I have a voracious apetite for media. Be it movies, video games, literature, or music, I explore every aspect. Initially, I was finding what my synesthesia liked (for those who don't know what synesthesia is, this article here should explain it in general and this article here explains my specific form of it). As I began to understand more abstract concepts, and I admit abstract concepts did take me a while to understand with me being a high functioning autistic, I started to appreciate media in a whole new light. I am indeed a synesthesiate first, and there are things which trigger my synesthesia in the most pleasant way possible (hence why I collect vinyl almost obsessively). But that's not what this post is about. No, there are authors who constantly churn out something refreshing, unique, and just a damn good read. So, the point of this post is twofold: 1) I want to honor some of those authors who's name alone on a book is reason enough for me to buy it, and 2) I want to make recommendations to other people who love books as much as I do. Now, because of this second point I'm not going to spend a lot of time explaining about some authors such as H.P. Lovecraft. Sure, I love the hell out of Lovecraft but who hasn't read at least one of his works? (And if you happen to fall into that category and you read for pleasure, you've done yourself a great disservice.) So without further ado, a list of authors who I love and who you should check out.
Have you ever watched a movie or read a book and gone "Man, THAT was the spoiler? That's what I was holding out on? Man, there could have been so much more that could have been done!" Well, Larry Correia's writing is the exact opposite of that. His plots are a lot a like Pulp Fiction: overall they are simple and straightforward while being chock full of mini-plots. He uses mysteries such as Jake Sullivan's family ties in Grimnoir Chronicles and the origins of Skippy in Monster Hunter to construct these awesome mini-plots. He does this in the best ways possible, such as adding layers to his balls out action in Monster Hunter or thickening the plot in Grimnoir Chronicles.
But Pulp Fiction-esque mini plots are just one aspect of his writing. He also has fast paced, amazingly detailed gunfights such as Lorenzo's frantic run and gun scene through a public square in Dead Six (when Valentine throws a wrench in Lorenzo's plans about halfway through the book). Personally, I love the gun detail. Nothing boots me out of a story faster than seeing rising action to a fight scene where bullets and fists will be flying, and then the character takes the safety off on their Glock. It's like saying, "I got into my car through the trunk." It looks out of place and therefore is an immersion breaker. Larry also has the right balance of hilarity and seriousness in his characters in Monster Hunter. He has genuine charm in the moments the main crew of characters share in Grimnoir Chronicles. But these are just the aspects of his writing which immediately come to mind. There are so many layers to his writing that to classify it into a certain genre would be erroneous. It's his own style entirely.
Now for those who have read my other blog posts here or some of my instagram posts you'll know that I love Larry's work. A lot. I've given in-depth reviews of his stuff, and it's easy for me to gush over his stories, but I'll briefly sum them up for people looking for recommendations and not a college dissertation.
Grimnoir Chronicles
A Tolkien style sprawling trilogy of epic fantasy, Correia provides a simultaneously tantalizing and horrific look into an alternate history of mankind by asking a simple question: How would things change if humanity had magical powers? This simple question has a lot of thought given into it, and history buffs will love the subtle nods all throughout this series. Correia also packs the series full of gritty action, and somehow still finds the time necessary to really flesh out his universe, including but not limited to the technology of the time, the magic system, and the different factions jockeying for a position in the ever ongoing struggle for power known as politics. There are moments that provoke all the right emotions, both heroic and tragic. He even finds time to put in poetic justice. The icing on the cake is the sci-fi elements which take something from everything. Just a small amount of what's in the series includes pirates, demons, and zombies (oh my!). There are unique spins on all of the elements in the series, but the zombies in particular are worth a mention.
The zombies in the Grimnoir Chronicles have done the impossible: they have been made entirely original since George A. Romero first introduced them. The zombies are much more than just monsters- they're tragic tales of unfortunate people who fell victim to what's called Lazarus magic in the book. Rather than simply reanimate the body into an empty shell, their souls get chained to their bodies. Their entire consciousness is stuck in a dead rotting corpse. They feel pain that will never subside from wounds that will never heal, and this slowly eats away at their sanity until they replace it with nothing but hunger. It also raises the question of what would happen should they overrun a city. This is explored in detail with the character Heinrich Koenig, who (almost) upstages the stars of the show: Faye Vierra, an underdog in her own right who walks the hard path of a hero and Jake Sullivan, a hardened war hero/ex-con/private eye who's far more complex than he initially appears.
I've mentioned above that this series has genuine charm. This is in several forms. The most tangible is the dialogue. There are moments in the middle of fearsome battles and morbid situations where characters lighten the moment by saying the right thing at the right time, rather than making a common noir mistake of being a dark mood the entire time. Then there's the main characters themselves who people come to root for, and each for different reasons. The chiefest of this is Faye, her being a backwards hayseed bumpkin who could put Stephen Hawking to shame in a battle of wits. Her idiosyncrasies come out in full when she attempts to describe her uniquely genius perspective of the world to other characters, but you'll love her the most when she deals with immeasurable struggles. She's forced to stare into the abyss, and as the abyss stares back at her the reader will see just how brave Faye is, whether it's the hero facing down monumental challenges or the frightened little girl on the inside dealing with the hardships of being mistreated and abused.
There are a bunch of side characters who get time in the limelight as well. Some get way too little time, such as Lady Origami who's POV scene comes depressingly late in the series, but for the most part characters get just the right amount of attention (another reason why Heinrich doesn't upstage the main characters is this balance Correia does so well). What I love the most though is how horrific and tantalyzing this universe is. There are many fantasy worlds a lot of people would love to be in. The Shire? I'd love to, Mr. Baggins! Narnia? Of course! Hogwarts? Gryffindor, here I come! But this alternate history? I'm honestly not sure if this would be something I'd like to exist in, it really makes me think and that's what I love the most about this series.
Final verdict: I was blown away by the layers upon layers of intelligent writing in this trilogy. Every time I read the Grimnoir Chronicles I find something new that I like, and I've read the entire series easily at least 20 times. It is evidence of craft mastered. To say that they're exceptional books is doing them a disservice- they should be used as a model for fiction all across the board.
Monster Hunter (Ongoing)
More nuanced than the Grimnoir Chronicles, Monster Hunter is still a hell of an adrenaline rush. It centers around a family of Southerners called the Shacklefords who run a family business of bounty hunting. However, instead of killing wanted criminals (re: humans), they go after things that go bump in the night. The badder the beastie, the bigger the bounty. The catch is that they, like all people in the monster hunting business, have to keep the existence of monsters hush hush from the unsuspecting masses. But because it's so secret, there isn't really a lot of competition, at least not in the beginning of the series. Being shrewd businessmen (and women) the Shackelfords have clawed their way to the top of this lucrative trade. Along the way, the Shackleford family recruits survivors of monster attacks, which is where the main character fits in to the story.
The main character, Owen Pitt, is a seamless melding of gun toting badass and lovable doofus. His shooting skills impress hardened ex-military men and his social ineptness offers plenty of comic relief. He's like Jayne Cobb fused with Scott Pilgrim. The supporting characters in this series are like no other I've seen, too. Owen Pitt's best friends, Holly and Trip, will really resonate with the reader. Holly is a stripper who has to work extra hard to make it through nursing school. She was the proverbial "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" character- that is until tragedy in the form of a monster attack strikes. She becomes one of the most loyal and devoted characters in the book along the way, and this is in a group of people who would get mauled by a group of ghoulies for another to have even a fighting chance. Holly puts up a tough front front for sure, but underneath it all is secretly terrified of others being hurt the same way she has been. She's a character that's done with such taste. Then there's Trip, who's easily one of my favorite characters I've ever come across. His high intellectual capacity, deeply compassionate heart, and ultra nerdy personality are all at odds with his thuggish appearance and extreme athletic prowess. He's a complicated man, and often times dealing with conflict of character or personal pain, but he'd never turn his back on a friend for any reason. He is also one of the most effective members in the group, boasting a skillset so broad it makes the seasoned veterans nod in appreciation. Trip is a great dynamic character, but he's doubly interesting for a separate reason. Horror has the rather annoying tendency to go one of a few stale ways with black guys: either they're simply the first to die for blood and gore's sake, they're the sensitive intellectual type who's tastelessly a victim of everything, or they're one-dimensional robot-like killing machines bundled together with muscle. It's so refreshing to see how much Trip breaks the mold.
There are a handful of other outlandish characters, including a tribe of orcs. In fact, I'd say check out the series just to see what Correia does with orcs, elves, and gnomes. The orcs are similar to Vikings of the old ages or the Bushido code of the Samurai. They worship noble and strong warriors, and they are a tightly knit tribe. They're as every bit useful as they are hilariously backwards (their idea of helicopter maintenance is to sacrifice a chicken to the tail rotor). There are 3 main orcs that will roll into battle with Owen throughout the series. It's awesome to see how much they kick ass and how much another character, Julie Shackleford, deals with them like an exasperated schoolteacher on a field trip with her kindergartners.
The action scenes are controlled chaos on the grandest scale possible. In the course of half a chapter, Frankenstein's creation working as an agent for the federal government teams up with a mercenary werewolf to take down an armored zombie elephant and the necromancer riding it. There's a lot of gun porn and jabs at the government as well. Vehicles are given special love at times, including a tricked out Russian Hind and a mystical priest assassin's Ducati motorcycle. These nuances are done in a bit of excess, though. They're not quite as balanced as Grimnoir Chronicles, but that doesn't mean the books lose all entertainment. In fact, I found them to be quite enjoyable even with all their flaws. Even when there's a lot of samey-ness and redundancy, Correia's writing flows so well that the books are all at the very least an enjoyable read.
Final Verdict: In particular, I'd recommend Monster Hunter International (a great start to the series), Monster Hunter Vendetta (everything a good sequel should be, I especially liked how it provided closure for certain characters without coming up with any half assed explanations like "this was just magically here the whole time"), and Monster Hunter Nemesis (a Bourne Supremacy type story meets every creature feature ever, told from the perspective a one man paranormal wrecking ball with a fury fueled by his eons old existence). This series is much more down to personal preference than Grimnoir Chronicles but it's definitely not worth overlooking.
By the way, if you like that hunter wrestling a werewolf picture: it was done by a guy named Ben McSweeney. Correia even gives him a shoutout on his blog here.
Dead Six (Co-written with Mike Kupris)
Boasting a complex plot and adrenaline pumping action, Dead Six is full of bullet riddled twists and turns. There is a ton of high tech gear, too, including the personal loadouts of a hacker goth, a master thief, and an old school gunslinger. Full Metal Jacket rules apply to this book, too. If you don't know what that means: just because a character is central to the plot, it certainly does not mean that they'll be spared.
Dead Six is more about gun battle based action seeped in government conspiracy, but that doesn't mean that there aren't political statements made either. In fact, this book takes place in 3rd world countries, western societies, personal bunkers, and completely obscure tribal villages. It has a bit to say about each, but it won't distract from the action for those like me who prefer bullets to politics in literature.
Final Verdict: Dead Six isn't as balls out as Correia's other works, but it's definitely great for its own reasons. People who enjoy complex plot lines would definitely enjoy this book.
Paul S. Kemp
Paul S. Kemp is a writer for just about all things sci-fi and fantasy, including but not limited to Star Wars and swords & sorcery. Kemp's writing style is so perfect for Star Wars. He uses each character's personal connection to the Force to create multiple layers of juxtaposition, which gives his Star Wars books their own type of immersion. He describes settings in a nice balance of nerdiness and vibrancy. His scenes are alive in a way few other books' are.
Paul S. Kemp is a writer for just about all things sci-fi and fantasy, including but not limited to Star Wars and swords & sorcery. Kemp's writing style is so perfect for Star Wars. He uses each character's personal connection to the Force to create multiple layers of juxtaposition, which gives his Star Wars books their own type of immersion. He describes settings in a nice balance of nerdiness and vibrancy. His scenes are alive in a way few other books' are.
Star Wars: Crosscurrent and Riptide (dualogy)
You know how Star Wars is a giant metaphor for good vs evil? The movies are great metaphors for this, but personally I think Star Wars makes better books than movies because with books you can see inside a character's head, so there's layers of external good vs evil as well as internal good vs evil. Kemp writes Man vs Man (or Alien) as much as he writes Man vs Self, it's a really interesting perspective of Force users.
Another way Kemp's writing is spectacular is how he uses each character's personal connection to the Force as a way to create multiple layers of juxtaposition. For example, he describes an Umbrean Sith's connection to the Force compared to an insane Force-sensitive clone's connection to the Force. It's really interesting to see not only how Light Side users perceive the Dark Side and vice-versa, but also how Light Side/Dark Side users perceive other Light Side/Dark Side users.
Aside from that, Kemp uses the unknown to incredible storytelling use. For example, the main characters interact with Rakatan technology at one point in the book. Kemp never tells you how the Rakatan technology works, keeping it mysterious enough that it's unnerving but the reader isn't completely lost by it. Kemp's writing style flows incredibly well, too, and the pacing of the fights make them incredibly thrilling. Kemp writes non-canon universes, which I understand aggravates some people, but I personally don't mind how canon a universe is. I care about how well a content creator can utilize the universe in their storytelling. For example: I don't care that Star Trek: Into Darkness wasn't canon because JJ Abrams did such a fantastic job with the story, as well as giving many subtle nods to The Wrath of Khan. Kemp is definitely a master of non-canon universes, and he's a big fan himself so other fans can be sure that he won't ignore what originally made Star Wars good.
Final Verdict: Out of the hundreds among thousands of Star Wars books out there, Kemp's stand out very well. I personally enjoyed Riptide a lot more than Crosscurrent, and as both are standalone books, I'd recommend Riptide a lot more.
Star Wars The Old Republic: Deceived
This Star Wars universe is much more canon than Crosscurrent and Riptide, as it's a prequel to a video game. Fans of Kemp's writing will be pleased to hear that this doesn't downplay the many strengths in his writing.
Like his dualogy, Kemp writes from the perspective of both Light Side and Dark Side Force users. He also writes from the perspective of hustlers, which in this case is space cowboy Zeerid. Zeerid, or Z-Man as his colleagues know him, is a former military man who accumulated debts in medical expenses after his discharge. As a result, he took to lucrative but less than legitimate work. Along the way, he makes friends with Jedi knight Aryn Leneer, a Light Side force user who's most sensitive connection to the Force is through empathizing with others. A kind and strong-hearted woman, Aryn is Zeerid's rock. And to her, Zeerid is the fleeting promise of adventure the Jedi Academy never gave her.
The antagonists include a brilliant ruthless warrior (who will appear in the video games) as well as an unscrupulous and deadly trained rogue named Vrath. What I like about the characters is how they're almost all on the wrong side of the law. Zeerid and Vrath are hustlers, and Aryn is disobeying direct Jedi orders including violating an armistice. The only legitimate character is the one most definitely defined as evil- the Sith warrior. Kemp is a master of juxtaposition.
Final Verdict: Those who really appreciate abstract themes in books will certainly love the intricacies in this one. The really big Star Wars fans such as myself (and when I say big fan, I can name the make and model of Han Solo's blaster) will love how canon this book is.
Keep your eyes peeled for Kemp's newest Star Wars book which is going to be dropping soon: Lords of the Sith.
Egil & Nix series
Paul S. Kemp's tales of Egil & Nix is like a D&D lover decided to take a step up from P&P RP and write a book series. (If you need that sentence de-nerded: a massive dungeons and dragon geek decided to go geekier than drawing and writing down characters and quests, which is called pen and paper role playing, and write full novels.) Chock full of adventure and monster lore, the story takes place from the eponymous Egil and Nix, who are as different as night day. Nix is a thief who moved up/clawed his way up in the world but never forgot his humble beginnings and how he came from nothing. Nix's moral alignment is Chaotic Neutral. Egil is a warrior priest, kind of like a ripped Xiaolin Monk, with a caged fury. Egil's moral alignment is Lawful Neutral. They squabble regularly (and I especially love the Swords & Sorcery spin Kemp puts on the straight man-funny man thing Egil and Nix do), but they'd lay their lives down for each other in a moment's notice. It's an unlikely friendship between unlikely heroes, which is where this series gets its charm.
The magic is nerdgasmic, ranging from summoning sylphs, to mind flaying seductress sisters, to spell worm conjuring sorcerers. The plot line can be a little bland at times, but Kemp's scenery is so vibrant and his writing style flows so well that it more than makes up for the plot. There's also quite possibly the strongest sense of justice I've seen in a book with murky morality, you'll find how warped and broken some of the heroes who emerge in the series can be. It's difficult to define many characters as good or evil because they blur the lines so much. I found in one scene I was rooting for Nix dealing with obnoxious molesting drunks while in the next scene flabbergast at his sheer inconsideration for another character. He's as every bit a righteous fury ass kicker as he is an anti-hero. It especially provides an interesting dynamic for Egil and Nix when they ask each other, "are we bad people?"
Final Verdict: While there are some definite holes in the series, Paul S. Kemp has written great swords and sorcery tales. They're significantly shorter than the sprawling series standard, Lord of the Rings, but they're as every bit packed with fantasy. Kemp is a true fan, and it definitely shows in his writing.
Tony DiTerlizzi
If you pass Tony DiTerlizzi off as just an illustrator, you're doing yourself a disservice. While he's an amazing illustrator (example of his work is below), he's also a fantastic writer. He creates children's books with underlying themes so perennial any adult can appreciate them as much as children will love the colorful characters and settings.
Spiderwick Chronicles (co-written with Holly Black)
Similar to Larry Correia's Monster Hunter International series, The Spiderwick Chronicles are about a world of monsters that exists right under our noses. However, unlike Larry's series, Tony and Holly's series focuses much more on Fey rather than B-Movie Beasties. The best way I can describe how the faeries in this book interact with us is how the Ethereal Plane and the Material Plane overlap in Dungeons & Dragons. We can't detect them, but we can physically interact with them as they can with us. There are ways of seeing them and entering their world, however, which is where the main characters come in. While many monsters gravitate towards the gentler bends of chaos, many more of evil alignments exists such as hordes of goblins, supremacist elves, and even trolls under the bridge.
For those of you worried about the typical fey stereotypes (graceful elves, dumb hungry trolls, cowardly goblins, etc.) rest assured that Tony and Holly give each of them their own quirks. There are also lesser known creatures of lore that appear, such as a Phookah and Stray Sod. They also stick true to traditional lore in that iron burns faeries. Any fan of monsters and pagan lore would find The Spiderwick Chronicles comfortably familiar yet enjoyably quirky.
This series, like much of Tony's other works, are oriented towards a young audience. (Holly writes for more mature readers who still enjoy a laugh, if you want to see this in full read the book Zombies vs. Unicorns, and yes that's hilariously awesome as it sounds.) However, the testament to Tony's work is how adults can enjoy each of the novels for their own reasons. It's in a lot of the same sense that children and adults can enjoy Calvin & Hobbes for different reasons. My favorite one in the series is the field guide, because it offers a much more in depth look at the fey Tony and Holly wrote in.
Final Verdict: This is one of the book series that I grew up on, when I was 12 I read the hell out these as well as Margret Peterson Haddix's Shadow Children series. As a result, it's very dear to my heart. The delicate beauty of the faeries is the strongest aspect of this series.
WondLa trilogy
The WondLa trilogy is Tony DiTerlizzi's amazing look at a chaotically foreign yet hauntingly familiar world. The series takes place from the perspective of Eva Nine, a human grown in an underground bunker and raised by robots. Eva is the perfect protagonist, being someone the child readers can relate to while being someone adult readers can appreciate. The challenges Eva faces are addling and at times beyond her child sized understanding, but her resourcefulness, perseverance, and infallible compassion shine the entire time.
Tony DiTerlizzi's chronicles of Eva Nine, the 9 year old proverbial stranger in a strange land, are riddled with the beauty of his oracular illustrations. Coupled with the diverse descriptions, WondLa comes alive and beautiful in a way few other pieces of literature can match. This alone is reason enough to pick up this series.
Final Verdict: This series can best be described as a Tolkien style trilogy written by Ray Bradbury. Like Grimnoir Chronicles, the WondLa trilogy is evidence of craft mastered. Eva's epic treks so far from home across so many landscapes would leave even Frodo Baggins green with envy. The ways the futuristic technology work and have been integrated into day to day life are definitely influenced by Bradbury, as well. This is one of the great sci-fi series out there, and the final book in the trilogy will be available soon. Be sure not to miss it!
The WondLa trilogy is Tony DiTerlizzi's amazing look at a chaotically foreign yet hauntingly familiar world. The series takes place from the perspective of Eva Nine, a human grown in an underground bunker and raised by robots. Eva is the perfect protagonist, being someone the child readers can relate to while being someone adult readers can appreciate. The challenges Eva faces are addling and at times beyond her child sized understanding, but her resourcefulness, perseverance, and infallible compassion shine the entire time.
Tony DiTerlizzi's chronicles of Eva Nine, the 9 year old proverbial stranger in a strange land, are riddled with the beauty of his oracular illustrations. Coupled with the diverse descriptions, WondLa comes alive and beautiful in a way few other pieces of literature can match. This alone is reason enough to pick up this series.
Final Verdict: This series can best be described as a Tolkien style trilogy written by Ray Bradbury. Like Grimnoir Chronicles, the WondLa trilogy is evidence of craft mastered. Eva's epic treks so far from home across so many landscapes would leave even Frodo Baggins green with envy. The ways the futuristic technology work and have been integrated into day to day life are definitely influenced by Bradbury, as well. This is one of the great sci-fi series out there, and the final book in the trilogy will be available soon. Be sure not to miss it!
Chris Riddell
Political cartoonist, storytelling master, and artist extraordinaire Chris Riddell has a very experienced craft. One thing about Chris's writing is that it's rife with politics, which I often times disagree with (I'm a right winger and Chris is staunchly left wing) but I've never seen a difference in politics as a reason for ignoring or shunning a content creator. Personally, I appreciate the difference and would encourage others not to put off content creators simply due to differing views. I recommend Chris for the same reason I recommend the others on this list: because he's a very adept writer.
Edge Chronicles (ongoing, co-written with Paul Stewart)
The Edge Chronicles is a unique series in many ways. They're done a lot alike Guillermo Del Toro's films in the sense that they're so surreal you won't catch even half the things the first time through. The plots are a lot alike Firefly, if it was written by Dr. Seuss. Another way this series is unique is that the main storyline is done in 3 trilogies, each taking place from the perspective of different generations of the same family line. The original trilogy takes place from the POV of Twig, a boy abandoned in the forest and raised by a tribe of troll subrace known as woodtrolls. Later, Twig later becomes a sky pirate aboard a crew with a legendary captain (which is where the Firefly similarities will start creeping in). Twig's father, Cloud Wolf, gets a prequel trilogy. His true name is Quintinius Verginix, and this series is about Quint's journey from deckhand and lowly academic apprentice to scholarly knight and his birthright of sky pirate captain. Then Twig's grandson, Rook Barkwater, gets a sequel trilogy about life 50 years after Twig disappears into the heart of the Deepwoods with his loyal crew, never to be seen again. There are additional installments in the series now hundreds of years later down the timeline. There are things like man eating trees, floating cities, countless subraces, and vibrant settings that make this universe very interesting.
The main characters are all fantastically dynamic, but they don't steal the show from the other characters. Even the minor characters who appear for all of a few chapters manage to tug on the heartstrings. This is done mainly through how masterfully Chris and Paul balance tragedy and heroism. It's done on grand scales as well as individual levels, externally as well as internally. My favorite character, Maugin, is an example of such balance. She's the most loyal, practical, and rational of all the characters in the series and someone you'd want by your side through thick and thin. However, she's also one of the most tragic characters I've ever seen. I don't want to spoil anything, but Maugin was thrown into tumult by bitter, capricious fate.
Other characters who will exemplify the blend of tragedy and heroism include Tem Barkwater and Captain Wind Jackal. While there are many good things about the books, it's the characters that will certainly draw you in the most.
Final Verdict: The Edge Chronicles is my absolute favorite book series. The whimsical wordplay, endearing characters, and moments of raw emotion make this series a masterpiece in its own right. The layers of intelligent writing are on par with the Grimnoir Chronicles and the abstract themes that permeate throughout the entire series are beautifully intricate. My favorite thing about it is how it balances great tragedy and great heroism.
(I'm posting a lot of pictures of this series because Chris Riddell is such an amazing artist. Easily one of my favorites.)
