The Author Guy [recommend an author like Christopher Moore]

I have recently started to enjoy sitting down with a good book. I am trying to find other author’s similar to Christopher Moore. Do you know of any?

I haven’t found anyone quite like Moore (If you’ve read all his books, you might try his website, by the way – there’s some unpublished stuff there), but one tome when I was looking up his books on Amazon, the following book was listed among recommendations, apparently for some similarity. Certainly the title suggests a kinship. But I haven’t read this book, so take your chances:
Help! A Bear is Eating Me! by Mykle Hansen

And here’s the review by Christopher Moore himself:

Just had to add this. One of his other books is entitled **Rampaging Fuckers of Everything on the Crazy Shitting Planet of the Vomit Atmosphere: Three Novels
**
Compelling title. Or not

Moore always seems to draw comparisons to Carl Hiaasen, but I haven’t read any Hiaasen, so I don’t know how apt those comparisons may be.

I read and enjoy both Moore and Hiassen, but I don’t see a comparison. Tim Dorsey and Dave Barry’s novels are closer to Hiassen’s work.

I recently started reading A. Lee Martinez. I started with Monster and while not as good as most of Moore’s work*, it was a fun read and much closer in tone to Moore’s work. You might also try Robert Rankin. Both authors are heavier into science fiction/fantasy than Moore, but not so much that you think you are reading a sci-fi or fantasy novel.

*Moore’s vampire series, especially the two stories with Abbie, are horrible. Here’s hoping he travels back to Pine Cove soon. Monster was easily better than those books, in my opinion.

I don’t know any other author that combines fantasy, farce, horror, comedy, and dicklit as well as Moore does, but these are some authors with very good dicklit styles –

Mark Barrowcliffe
Nick Hornby
Mike Gayle
Mil Millington
Michael Chabon

Welcome to the SDMB, The Doughnut Thief. We ask that people use thread titles that reflect the subject. I’ve changed your thread title for you.

Hope you find some good recommendations!

twickster, Cafe Society moderator

Hehe. Well, I like both Moore and Hiassen. I recently searched on my kindle for any Christopher Moore I hadn’t read. Somehow I found one!!

So I bought the book. I began reading and realized there was something wrong. It was a great book, but not a single funny thing was going on!!:eek:

Turns out I had purchased a book by Christopher G. Moore, a different author all-together. I have since bought/read 5 more of this Christopher Moore’s works.

I knew exactly what the subject was when I saw the thread title, as would many Christopher Moore fans. His Facebook name is “The Author Guy”.

I’ve read all of Moore’s novels and I had no idea what it meant.

I agree about Martinez. I just finished Divine Misfortune and it was quite similar to Moore, both very funny and very dark at the same time. Monster was excellent, and I also loved Gil’s All-Fright Diner, In the Company of Ogres, and A Nameless Witch. Only The Automatic Detective didn’t work for me.

I also tend to think about Jasper fforde, whose Thursday Next novels are similar in tone to Moore’s, though far more fantasy oriented.

Jasper Fforde didn’t appeal to me. I only read his first, and didn’t feel compelled to continue. I did like The Automatic Detective. Divine Misfortune is on my short list of books to read (somewhere in the next 5).

I did say many fans, not every fan. :cool:

Since my earlier post I have read a couple of Hiaasen’s books. Though Hiaasen is doing crime stuff while Moore tends toward the supernatural, I do see some vague similarities. They have the same sort of wry satirical wit. Moore’s humor is just a little more broad, at least from what I’ve seen so far.

Just read Moore’s graphic novel, The Griff. I love all the guy’s novels, but I gotta say The Griff is a disjointed mess. What a disappointment.

Oh well. Looking forward to Sacre Bleu.

D_Odds, I couldn’t disagree with you more about Abbie Normal. Funniest character around. (And a great satire of a certain sort of goth chick.) But I do agree that the Pine Cove novels are a hoot, and I would like to see more of them.

To each his own (but of course, I’m right :cool: ) I’m reading the third vampire novel now, and her sections make me want to slap the taste out of her mouth.

I haven’t read Moore, but based on the Martinez recommendations, you might enjoy Martin Millar, such as The Good Fairies of New York or Lonely Werewolf Girl. Another possibility might be Simon R. Green.

I also would have expected some recommendations of Good Omens by Gaiman/Pratchett, though I’m not a particular fan of the book myself.

You could take a look at Bill Fitzhugh; maybe Pest Control or The Ogan Grinders… The comedy’s a bit darker than Moore’s I’d say.

When people ask what to read after they’ve finished all of Terry Pratchett’s books, a common recommendation is Christopher Moore…so it might work the other way also.

I would recommend Sir Terry to ANYONE, so I’m not someone you would want to trust in this regard. :slight_smile:

Pest Control was a good read, as was Radio Activity. No fantastic elements in Fitzhugh’s writing, but a fun ride with some unique characters. Along the same line, you might also consider Brian Wiprud. I’ve read Crooked, Tailed, and Sleep with the Fishes and enjoyed all three.

Not read those ones by Wiprud, but I enjoyed Pipsqueak, featuring freelance taxidermists!

What about Tom Holt? Expecting Someone Taller and Flying Dutch are pretty funny and twisted. It helps if you know your Norse mythology (or at least the Ring Cycle) when you read Taller. He’s written a lot of interesting books, including one where the world is run by frogs. Or is it? I can’t look this stuff up right now (crash-prone computer at work) but he must be on Amazon.