Werthead;278469 said:
The Blade Itself is slow. Before They Are Hanged is much better and much cleverer. Last Argument of Kings is spectacular. Frankly, the onus is on Erikson for Toll the Hounds to be as good as Last Argument of Kings, certainly not the other way around.
I would rank the best modern fantasy authors as:
Joe Abercrombie
Daniel Abraham
R. Scott Bakker
Neil Gaiman
Guy Gavriel Kay
George RR Martin
China Mieville
Terry Pratchett
Gene Wolfe
Erikson is borderline. He's very nearly in there, but three weak books on the trot (4-6) are not a good batting average. Reaper's Gale was good though, and if Toll the Hounds is as good or better, I'd put him back on the list. JV Jones and Tad Williams were also both once on there but have been removed after some disappointing releases and lengthy delays on their books.
The best modern SF authors are:
Iain M. Banks
Peter F. Hamilton
Ian McDonald
Alan Moore
Richard Morgan
Christopher Priest
Alastair Reynolds
Rothuss has to prove himself with his second book. His first was great but undermined by subtle flaws. Lynch also nearly made it but his second book had much greater flaws than the first, and the news of delays on the third is not encouraging.
I'm going to take some time out my life to really take this apart, because you're just rubbish, and sanctimonious to boot, and I pretty much disagree with almost everything this post says, but also because I'm a git.
Joe abercrombie: 'the blade itself' was fun. 'Before' they are hanged thought itself very clever and lets hope it is 'the last argument of kings', it fell flat on its face by the end and didn't do the other books any justice. I'm not a huge fan of Toll the Hounds, but its lightyears ahead of the game to anything penned by abercrombie. Its like comparing a bigmac to a medium rare filet mignon, beef may be the main ingredient, but...
Bakker, started reading him, but someones pinched me book, good start though.
Guy gavriel kay, his writing is as fartsy as his name, the stories okay, but very bland.
George R R Martin is a fantastic author, so you're not a total eejit, feast for crows a bit crap.
Terry pratchett, I'm torn between loving the guy and shoving his stupid hat down his throat, but because you like him, i'm going to go with the hat.
I haven't read the others, but since you like them, they have got to be a bit sh1t.
I would have said:
Steven Erikson
Stephen R Donaldson
George R R Martin
(Please note: there is a space between the authors above and those below for a reason, thankyou.)
Robin Hobb (Please note: This is for assassins apprentice and royal assassin, I hate all her other books)
Joe Abercrombie
And I quite liked Patrick Rothfuss' 1st book
From what I've read of bakker, I'm going to go out on a limb and place him here.
The sci fi list: To be honest I've been too busy with the new fantasy to delve too deeply into Sci-Fi recently
Iain banks might one day live up to the potential of his imagination if someone helped him pull his head out of his own arse. I've read a couple and If someone has any suggestions, i'll give them a go. I just can't understand how someone with such bland stories can garner such a big following. He is definitely not the new asimov.
I like Peter f hamilton, nights dawn was good, but the ending was a bit useless. I liked pandoras star, but again his finish doesn't do him any favours. Its a shame, his stories are interesting, but his characters are a bit flat.
I haven't read the rest, yet, so stay tuned. Oh yeah..You like them so they are a load of cobblers.
My Sci-Fi list would be really short:
Stephen Donaldson, for his awesome Gap series
Peter F Hamilton
Yep, I'm fairly certain that in the last decade or so, most of the best reading material has definitely been In the fantasy genre and we may well be in the Golden age, but wont be sure until a few decades time.
BTW I Still Think You Are Rubbish, But I feel Much Better Now.
Apologies for the reeeeeaaallly long post chaps.