Greatest writer ever (besides Shakespeare)

[81+83+84=Posse]

If you are talking modern fantasy-

George R.R. Martin

[bcl05]

Personal favorite is Don Delillo. His style and writing are mesmerizing to me. His book "Underworld" is a masterpiece, and I would recommend it as strongly as possible to just about anyone. He's got lots of other great stuff too.

Others:

Steinbeck (East of Eden is one of my very favorites)

Twain

Toni Morrison

Dave Eggers

So many others, I'm sure I'll think of one as soon as I post this...

[GibbsFactor]

Count Leo Tolstoy

Dostoyevsky

Charles Dickens

Miguel de Cervantes - essentially invented the modern novel.

[Pick6]

If I had to vote I would say Ernest Hemingway.

My two favorite authors to read and I own almost every book they have written are Kurt Vonnegut and Cormac Mccarthy.

I thought No Country for Old Men was an amazing book way before the movie came out and wrote a paper on it in college. To open each chapter with the Sheriff's (Tommy Lee Jones' character) thoughts on life and his age was different and that is the stuff I look for out of a writer.

[Skin'Em84]

Twain was a beast, and was Tolkien.

I'm going to throw out someone that no one else will, just because he wrote my favorite books.

Douglas Adams.

[Wrong Direction]

Coulter

Olbermann

Hannity

Franken

Marx

I suppose Twain and Hemingway could make a case for #5.

[China]

Coulter

Olbermann

Hannity

Franken

Marx

I thought this was writers, not ranters. :soapbox:

[Forehead]

Tolkien, I'll give anyone credit who can write an incredible series of books and also create an entire language in the process.

Alexandre Dumas is probably up there for me as well. As to the OP, I never really thought much of Stephen King's work, I don't know why. But I love some of the movies that have been made from his books.

[GibbsFactor]

Coulter

Olbermann

Hannity

Franken

Marx

I suppose Twain and Hemingway could make a case for #5.

Where's Ayn?

[gbear]

My first place goes to somebody I've not seen mentioned, Isaac Asimov. So far as I know, he is the only author to be published in 9 of the 10 major sections of the dewey decimal system. Ironically, philosiphy and psych was the only one he wasn't published in, but if you read his books he has clearly studied them. His was the original super computer mind, and he put a lot of it to paper. He also wrote my favorite short story, "The Last Question."

Honorable mention for the not mentioned list:

Kenn Follett - for historical fiction. There is a tremendous amount of true history woven into some great tales.

[GibbsFactor]

. I still have nightmares about Paradise Lost, among others. What a steaming turd that was.

Have you tried to pick it back up out of school? I re-read it once and found it much more illuminating then when I was HS.

[USS Redskins]

I am a huge fan of Twain.

Huck Finn is one of my favorites.

[JMS]

William Faukner.... any writer who can have a 5 page sentence in one of his stories ( The Bear )... and got get critisized for it; He's get's the prize as greatest writer.

[China]

William Faukner.... any writer who can have a 5 page sentence in one of his stories ( The Bear )... and got get critisized for it; He's get's the prize as greatest writer.

I hated the Sound and the Fury, I couldn't finish it.

[ABQCOWBOY]

I don't think you could choose a greatest ever. So much of it just comes down to taste.

However, I will throw in a vote for Mark Twain. Huck Finn was simply a masterpiece. Also Ernest Hemingway has to be up there. Incredible style points for him.

The three greatest American novels, imo:

Huck Finn

Moby Dick

To Kill a Mockingbird

As for international authors, I don't give a ****. English lit sucks ass. I still have nightmares about Paradise Lost, among others. What a steaming turd that was.

My Mom and Dad gave me a Autographed 1st Addition of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee on my 40th Birthday. It is probably my most prized possession.

[egtuna]

Cormac McCarthy, Elmore Leonard, Florence King, Dennis Lehane, CD Payne, JD Salinger to name a few.

Cormac McCarthy's "Bood Meridian" is my nomination for most epic novel ever.

[Homercles82]

I think due to the sheer popularity (and I also enjoyed them) J.K. Rowling has to be up there.

Despite feeling redundant at times her 7 potter books were fun to read even for an almost 30 year old. I was engaged by the story and enjoyed the fun of feeling like a kid again.

I am also digging Tolkien books. Though very verbose if you can power through them you get a great story and can feel the passion he had for his works.

[dockeryfan]

Not really my cup of tea, but Jane Austen writes a very good novel.

Lately I'm reading popcorn like Stuart Woods, Michael Connelly, Robert B. Parker, Daniel Silva (actually not as popcorn as the others, but still light), etc.

Best novel I ever read is still A Tale of Two Cities - Dickens. I must have read this 4 times now. It's really a great novel. I can't think of another book where the first line and the last line are so famous. I'll let you google those.

[drtdrums]

Stephen Erikson. Best Military fantasy writer out there. His 10 book story The Malazan Empire has a very complicated yet entertaining storyline, he doesn't mind killing main characters at all.

This.

I'm not willing to call him the best ever, but he's phenomenal. I'm very glad that someone else has read him. I just got into his stuff.

I cannot choose one. Gun to my head, I'd say Patrick Rothfuss right now. But that's right now. A month ago it would have been George RR Martin. Before that, Bernard Cornwell.

Authors that any serious reader should check out (in addition to those mentioned):

Steven Brust

Robin Hobb

Brent Weeks (not outstanding writing, but really great story)

Steven Lynch (Lies of Locke Lamora was great)

Brandon Sanderson

[dockeryfan]

I have changed my tune on Tolkien over the years. I loved the books so much as a child. I re-read the Hobbitt as an adult, and found it very tiresome at times. Pages and pages of useless lyrics. There are much better novelists.

[drtdrums]

And lately, Ted Dekker, John Grogan, Stepen King, Salinger, Harper Lee, Toni Morrison, Hemmingway and Don DeLillo.

I don't mean this to sound combative, but you found value in Dekker?

He started with more than the benefit of the doubt with me. If he'd even been decent, I would have been thrilled. I wanted so badly for him to be good...

And I was bored to tears. Thr3e or whatever that atrocity is called made me want those three hours of my life back. I wanted to tear down walls and punch babies. Not because the ending was so bad (it was), but because the entire book was futile.

What did I miss?

[hockeysc23]

Despite feeling redundant at times her 7 potter books were fun to read even for an almost 30 year old. I was engaged by the story and enjoyed the fun of feeling like a kid again.

I am also digging Tolkien books. Though very verbose if you can power through them you get a great story and can feel the passion he had for his works.

I guess that was my point. She may not be the best actual writer in terms of very deep meanings and subplots but she got a whole range of audience to read her books from 6-to 40 if not older.

She got a lot of children to start liking to read and for many adults to get back into it.

If the point of writing/read books is for entertainment (which I believe it is) then surely she needs to be up there.

Will her books stand the test of time though is hard to gauge.

[MassSkinsFan]

I have changed my tune on Tolkien over the years. I loved the books so much as a child. I re-read the Hobbitt as an adult, and found it very tiresome at times. Pages and pages of useless lyrics. There are much better novelists.

Re-reading his work is tough. The thing that evoked such a sense of place during the first read-through, his exquisite attention to detail, becomes tiresome the next time you read it.

[Ford]

To me, William Faulkner stands alone in American literature. To name someone the greatest of all-time, in all languages, is too much to think through for a simple-minded fellow like myself

[desioreo87]

I guess that was my point. She may not be the best actual writer in terms of very deep meanings and subplots but she got a whole range of audience to read her books from 6-to 40 if not older.

She got a lot of children to start liking to read and for many adults to get back into it.

If the point of writing/read books is for entertainment (which I believe it is) then surely she needs to be up there.

Will her books stand the test of time though is hard to gauge.

Yea, J.K. rowling is not a great writer, she is a great story teller. There is a big distinction there.

Dan Brown's books are fun to read but do they have realy literary value? Hell ****ing No. His metaphors are so transparent and obvious and it really seems as if he is trying to hard. However, ANgels and Demons was fun as **** to read.