Literature page


Top 10 authors

1. Stanislaw Lem
This man is a true giant of mind! The word to describe his text would be 'intelligent'.
Some books are totally hilarious, some books are dead serious, but they all make you think
and that's the most important function of science fiction literature in my opinion.
(Especially Recommended Books: The Cyberiad, The Star Diaries,
Peace on Earth, Solarias, Eden...)

2. H.P. Lovecraft
Lovecraft's short stories are very delicate horror stories.
But even that the stories stay at a very discreet level, they torn your mind apart.
The horror is found on unknown. And on something, which cannot be known. And once you've stepped
into this world of paranoia, it's impossible to keep those images of horror away anymore...
(ERB: just about any short stories)

3. J.R.R. Tolkien
Middle-earth is the greatest imaginary universe in literature.
Tolkien is a great (the greatest!) storyteller and he has very thoroughly thought every detail in this world.
It's a perfect story. And the old style language he uses makes it a real fantasy which takes reader complitely to this another world.
(ERB: The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales)

4. Philip K. Dick
Who are we and what is reality? These are the questions to arise when you read Philip K. Dick's books.
His dark world can be scary, but it's still strangely intrigueing; after all, it's the dark world of our own mind...
(ERB: A scanner darkly)

5. Strugatski, Arkadi & Boris
Yes, these are actually two people, but they are brothers and worked sometimes together,
so they maybe counted as one, I think. These are Russian science fiction authors and their text
might seem a bit weird at first. But anyway, these books give you definitely
an experience hard to forget. Try them!
(ERB: Definitely Maybe, Hard to Be God)

6. Willian Gibson
The father of cyberpunk. It's really difficult to believe that Neuromancer was written already in 1984!
It's a great story about computer networks and big corporations with lots of power.
This is again one of those books written by a man with a great vision of his own.
(ERB: Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive)

7. Robert A. Heinlein
I haven't read too many books by Heinlein, but those I've read have been excellent!
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is absolutely one of the best books I've ever read.
'Intensive' is probably the word to describe these trips to Heinlein's strange universes.
(ERB: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Job: A Comedy of Justice)

8. John Varley
I've only read one book by Varley. It was a short story collection called Good-bye, Robinson Crusoe.
Those stories in the book are very humane and positive stories about humanity and how people change in a developing world.
This book affects deeply on emotional level and in that way it differs a lot from other books on this list.
(ERB: Good-bye, Robinson Crusoe)

9. Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams is a man with a great imagination and very extraordinary sense of humor.
There isn't really any dull moment in his books. But in addition to the well Hitch Hiker's Guide series,
Adams has also written Dirk Gently series, which is maybe less 'crazy'
but has similarily fascinating humor and is absolutely worth reading.
(ERB: The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency)

10. Ursula Le Guin
Ursula Le Guin is great author in creating different kind of utopia like societies.
The Earthsea Trilogy is a wonderful magic world, but it's probably more suitable for younger readers.
Worlds described in books by Ursula Le Guin are very realistic and real
problems of our societies are shown from a different point of view.
(ERB: The Dispossessed, The Left Hand of Darkness)

And of course there are lots of other good writers I didn't mention.
Maybe I'll write top 20 someday...


To get more detailed information (like biographies) about these authors, visit Link�ping Science Fiction and Fantasy Archive.


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