The greatest alive?

[onyxhawke]

So who is the greatest living science fiction and fantasy author? Is it Ray Bradbury who has done the rarest of all things for genre fiction and crossed over to being used in English classes from elementary school all the way to college and universities?  Does it go to Stephen King? He's sold oodles of books and even managed to convince the mainstream he isn't (usually) science fiction? Can we anoint Terry Pratchett? Despite his presence, and the legacy of Douglas Adams, People who Matter are still convinced humor doesn't sell. Another reasonable choice is Lois Bujold who has more Hugo Awards for both science fiction and fantasy, and is a perennial nominee for the Locus, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards as well? A case can be made for J.K. Rowling as well, without much need to go into what she's done. Robin Hobb certainly deserves a strong look as well. Mercedes Lackey has helped define SF/F for the last two decades and has written and sold across half a dozen of the subgenres. Another name some might throw out is China Meiville, for lush language and creativity?  R. A. Salvatore has sold well enough that he can make a legit claim to being the greatest too.

 

So is the greatest living SF/F writer one of these? Or is there someone I just don't know?

Comments

[jmward14.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't want to take any names off the list in progress, but I feel I need to add one name and a tip of the hat to a late great who continues to influence the genre in ways people don't even realize.
Among the living, Diana Wynne Jones body never fails to satisfy. She's often overlooked because she focuses so much on women an their issues, but nobody--not even Norton--better capture women's secret fears and hopes. For that matter, I can't think of a mainstream writer who does it better either.
As for my tip of the hat, that goes to Fritz Leiber, who established the structure and tropes Salvatore and others rely on. Not only that, TSR licensed his Fafhrd and Gray Mouser series to build their game structure. Who knows how many writers and readers have been influenced by the resulting games and their derivatives?
Cheers,
Jean Marie

[onyxhawke.livejournal.com]

DWJ is another name I adore. I like her, and recommend her books as what to aim for in writers who need to polish their stuff a bit.

[laurahcory1.livejournal.com]

I love her Tough Guide to Fantasyland, plus The Dark Lord of Derkholm and Year of the Griffin. :)

[onyxhawke.livejournal.com]

Have you read "Deep Secret"?

And i think too many writers take "Tough Guide" as a "How To" book and include all of it...

[gerriwritinglog.livejournal.com]

Here's a rant of mine spawned many moons ago about something out of the "Tough Guide", and one of the main reasons DWJ isn't anywhere near the top of my list of even authors I would pick up off the shelf. Of course, the other reason is that the few I've read have failed to capture my interest. They just didn't have the depth.

Anyway, on to the rant:

http://gerriwritinglog.livejournal.com/37274.html

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

Ack! Deep Secret, my favorite of all her books (and there are many, because she's so prolific)!

So my vote is DWJ and possibly Bujold, but just because I really like The Sharing Knife sequence.

And totally agree with you about Pratchett - it must be a character flaw on my part, but apart from Good Omens, I don't get the love. ::shrug::

[gerriwritinglog.livejournal.com]

*has a coughing fit*

The Sharing Knife is probably the weakest of all the books Bujold has ever put out. It really lacks the depth of books like Curse of Chalion or Paladin of Souls. I have to wonder if she dug TSK out from under the bed while she works on something else. Compared to her other works, TSK is light frothy fun read. If she were anyone else but Bujold, I'd be placing her in the candy category, but Bujold has shown that she's so much more, and I hold her up to the standards she set for herself.

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

LMB, from this interview (http://www.scifidimensions.com/Oct06/loismcmasterbujold.htm/):

sfd: Well that’s great news. Everyone will be happy about that. Do you find that you have readers of Vorkosigan who haven’t really gone with your fantasy offerings?

LMB: You can’t argue tastes. There’s a variety of people who have a variety of opinions. Some of the Vorkosigan readers haven’t enjoyed the fantasy as much, some of them have enjoyed them more. Some people who have never tried the Vorkosigan books, have tried the fantasies. It’s a hazard for any writer who chooses not to write the same thing all the time. You will invariably please some of the people some of the time, but very seldom all the people all of the time. The thing about it is that liking books isn’t like getting married. You don’t have to just love one. You’re allowed to love, like, more than one. You can have more than one favorite. Trying to convince people that literary monogamy is not required can be a bit of a stretch.

[laurahcory1.livejournal.com]

No, I haven't read "Deep Secret" -- I'll make a point of looking for it now.