Jose Saramago has some great books that really explore the human condition.
this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2024
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Roger Zelazny. Even though he started in the sixties, he was active through the 70s, 80s, and early 90s until his death. Fantastic world building and characters that feel very much like real people.
Australian author Peter Corris. Over 40 years or so, he wrote a lot of Australian non-fiction, including a ~~n auto~~ biography of eye surgeon Fred Hollows, many Australian fiction books including The Winning Side (personally I think this is/should be a classic of Australian literature); and the Cliff Hardy series of Sydney-noir detective books.
Edit: thanks to those that corrected me
For me The Name of the Rose is a real masterpiece. I enjoyed The Prague Cemetery as much as Foucault's Pendulum but I'd personally put Baudolino before those two.
Edit: this was a reply for @[email protected], for some reason I keep pressing the wrong reply arrow on the Voyager app.
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Jim Butcher. He sits firmly and unapologetically in his fantasy niche, so if that's not your thing you may be disappointed, but the man writes good dialogue and he can turn a phrase.
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Oh, and for funny books, Tom Sharpe of course
Anyone mentioned John Boyne yet?
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was really a YA book, but some of his other stuff is world class. A Ladder to the Sky, Heart's Invisible Furies etc
Agree with plenty of the ones mentioned here, like: Stephenson, Egan and Murakami.
A very observant author is Peter Carey.
His wonderful book, Bliss was written in 1981 and felt like someone in 2010 looking back at the debauched mid 80s. Amazing foresight.
Roddy Doyle. Written as mainly dialogue, but with fabulous world building. Many of his books were made into movies, but they are more well known in Ireland than elsewhere. The commitments found international success. Plot wise, they’re not ground breaking, it’s his creation of characters and tackling some tough subjects.
Zadie smith. Again, slice of life, but with more of a point.
Dan brown, but only for energising thriller mysteries.
Sarah Waters
off-beat:
- Vikram Seth (polyglot) – A Suitable Boy
- Ryszard Kapuściński (journalist)
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Tad Williams low key you get no GOT or GRRM without him. If you ever read the memory, sorrow and thorn series of books you basically see where much of the inspiration for GOT came from
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Charles Bukowski's first novel was published in 1971.
Mikel Santiago in Spanish. So engaging.
Andy McNabb
To add one I haven't seen: Jane Smiley. I really enjoyed The Greenlanders, A Thousand Acres and Horse Heaven.
To me, it has to be Steven Erikson. Malazan series is simply amazing.