmell
What I like about Sherri Tepper's works is how she manages to infused hope into otherwise dystopian settings; hope many of us need right now in the madness the world has become. And, of course, her writing per se is brilliant and very readable.
Raising the Stones, by Sherri S. Tepper
Grimdark before Grimdark (as a term) was a thing. I read the nine original novels (I think there are new ones coming), and enjoyed them to the end.
The Black Company, by Glen Cook
This book has the best first sentence of all. YMMV, of course. :-)
Codgerspace, by Alan Dean Foster