Man, am I glad someone unearthed this thread, because it was fun to peruse.
Some of my favorite sci fi/fantasy authors are
JRR Tolkien -- The epic scale of his stories, the colossal struggle of good and evil, the imperfect characters called to do deeds greater than themselves--there is a part of me the always yearns to be there.
CS Lewis -- I love Naria, but his Space Trilogy is truly thought-provoking.
Anne McCaffrey -- As much as I love her accounts of Pern, it was the Ship Who Sings and the books in that series that cemented her place in my heart.
Tad Williams -- His Memory, Sorrow, Thorn "Trilogy" [Book 1- 300 pages, Book 2-- 400 pages, Book 3-Part I -600 pages, Book 3-PartII - 600 pages--seriously dude, just call it a series] is exquisite and his War of the Flowers was very unique.
David Weber -- He is a madman when it comes to volume, but his Honor Harrington series and his Safehold series both have me captivated. A writer who is very thorough and deliberate with his technology.
H. Beam Piper -- The Little Fuzzy books are endearing and his (unfinished) Lord Calvin of Otherwhen series and short stories have endeared him to me since high school. Not enough to shell out $50 + a book for the completion of the series as written by other authors, but still a lot.
There are tons more books I love (some of real worth, others not) and tons more I hate or simply don't care for (some of real worth, others not). I find the genre ( both sci fi and fantasy) amazing. It is often used for pure escapism and a story for the sake of enjoyment, but also has the unrivaled potential to be used for exploring the human condition or delving into the soul or that sort of stuff.
