Anne McCaffery definitely needs to be on this list, probably well above Mercedes Lackey.
I guess it depends on what you mean by greatest. Quite frankly, while I admire their longevity, I can't stand either Harlen Ellison or Ray Bradbury. Stephen King may excite readers, but his books aren't exactly what I would call deep. Same with Pratchett. I'm not knocking their writing. They're obviously popular, but I'm not sure popular makes them one of the greatest writers ever.
Honestly, I tend to think of Bujold or Ursula K. Le Guin when I think of great writers. Michael Moorcock would be another one who I'd seriously consider a candidate. He was definitely one of my influences.
In the end, though, I'd have to go more with Bujold. She just has a richness of prose that most of the rest can't match or beat, and she tends to write very deep, even when she's writing lighter stories.
J.K. Rowling, imo, needs to come in very near the top, though. That's not just because she single-handedly introduced reading to whole generations, uniting adults and kids into one big readership. The Harry Potter series has a depth that a lot of people want to overlook just because it's a kid series. I don't think it can be.
*looks longingly at her list of favorite writers who are dead, sighs, and moves on*
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I guess it depends on what you mean by greatest. Quite frankly, while I admire their longevity, I can't stand either Harlen Ellison or Ray Bradbury. Stephen King may excite readers, but his books aren't exactly what I would call deep. Same with Pratchett. I'm not knocking their writing. They're obviously popular, but I'm not sure popular makes them one of the greatest writers ever.
Honestly, I tend to think of Bujold or Ursula K. Le Guin when I think of great writers. Michael Moorcock would be another one who I'd seriously consider a candidate. He was definitely one of my influences.
In the end, though, I'd have to go more with Bujold. She just has a richness of prose that most of the rest can't match or beat, and she tends to write very deep, even when she's writing lighter stories.
J.K. Rowling, imo, needs to come in very near the top, though. That's not just because she single-handedly introduced reading to whole generations, uniting adults and kids into one big readership. The Harry Potter series has a depth that a lot of people want to overlook just because it's a kid series. I don't think it can be.
*looks longingly at her list of favorite writers who are dead, sighs, and moves on*