A List

A list of mostly fiction available to Luiz, for reading.  A (what I hope is) eclectic mix of authors and styles, mostly from the 20th century. This is to help him broaden his writer's vocabulary.  This is not a "best of", this is not some comprehensive master list, it's based on his personal tastes, mine, and what's on hand. My only authority here is that these are books I've already read, many of them, repeatedly.  They stand out, for many reasons, some I've explained below.  They're not my favorites.  But, they have all shaped my appreciation for the art of the written word.   This is simply a cross section of my own collection. Terse, wordy, floral, sparse.  Hardcore sex,  blood and guts, fairy tales and happy endings.  What if, what did, what will never happen. Shouting and whispering. Cheesy, rich, and velvety or a brisk, bitter slap in the face.

Ernest Hemingway

The Old Man and the Sea- Short, perfectly composed. One of the greats. One of his razor-sharp finest examples. See also his short stories.

John Steinbeck

Cannery Row-THE textbook on perfect descriptive writing.

East of Eden- his magnum opus. “symbolic recreation of the biblical story of Cain and Abel woven into a history of California's Salinas Valley.” Huge in scope, and in message. It's rambling melodrama, but in a good way.

Eli Weisel

Night- Short, intense, emotional read from the perspective of a Holocaust survivor. Emotions captured in words.

Upton Sinclair

The Jungle- published in 1906. An American contemporary at the time of Crowley. Grisly, controversial, thoroughly bitter look at the “American Dream” through the eyes of an immigrant, in Chicago's meatpacking district. The writing is complex, but it's very visceral and cringeworthy. Lots of moral choices and struggling. Dark.

Stephen King

Insomnia- Difficult journey into dream-subconscious. Dream Logic.

The Talisman/The Black House- Two books that tie into the Dark Tower series. Alternate universe, horror/fantasy.

Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Skeleton Crew, Night Shift and 4 Past Midnight- Well crafted short stories, 4 past is more novellas, but still worthy reading.

Douglas Adams

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy- See where Pratchett is coming from. Drily funny British sci-fi. A real classic, for a reason. Grazes over deep subjects with a light step, and with humor.

Terry Pratchett

Any Discworld novel- Fantasy, excellent story and worldcrafting, hilarity. Light reading, witty, clever.

Good Omens

Neil Gaiman

Smoke and Mirrors, and Fragile Things- Short Stories. He's as random and eclectic in his style as anyone I know. Think of the difference between Odin and Anansi. The feel of them both. He captures it in his short stories. Dark fantasy.

Ed Greenwood

Elminster the Making of a Mage- Ed created Forgotten Realms. This is one of his early books. The story is good, flawed, and it's a little deeper than many D&D style fantasy. See the creation of one of the canonical legendary D&D characters, from the ground up. Well written? Not as good as others on the list, but for what it is, yes. Lots of magic and intrigue.

R.A. Salvatore

Homeland- Again, see the creation of a legend. Good fantasy writing, without being cheesy. Young life of Drizzt. Both Ed and R.A. Are pertinent to what you're doing with Wizard's Wrath. To write fantasy, read fantasy. This is where “drow” or dark elves were invented, as a race. He fleshes out a whole world. Crisply black and white, good vs. evil. A little predictable.

Neal Stephenson

Snowcrash- Wordy in a good way, cyberpunk, urban sci fi. Really great characters, interesting story blending Sumerian myth, biological virus and data virus. Completely unique story. WAY ahead of its time, technology wise.

Anne Rice

The Vampire Lestat

Memnoch the Devil

Tale of the Body Thief

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty

Bram Stoker

Dracula- See gothic horror at it's finest. Started what Anne built upon. A more masculine version of what Chris describes as “purple prose”. Right there with your dreamy prose feel.

Thomas Harris

The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, The Red Dragon- Visceral, suspenseful, psychological horror. Gritty, realistic, scary, doesn't spare the readers. Exemplary in that kind of writing. Chronologically, it goes Red Dragon, Lambs, then Hannibal.

James Patterson

Along Came a Spider- the first of the famous Alex Cross novels. Maybe not the best, but a great snapshot into this style of mystery thriller, gritty, realistic, crime and suspense. Very terse, stripped down writing style. Short paragraphs, short sentences. The complete opposite of Anne Rice.

Diana Gabaldon

Outlander- Epic, sweeping, lush rich historical fiction. Time travel from WW2 England to 17^th century Scotland. A little scholarly in writing, prim, stiff, yet romantic and with lots of sex. British.

Lian Hern

Grass For His Pillow- Also epic and lush, historical fiction. Set in feudal Japan. Nice writing style, definitely a good voice. Example of an American writer sounding Japanese. Ninjas.

Marion Zimmer Bradley

Mists of Avalon

Jim Butcher

Dresden Files

George RR Martin

Fevre Dream, Dreamsongs, ASOIAF series.