[Echo-chan713]

I'm not reading a lot of books than back in the school days and I am picky of my authors, the way it's written, the plot, and whether or not it would be a waste of time.

I like by far Stephen King and Lois Duncan

[Gallowsraven]

Stephen King? You might like Richard Laymon, James Herbert or Graham Masterton then; they're in the same/similar genres and they're awesome at what they do :D

Of Stephen King i love Cell best, even if i think the ending's a bit pat.

[Nanka]

Yasmine Galenorn hands down is my favorite author. I've been reading her series 'The Otherworld Series' since Freshman year and I'm still reading the series.

[Serra Britt]

I liked reading Margaret Weis/Tracy Hickman, they wrote what I thought was wonderfully, especially the original Dragonlance Trilogy. I bought most of the Death Gate books because of them but I never got around to reading them >>

R.A. Salvatore had some good stuff and it was quite enjoyable to meet him in person back when I worked at Waldenbooks. But I have to agree with Quiet's original post, most of his stuff is too similar to each other.

I also quite enjoy Mercedes Lackey, epecially the Gryphon stories. I ate those up way back when :3

Piers Anthony was up there too, his were the first risqué type of books I read. Plus his puns were stupid but very funny the way he used them.

Currently the only author I'd probably go out of my way to buy is Robert Asprin. He wrote the Myth Adventure books, and well as the Phule's Company books, and they are my favorite genre, humorous fantasy xD

[Suzerain of Sheol]

I always liked Weis and Hickman's characterization. I thought they did well, given the sort of fantasy they tend to write. I loved the Death Gate Cycle, but I haven't read it in over ten years, so I'm not sure I'd like it now. The first two Dragonlance trilogies were pretty good, especially the second one.

Salvatore I just have no time for anymore. Let it die, man, (Though he's probably not to blame for Drizzt's longevity as a product. I blame WotC. They're so easy to blame. :p)

[Quiet Man Cometh]

I remember my friend was big on Piers Anthony, and he was the first "fantasy" author I heard about. I started reading A Spell for Chameleon but never did get very far. The last I remember was the character trying to ride a hippocampus across a moat to a wizards tower.

It was that same friend who got me interested in fantasy novels, and the first one I grabbed (literally since I picked up a fantasy book on the spur of the moment while heading out on a camping trip) happened to be Salvatore's Homeland. I bought it because the cover, to my surprise, was the same as the cover of the Menzoberranzan computer game I had that had this awesome ass kicking character in it called "Drizzt" :D. I scanned the back of the book and sure enough, his name was there. I was all of 11 and thought this was the coolest thing ever. I read 10 chapters into the book that trip but didn't finish it until much later, my sister having burned her way through that trilogy and the next one already. She read Garfield like crazy and I made a deal with her that if she read Homeland (since she liked the game too) that I would stop bugging her about not reading anything.

Menzoberranzan is an old computer game based on Salvatore's novel The Legacy. It was my first go at a first person rpg since Dungeonmaster when I was 5. The attack style was fairly basic. Put the mouse on the monster and click as fast as you can. Well, more like click then the proper icon comes up or when the time comes aroud but that more thought than I wanted to put into it at the time.

I have one of Mercedes Lackey books on my eReader since I decided to look at her stuff only to discover it's been really hard to find. I read a piece of fanfiction that was a crossover with two of her books. Can't remember the precise titles but they are popular trilogies. Arrows of the Queen, I think is one, and the other is First/Last Mage of something-or-other. I'm told the latter trilogy is pretty much an exercise in angst.

[Suzerain of Sheol]

I got started with Salvatore from playing Icewind Dale on the PC. The strategy guide mentioned his books and I liked the game so much I went to the library the same day I found out to borrow The Crystal Shard.

I still contend that Homeland makes a better entry to the series, and is the best book in it, as well.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

Yeah, but Drizzt's fame was a product of the Icewind Dale Tirlogy. Wulfgar was supposed to be the star and Drizzt someting of an exotic sort to be there and supposedly Salvatore found he really liked him. He then wrote out his backstory in Homeland and the other two (Legacy of the Drow?).

EDIT: Nope. Dark Elf Trilogy. Too many book groups.

[Suzerain of Sheol]

Yeah... why he ever felt that Wulfgar would make a good main character is a bit baffling to me. The guy's pretty two-dimensional. And cliche.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

Well one can assume he got demoted in later books. I liked him best in the early books when he was young, and that might show the shift over to Drizzt. I found later that I was caring less and less for what the other characters where up to when it was a divided viewpoint. That may either be bias on my part of Salvatore's, but either way I found the other characters dwindled a bit in later books.

[Suzerain of Sheol]

I think, by the end of his storyline, even Salvatore was sick of him and regretted resurrecting him. The way he just heavy-handedly wrote him out of the story seems to suggest so.

And I think the real problem is that all the characters stagnate in the later books. They stop growing, almost completely, some time around Siege of Darkness.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

mm. I remember when it was announced that he would be putting Drizzt and company on haitus for a while and that may have been when when the Spider Queen series came out, but I was a little surprised when The Thousand Orcs showed up. Didnt feel to me like much time has passed.

[Suzerain of Sheol]

I liked the War of the Spider Queen a lot, despite the inconsistencies between the books. Seeing more of Menzoberrenzen was cool, and Gromph was in it, which is automatically awesome.

[Fiyero]

I adore J.K. Rowling, Anne Rice, Edgar Allan Poe, Jim Butcher, Gregory Maguire, Bram Stoker....I like a lot of authors..

[Gallowsraven]

I'm not sure if those gaming books count, but i like one called Caverns of the Ice Witch. It's odd though; i either end up straight at the end and die, or i go somewhere and started reading a storyline that i've got no idea about!

I'm reading the "Study Trilogy" at any rate right now.

[SanguaLuna]

I am just going to post my ultimate favorite. I read a lot of books, but these are the authors I tend to look forward too when they write new stuff. And then I will post three authors who impacted my reading experience.

1. Sherrilyn Kenyon
2. Alyssa Day
3. Christine Feehan
4. Gena Showalter
5. Lynsay Sands

Here are my most inspired writers
1. JRR Tolkien
2. Madline L'Engle
3. CS Lewis
4. Carl Sagan
5. Anne Rice
6. Sherrilyn Kenyon (she defiantly has to go on this list)
7. JK Rowling (simply because she created a universe that inspired a generation to read)

Not many but that is because I don't like collect millions of books or start new stuff without finishing what I started. I already started way to many series to really keep up.