Lists!
I decided it'd be entreating to do a few "Top 10 lists" to break out of my writing funk/block. Opinions are like farts. We all have them and it's fun to cut loose a little (even if those around us don't always appreciate them as much as we do). You'll be seeing a few of these on Mondays to help fill in the gaps. I'm starting with books, because the point of all this was to get writing!
This was a fun list to research, but since I've never made recorded a list of what I've read it probably has errors. Multiple authors I wrote on my initial list ended up falling off as I dug deeper! Then there are a ton of authors I have read 8 or 9 books from lurking just outside the top 10.
The short list:
- David Weber
- Michael Stackpole
- R.A. Salvatore
- Margaret Weis
- Robert Asprin
- Simon R Green
- Robert Jordan
- Brandon Sanderson
- Dan Abnett
- Loren L Coleman
- *Robin Hobb* (Already wrote up her blurb and realized I'd left off Asprin! Oops!)
The long list:
Honorable Mention: There are a ton of writers I knew I read a bunch from that hopped on and off the list as I sorted things out: Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson + others), William King (Gotrek and Felix, Ragnar), William H Keith Jr (Gray Death Legion), Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game, Enchantment), John Ringo for referencing Sluggy Freelance, Lynne Reid Banks for all The Indian in the Cupboard books, Bernard Cornwell for the Sharpe historical fiction series...the list goes on, and on.
11.* Robin Hobb - Robin went up on my first draft. I've read a ton of trilogies. I only read one trilogy from many authors, but I knew I'd read books from 4 of Robins. I enjoyed both of Fitz's trilogies. I know I read at least the first two from the LiveShip Traders Trilogy. I think I had to return or lost the library book of the third and never got back to it. I started the Soldier's Son trilogy, but never went beyond the first book. Her books were all big, so I let that break a bunch of ties with other authors I've read the same number of books from. *I wrote this before I realized Robin wouldn't make the list! I didn't feel like deleting it though, so you get a bonus pick.*
Total count = 9 books
10. Loren L Coleman - Battletech is the IP I've read the most of. It's not high literature, but it is fun. I played the board game at Bill and Dan's, loved the robots (before they got sued by Harmony Gold), and happened upon a book at the school library (The Sword and the Dagger by Ardath Mayhar). The IP became something of a comfort/junk food read for me. Loren L Coleman is one of the more prolific Btech writers. He wasn't my favorite author, but I liked the IP and he was fun. It's like the french fries you have on hand when you're hungry. As long as someone didn't screw them up, you know you're going to eat through them.
Total = 10 books (and +1 as an editor)
9. Dan Abnett - Dan Abnett writes for comics, too, but he made this list purely from Warhammer fiction. I really enjoyed his novels about Gaunt's Ghosts and that led me to read others of his. John McG was a big fan and passed me Titanticus and other books of his. Some of Abnett's endings were abrupt and a little anti-climatic, but the novels were always action packed fun. There are other Black Library authors who I've almost read as much of, but Abnett got the final victory.
Total count = 11 books (I think...maybe 8 Gaunts' Ghosts, Titanicus, and 2 from Eisenhorn? I don't think I finished the last of that trilogy)
8. Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn: The Final Empire blew my mind. The rest of the trilogy wasn't as amazing, but it sealed in my mind that BrandoSando as an author to pay attention to. He helped finished the Wheel of Time (an incredible, nigh impossible feat), and I've enjoyed other books of his as well (Steelheart, Warbreaker, some Alloy of Law, Stormlight Archives). He's also an author I will probably continue to read even more of in the future. During COVID, he posted his creative writing course online. I enjoyed going through it with Matt, so Sanderson' probably the most watched author on this list! Bonus points from being from Nebraska, as well.
Total count = 13 books (so far)
7. Robert Jordan - It's fitting that RJ comes right next to Brandon Sanderson, because they're linked. The Wheel of Time is one of my favorite series of all time. The books are massive. Based on word count, RJ would rank higher. Unfortunately, RJ passed away from cardiac amyloidosis before he could finish his series. He knew the end was coming, though. He talked to his wife and left copious notes which allowed her to select Brandon Sanderson to write the final books. RJ wrote the first 11 books and the prequel. I heard he wrote most of the final battle in book 14 (a "chapter" in name only of over 200 pages!), but don't have a source at hand. It's not a perfect series, but it would easily make the cut if I did a list on my favorite novel series.
Total count = 15 books (including the ones posthumously).
6. Simon R Green - The next author was just fun. The Deathstalker series doesn't pretend to be realistic. It's swordfights and guns in space with aliens, cybernetics, ELFs, a Clone Liberation Front, and an evil queen nicknamed the Iron Bitch. The teenage me loved it. I picked up the audiobook cheap and got ~3/4 through before I found the violence too much for me now. The humor held up. There are quips of banter I can quote, "suddenly, violently, and all over the place." There were 8 large books in the Deathstalker series. I was ready for more afterward. However, while I enjoyed Blue Moon Rising, Beyond the Blue Moon, and multiple Nightside books (I *think* at least 4), I noticed Simon reused catchphrases and descriptors. I felt like Owen and Hazel had been reskinned as Hawk and Fisher and the Nightside was different, but I kept hearing echoes that were too familiar. Drinking Midnight Wine was a standalone. Simon is a niche pick. I feel like he could be a fun author for the right person, but a huge miss for others.
Total count = 16 books (probably)
5. Robert Asprin - I loved the M.Y.T.H. and Phule books. Think magical, buddy comedy with lots of banter and hijinks that isn't completely off the wall zany. The books were short. That's what helped but Asprin on this list. I think Another Fine Myth can be under 200 pages based on the page and print size. I re-read it once in roughly two hours (lots of dialogue!). I read Asprin mostly in high school, but I picked up the audiobook of Another Fine Myth and Phule's Company for cheap on audible. They were both 4 out of 5's for me with Myth aging much better over time than Phule's. I didn't grab the second audiobook for either series, but may if a big enough sale hits (I'd be more inclined to grab more MYTH books, because the first 2 Phule books are vastly better than the rest IMO).
Total count = 17 books minimum (13+ from MYTH, 3+ from Phule's, For King and Country)
4. Margaret Weiss (+ Tracy Hickman) My first draft put Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman at the top of the list. I wasn't sure if I should list them together or put Hickman at number 2. The pair worked together on the Dragonlance novels (of which I read a ton). They also worked together on the Deathgate Cycle with Haplo (I read at least 4 of those). Margaret did write without Hickman, though. I found her Star of the Guardians books at a used book store long, long ago (The Book Rack in Beaumont?). The laser swords were almost a Star Wars knock off, but they injected a virus that led to a sacrifice play by a bodyguard I remember to this day. However, when I tried to count I found multiple books I thought the pair wrote in Dragonlance weren't written by them. Mary Kirchoff wrote the Defenders of Magic Trilogy amongst others. Richard Knaak got his start writing some great Dragonlance novels before he shifted to WarCraft. The final tally dethroned the pair, but I will still always remember them for Tasselhoff, Fizban, and making Fireball such a wonderful spell.
Total count = 17 books minimum. Beats Asprin in the tie-breaker due to length of her books
3. R.A. Salvatore - I guessed Salvatore at #2 on my initial list. I burned through Drizzt books and The Cleric Quintet in high school. I eventually burned out on Drizzt after 11 or 12 books, but that alone would've put R.A. on this list. I picked up The Crystal Shard in audiobook format for only $5. Spoken aloud, Crenshinibon sounded way too much like Cinnabun! I probably won't purchase any more, but it was a nostalgic listen. Even as a teenager I could tell that Drizzt was meant/written to be a side character, but he grew and took over the story. It's not high literature, but I found that interesting. Exile, the 3rd prequel where Drizzt first reaches the surface, is probably my favorite. I've read it two or three times. I enjoyed Salvatore's Crimson Shadow trilogy and the first book in the Demon Awakens Trilogy, but the Forgotten Realms novels are what I know him for. I did not read the infamous Star Wars book where he killed off Chewbacca, but I know it exists!
Total count = 22 books (Maybe 23?)
2. Michael Stackpole - Stackpole wrote for Battletech and Star Wars: Two IPs I like. I first read him in Battletech (which I preferred to Star Wars). Stackpole wrote a lot of the mainline plot novels for Battletech and the game/universe fascinated me. He's not my favorite Btech author, but he wrote many of my favorite events (and did it well). Eventually, I read all the Btech books and I needed more things to read. I liked Star Wars and Timothy Zahn introduced me to Thrawn. Stackpole came soon after when I saw he wrote a series on Rogue Squadron. I already enjoyed the X-wing and Tie-Fighter video games, so an author I liked doing dogfights? Sold.
Total count = 22 books minimum. I might have read Book 2 of the Secret Atlas Trilogy and Isard's Revenge, but after so many years I couldn't say.
1. David Weber - The Honorverse ruined space naval battles for me. It's been called "Horatio Hornblower in Space." The first book, On Basilisk Station, was harder to get through, but, once the tech and world clicked in my head, I powered on to read at least the first 10 books in the main story line. The way Weber envisioned missiles and naval warfare evolving in space makes sense to me. There are things I find...odd...about the series (especially on the romantic subplots), but there's more that goes right. Some of the buildups take too long, but the payoffs are normally worth the wait. I enjoyed how much the universe/tech progressed over time, too. I liked the Honorverse so much, that I branched out to other Weber books. In some of those books, Weber teamed up with other authors. I went on to try their books because I enjoyed what they had done with Weber (Eric Flint and John Ringo come quickly to mind). There are a lot more Weber books out there, but I haven't been in a rush to get to them. Weber feels like an author from my past rather than one of the future. I might be willing to read more Honorverse again with a friend/book club. I found Weber on my own, but my friend Mike Cooley turned out to be a fan, as well. I enjoyed talking about the books with him. The series was unfinished when I stopped. I'm not sure I have it in me to reread 10 books to remember enough to reach the end.
Total count = 23 books minimum
Total book count from all authors = At least 166 books (1-10, I didn't include Robin Hobb).
And that's my list! It's accurate enough. First place changed three times as I counted titles to figure out the winner (Margaret Weiss --> Michael Stackpole --> David Weber). I know I read plenty of other series like Encyclopedia Brown, the Hardy Boys, and The Three Investigators as a kid, but I don't think I read more than 10 of each. I might have read more than 10 of my sisters Sweet Valley Kids series, but those are so short calling them novels would have been overly generous. I recognized a ton of covers from all the authors, but my heavy reading years featured a limited income and Amazon was just becoming a thing. I know I wanted to read more of their books, but I know I didn't get the chance on many.
There's a clear trend on the list towards action-packed, heroic fantasy and sci-fi. Many of the IPs/series have games or other forms of media I consumed alongside the books. There's such a haze of nostalgia surrounding many of these books that I'm hesitant to reread some of them lest I realize they're not as good as I remember. There might be 3 or 4 books that would make my Top 10 favorites list, but that's a much harder list to write.
Overall, this was a fun exercise. Hopefully, pride wasn't what drove me to write it. Opinions are fun to give, but are dangerous if you forget they aren't important in the scheme of things or the public-at-large.
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