Top Ten Tuesday | Authors on My Auto-Buy List

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and features lists on different bookish topics. Today's category:

Authors on My Auto-Buy List

I love having an "auto-read" list. I am one of those people who really hates spoilers, to the extent that I actually shunned the interned for a week before the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, so if I can just glance at the author and go, "Yup, I want to read that" without even looking at the blurb, that's perfect. I'm pretty sure that's the case for way more authors than these, but here's ten.

Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels, The Edge)
It's been a while since I raved about Ilona Andrews, so for the newbies: I would buy Ilona Andrews' books if they published a treatise on conjunctivitis. That's how much I love their writing. Want a sample? They're publishing a free serial on their website.

Guy Gavriel Kay (Tigana, The Fionavar Tapestry, Under Heaven)
Weirdly, while it would be really difficult for me to choose a favorite author, I can tell you with some confidence that The Lions of Al-Rassan is my favorite book. By sheer coincidence, GGK has a new book, River of Stars, coming out in April, and I can't wait to read it.

Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files, Codex Alera)
Reading Jim Butcher's books is always a pleasure. He's creative, can keep hold of numerous plot threads at once, and has moments of absolute hilarity.

Robin McKinley (The Blue Sword, Beauty, Spindle's End)
Robin McKinley has a unique, rambling writing style that really appeals to me. Sunshine and The Hero and the Crown are two of my big comfort reads.

Maggie Stiefvater (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, The Scorpio Races, The Raven Cycle)
Like Guy Gavriel Kay, Maggie Stiefvater has a gorgeously lyrical style that I love. Plus she's hilarious, and her books are all amazing.

Seanan McGuire (October Daye, the Newsflesh trilogy, InCryptid)
I'll admit I wasn't won over by Rosemary and Rue, but after reading all of Seanan McGuire's books (under her own name and as Mira Grant), I have to say, I love her world-building and characters. If you haven't read any of her books, you should.

Melina Marchetta (Jellicoe Road, Saving Francesca, The Lumatere Chronicles)
Melina Marchetta's characters seem so real that other books pale in comparison. I can't wait to read Quintana of Charyn in April.

Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn, The Way of Kings, Elantris)
If I had to choose the top ten worlds I've read (which, okay, I've actually done), at least three of them would probably be Brandon Sanderson's. Not only are his worlds incredibly creative, but they're also populated with great characters and brilliant stories.

Scott Lynch (Gentleman Bastard)
Scott Lynch is definitely one of my favorites. His books are dark and dangerous and absolutely hilarious. Plus, who wouldn't want to read about thieves and con artists and pirates?

Jennifer Fallon (the Demon Child trilogy, Second Sons, Tide Lords)
Jennifer Fallon just writes all-around good books. They're exactly the kind of epic fantasy I love.

Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater may be my new favorite author. I just got back from the launch party for The Scorpio Races (which I finished last night and loved, and I'll post a review soon). Maggie was absolutely amazing, funny and friendly. I bet her kids love her - she makes funny faces when she talks and does different voices for people even when she's not reading!

Okay, enough fangirl-ing. Maggie was nice enough to take the time to sign everyone's books:

She also had random copies of foreign editions of her books that she gave away, and I won Shiver in German! I love the cover:

Anyway, if Maggie Stiefvater is ever at an event near you, it's more than worth your time to go!

Three Mistakes Authors Make

 First of all, let me say that I am not an author. I have great respect for anyone with the discipline and dedication to sit down and write out their ideas into a full-length novel or even a full-length series. However, nobody's perfect, and there are a few common mistakes authors make that I want to address.

1. Letting a series go on past its expiration date



The culprits: Sookie Stackhouse, Anita Blake

An author should always know when it's time for a series to die. Once it gets past that point, plots become absurd, motivations are murky at best, and the author has to introduce ridiculous plot devices just for something new. When a series has crashed and burned, then crashed again somehow in Antarctica and died a slow death of frostbite, leaving behind a very nasty corpse, it's probably a sign that it should have stopped at that red light earlier. And I may have gone a little too far with that metaphor, but you get the point. Series should end when they end, not be reanimated only to wander around looking for brains to eat.

Success stories: Vampire Academy, Georgina Kincaid, Fever, pretty much any trilogy or stand alone

2. Lack of balance in worldbuilding



The culprits: Chicagoland Vampires, Harry Potter

Everyone knows the whole power equals responsibility thing. What a few people appear to have missed is that power comes at a price. The first law of thermodynamics applies just as much in the magical world as it does in ours: you don't get something from nothing. Whether the cost of magic is personal energy or sacrifice or tattooing your eyelids, it has to exist somehow. The same goes for supernatural creatures; they can't have great strengths without great weaknesses.

Success stories: Mercy Thompson, Women of the Otherworld, Vampire Academy, Wicked Lovely

3. Treating death as reversible



The culprits: Buffy, Night Huntress

Death is a real thing that shouldn't be cheapened by rampant resurrection. Bringing characters back from the dead is generally bad form (though there are a few cases I'll give you, so this isn't a totally clear issue). But on the whole, authors don't kill characters just because, and bringing them back makes their sacrifice much less meaningful. Death defines life. Without it, life is just an eternal existence (and read Tide Lords to see how that goes).

Success stories: The Hunger Games, Harry Potter

That's all for now! What do you hate to see in a book?

The Four Best Authors You've Never Heard Of*

*Probably. Maybe?

Having read a lot of fantasy, I realize there are a lot of names everyone knows in the genre. Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, Terry Goodkind, David Eddings, andTerry Brooks spring to mind, and more recently Brandon Sanderson, Brent Weeks, Scott Lynch, and Joe Abercrombie, among others. They're all great authors. But that's not who I want to talk about. I want to tell you about the great books you don't know about, so I can expand your horizons and also get you to buy their books so they can write more.

Kristen Britain: Kristen Britain's Green Rider series features messenger Karigan G'ladheon, whose magical abilities and proximity to power mean that she's always in danger, from enemies within her kingdom and without. Plus there's the danger she gets into all on her own. Britain's standard "good versus evil" plot is enriched by interesting characters and difficult subplots.

Jennifer Fallon: Jennifer Fallon's novels, filled with political intrigue and struggles for power, include the Medalon trilogy and its prequels, the Second Sons trilogy, and the Tide Lords series. Fallon's plots are detailed and intriguing, and her books are both funny and thought-provoking.

Guy Gavriel Kay: Guy Gavriel Kay's lyrical prose pervades his novels, giving the stories a loftier feel. Not that they need it; Kay's books, set in alternate worlds based on historical periods, are filled with brilliant characters and constant intrigue, not to mention love and war. Although Tigana is probably his most well-known work, my personal favorites are the Sarantine Mosaic (comprised of Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors) and The Lions of al-Rassan.

Trudi Canavan: Trudi Canavan is best known for her Black Magician Trilogy, the story of a slum dweller who becomes a magician and has to save her country. Canavan's voice sucks you in to her plot and characters, and her stories are filled with surprises. Better still is her Age of the Five trilogy, which is filled with gods, sorcerers, and magical creatures, not to mention a great story.

So, grasshoppers, go forth and read books by these most excellent authors. And feel free to expand my horizons in return!