SciFi/Fantasy Novelists A-Z

Cafe Society
1

Roommate and I were in the library yesterday, and I was wandering around mumbling “D is for Dick” (so I didn’t forget who I was looking for), when it struck me that I probably could do the entire alphabet in Classic (or at least well-known) SciFi/Fantasy/Speculative Fiction authors.

After some discussion with roommate, we came up with the following list. I’d like to see what changes/suggestions the Dopers have, as well; for one thing, I only know American/British Islands authors for the most part.

A is for Asimov, Isaac*
B is for Bradbury, Ray*
C is for Cooper, Susan (or Clarke, Arthur C.)
D is for Dick, Philip*
E is for Ellison, Harlan*
F is for Farmer, Philip Jose (or Frazetta, Frank)
G is for Gibson, William*
H is for Heinlein, Robert A. (or Herbert, Frank)
I is for
J is for Jordan, Robert (or Jeter, K.W.)
K is for Kushner, Ellen (or Kay, Guy Gavriel)
L is for Lovecraft, H.P. (or LeGuin, Ursula)
M is for Moorcock, Michael (or McCaffery, Anne)
N is for Norton, Andre*
O is for Orwell, George
P is for Poe, Edgar Allen (or Pohl, Frederik)
Q is for
R is for Robinson, Spider (or Rowling, J.K.)
S is for Springer, Nancy (or Smith, E.E. ‘Doc’)
T is for Tolkien, J.R.R.*
U is for
V is for Verne, Jules*
W is for Wells, H.G.*
X is for
Y is for Yolen, Jane
Z is for Zelazny, Roger

(Anyone marked with an asterisk is someone I’m not changing my mind on.)

2

Oh - I know Frank Frazetta is an illustrator, but he’s still one of the “big names”…

3

Good choices, all, but I’d recommend some alternates for those who like to argue.

A: Poul Anderson (just to be contrary – I love Asimov’s essays but don’t care for his fiction).
B: Alfred Bester, Ben Bova.
C: CJ Cherryh.
D: Samuel Delany, Gordon R. Dickson.
E: George Alec Effinger (though there’s no question that Ellison comes first).
H: Robert E. Howard.
L: Fritz Leiber.
N: Larry Niven, Bjorn Nyberg.
: Fletcher Pratt.
R: Joel Rosenberg.
S: Robert Silverberg.
Z: Timothy Zahn – he can write more than just Star Wars.

Would Marion Zimmer Bradley go with Z or B?
While I have no love of her style, some would add Mercedes Lackey to the L group.

That’s all for now – I don’t have easy access to my books.

4

MZB is a B…and I thought of her, but haven’t read enough of her stuff to judge.

Also, as I hijack my own thread, but I wonder if JMS knew about Alfred Bester when he named the PsiCorp guy in B5.

5

Definately Clarke over Cooper. Clarke is… welll he just is.

K is for King, Steven perhaps?

I, Q, U, and X are gonna be tough unless you cheat with first names. (i.e. move Le Guin to U, Asimov to I (thus making room for Douglas Adams)

Oh, and Heinlein gets the nod over Herbert easily. Dune is great, but who can name more than one other Herbert book? Heinlein’s got dozens of classics under his belt.

6

Yes, Straczynski named the character as a tribute to the writer. Harlan Ellison wrote the foreword to several reissued works of Bester’s, and absolutely loved the man and his writing.

I can’t believe I skipped Douglas Adams. I must have lost my towel. :stuck_out_tongue:

If you continue to accept Frank Frazetta, I’d like to add Boris Vallejo. Great artist, and a stand-up guy. If my comic-book company had succeeded, he wanted to do some cover art for us.

7

Yes, he has specifically said as much.

8

I’d definitely pick Doc Smith, McCaffrey, and LeGuin over Springer, Moorcock, and Lovecraft, and much as I enjoy Poe, he doesn’t really fit in here too well, so go with Pohl. It’s a shame that Clarke and Orson Scott Card have to share an initial, as also with Heinlein and Herbert and Asimov and Adams (but the Three Grandmasters win). I’m not too familiar with Norton, but I doubt he can compete with Niven.

Actually, come to think of it, I’m not sure if I like LeGuin, Madeline L’Engle (or is she E?), or C. S. Lewis better for L.

9

OK, I’ve got to put in an absolutely shameless plug here.

K is for Keith, William H., Jr.

The man is an even better human being than he is a writer, and I’m not just saying that because he lets me hang out in his hot tub. :slight_smile: Seriously, he may not be as well known as Kushnell or Kay, but his books are good.

Also,

Z is for Zettel, Sarah, of Fool’s War, among others.

10

She, dear. Andre Norton is very often known as the “Grandmistress” of SciFi. She wrote the Witch World series of books, among others.

here’s a list I built on Amazon WRT this list…

(Oh, and Moorcock & Lovecraft were both selections of my roommate - I’ve never read either of them.)

11

X, of course, is for B.T.H. Xerxes, who appeared in the anthology “An ABC of Science Fiction” edited by Tom Boardman.

If you’re going to insist on someone that’s not a pseudonym, there’s Can Xue.

Q can be W. T. Quick, Arthur Quiller-Couch, or Seabury Quinn.

How about:

A – Roger MacBride Allen
B – John Gregory Betancourt
C – Hal Clement
D – Samuel R. Delany
E – Harlan Ellison
F – Raymond E. Feist
G – Alexis Gilliland
H – Joe Haldeman
I –
J – Michael Chesley Johnson
K – Donald Kingsbury
L – Jacqueline Lichtenberg
M – James Morrow
N – Vera Nazarian
O – Kevin O’Donnell Jr.
P – Terry Pratchett
Q – W. T. Quick
R – Joel Rosenberg
S – Robert J. Sawyer
T – Wilson “Bob” Tucker
U –
V – Joan D. Vinge
W – Gene Wolfe
X –
Y – Jane Yolen
Z – George Zebrowski

Just for kicks, I’ve tried to limit it to SF writers I’ve actually had face-to-face conversations with (with some cheating – Harlan was by phone and Nazarian and Quick were just e-mail and online).

12

I is for Ing, Dean?

13

With a few exceptions (Q, U and X) I’ve limited it to authors I’ve read. And HA! I’m the first one to post the whole alphabet! :wink:

A is for Aspirin, Robert who greatness was once Myth-ical.

B is for Brown, Fredrick. One of the two greatest funny SF short story authors (see “S” for the other)

C is for Campbell, John W. Decent SF author, best SF editor. Ever.

D is for De Camp, L. Sprague who gave us the “The Wheels of If” and Lest Darkness Fall

E is for Evans, E. Everett who wrote the bizarre Man of Many Minds, an EXPENSIVE sequel I’ve never seen and not much else.

F is for Finney, Jack The Body Snatchers and “The Third Level”

G is for Gernsback, Hugo who wrote Ralph 124C41+. Ever hear about the Hugo Awards? They were named for him (mainly for his editing skills). He also makes British SF reviewer psychotic because he “stole” science fiction from the Brits.

H is for Harrison, Harry who wrote Deathworld and Bill the Galactic Hero

I is for Ing, Dean who wrote so-so futuristic technothrillers long before Tom Clancy ever hunted for Red October.

J is for Jones, Diana Wynne, who’s stuff will appeal to any Harry Potter fan (try Archer’s Goon )

K is for Kuttner, Henry with his wife ( “M”, below) wrote a ton of great SF stories (“The Proud Robot” to name one)

L is for Leinster, Murray who predicted the internet in 1948. (“A Logic Called Joe”) and a bunch other stories. (or Laumer, Keith. I’m torn)

M is for Moore, C.L. Best (IMO) of the first generation of female SF authors. “Fruit of Knowledge” is one of her best short stories.

N is for Nourse, Alan E. Blade Runner (no relation) and other SF stories, many of which have a medical theme

O is for Oliver, Chad. I’ve got four books by him and haven’t gotten to any of them.

P is for Pangborn, Edgar “I’m Davy, who was king for a time. King of the Fools, and that takes wisdom”

Q is for Quick, T. W. Again, I’ve got two books by him, and I’ve never read 'em

R is for Russell, Eric Frank. Wasp and Next of Kin and lots of others.

S is for Sheckley, Robert. One of the two consistantly funny S.F. short story authors ever. (Fredric Brown is the other)

T is for Tenn, William. Another great SF short story writer.

U is for Uttley, Alison. See “Q”

V is for Vinge, Vernor. Best space-opera writer still writing SF. Won two recent Hugos (A Fire Across the Deep

W is for Watt-Evans, Lawerence. Great underrated SF/F author. Denner’s Wreck is a wonderful reexamination of Lord of Light and his Esthar series is tons of fun ( The Misenchanted Sword is a good starter.

X is for Xue, Can According to the ISFDB, one of only 3 SF writers who’s last name begins with “X”. I know nothing about him/her but she/he wrote the most

Y is for Yolen, Jane. Vaguely LeGuin-ish stort stories. Vaguely

Z is for Zebrowski, George Killing Star. Why broadcasting militarist SF is a bad idea.

14

H is for Russell Hoban, one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century; about half his novels are SF in nature.

15

I open the thread. I start reading the thread. One of my favorites is not mentioned! Oh, boy! I get to be the first…

Then I read the last post (upon preview; second to last).

I was all set to nominate Kuttner for K, but that damned Fenris beat me to it!
:wink:

16

I would like to add H. Beam Piper under P. The Fuzzy novels are just fun reading.

17

Fenris, shouldn’t de Camp be listed under C?

Quite a combination of obscure and ubiquitous authors, though. Nearly half that alphabet is unknown to me …

18

Nervous about my first post especially as it’s among those whose literary knowledge obviously surpasses mine!

A couple of authors I’d like to add that I’ve not seen above:

Peter F. Hamilton - Nights Dawn Trilogy, Greg Mandel series and Fallen Dragon - all excellent IMHO (especially the Greg Mandel series) and very technology based

Iain M. Banks - Consider Phlebas and his other SF works

Are these well known by others or have I just managed to pick obscure authors?

I know he’s been added above a couple of times but I just wanted second Larry Niven (I’ve been an avid reader of Niven since I first read one of his collaborations with Jerry Pournelle years ago).

19

For F I would submit Robert L. Forward if only for Dragon’s Egg. That is one of my favorite all time novels.

20

That’s myth-spelled. Asprin. D&R
(you know he resumed the series this year, right?)