Pi-Vi Intro Etc

Introduction Who else writes like …? seeks to help anyone who enjoys reading fiction to expand the number of writers that they read. It is designed to address the dilemma one faces when, having exhausted the output from a particular author, one ponders – “What shall I read next?” The book lists over 1,800 authors, and with each name suggests others who write in a similar way. The number of alternative authors listed for each entry is between three and twelve. Alternative ways of finding suitable reading are through the index of genres, or the list of prize winners at the back of the book. There is also an index to characters in fiction as well as a list of further reading, which includes some useful websites and other fiction guides. The entry for each author offers copious detail to help make a choice. The basis for the initial selection of authors continues to be the most popular according to the Public Lending Right lists, with additions suggested by a number of professional librarians from England, Scotland and Wales. In the main, authors are only included when they have three books to their name and when their novels are easily obtainable from bookshops and libraries. Inclusion is therefore determined by a mixture of objective and subjective criteria. Inevitably some cherished favourites may be omitted as a result, and for this we are sorry. This is the fourth edition of what has now become an established tool for readers and those advising readers in their quest to derive the utmost pleasure from fiction. This edition is bigger and better than ever. We conducted a readership survey to help shape it. The main features of the earlier editions have been retained, but there are also one or two refinements and additions. Each time we have brought out Who else writes like …? it has grown in size. This edition continues the trend with a net gain of around a fifth in the number of authors listed. Within this figure, 394 new authors have been added and there have been 188 deletions of writers whom our advisors felt were no longer widely read. We have expanded the How to use this guide section to accommodate the additional features that are in the entries. Brief details of prizes are now included in author entries as well as more comprehensively in an index. The Internet has impinged on a number of fiction writers and many now have their own websites through which more can be learned about their lives and work. In this edition we have included website addresses when we have discovered them - these are live at the time of going to print but we realise that in the course of time some may change. Any reference work worthy of the name must continue to evolve in line with changing circumstances and demands. We welcome comments from users of this edition regarding how we can make the next one even better. iii How to use this Guide The main list of authors is in alphabetical order. Each name is followed by a list of suggested alternatives. So pick out an author whose books you like, and see which other writers are recommended underneath. For instance, if you like J M Coetzee, Who else writes like ...? suggests that you might also like Murray Bail, or James Bradley, and so on. Additional information is given with many of the author entries: • author’s dates of birth and death, where known • nationality (or place of birth) of authors who are not English, where known (see abbreviations used on page vi) • the genre and/or subgenre, or type of novel (eg Crime: PI or Glitz & glamour) • name of main character(s), preceded by (eg Cooper MacLeish) •environment and/or occupation (eg Chicago or ‘Kingsmarkham’ - quotation marks (‘xxx’) indicate a fictional environment - and taxi driver) • pseudonym(s): also writes as or is • author’s own website (eg www.martell-reaves.com) or websites with more details about an author and their books (eg www.twbooks.co.uk) • prizes won with dates (see abbreviations used on page vi) main author nationality J M Coetzee 1940- SA Murray Bail General James Bradley Nadine Gordimer Faber André Brink Christopher Hope 1981 Booker Justin Cartwright Pamela Jooste 1983 Irish Times 1995 Jim Crace Doris Lessing Booker Amanda Pranter 1999 a Commonwealth 2000 suggested alternative authors prizes won iv An increasing number of established authors are writing in alternative genres. These are shown in the main sequence as well as in the genre listings at the end of the book. Where an author writes under the same name but under two different genres, we have given two entries: for example, Lynda La Plante (General) and Lynda La Plante (Crime: Police work). Authors who usually write in one category may occasionally produce a book in a quite different genre - so if genre is important to you, check the jacket details of a book before you read it. If you want to start by consulting a list of authors who write in a particular category, go to Authors listed by genre beginning on page 312. Some of the genres are further sub-divided - for instance, Crime is divided into Humour, Private investigator (PI), and so on. Romance and Western writers do not appear in the main sequence but are retained, under their respective headings, in the genre listings. Authors classified as General have not been listed. Another possible starting point is to look at the lists of prize-winning books in Literary prizes and awards, which begin on page 348. Who else writes like ...? apart, there is an increasing number of guides to novelists and their works. Some of these are listed in Further reading on page 374. An index of Characters, Series and Families, listed alphabetically by surname, begins on page 331. genre sub-genre occupation pseudonym Crime: PI 1954- US Sam Reaves Cooper MacLeish, taxi driver - Chicago also writes as Dominic Martell www.martell-reaves.com Jim Thompson Ross Macdonald Andrew Vachss Charlotte Carter Sara Paretsky Steve Hamilton Robert B Parker environment Dashiell Hammett character web-site v Christopher Nicole 1930- Adventure/Thriller also writes as Alan Savage Arms Trade Series James Clavell Allan Mallinson Colin Falconer Marc Olden Eric Lustbader Nick Nielsen Fantasy: Humour N Tom Arden Tom Holt Robert Rankin Gene Brewer Jeff Noon Michael Marshall Smith Chris Niles NZ Crime Sam Ridley, Radio journalist - Sydney Phil Andrews John Burns Valerie Kershaw Marc Blake Ron Ellis Claire McNab Jan Burke Peter Guttridge Larry Niven 1938- US Science Fiction: Space and time Isaac Asimov Harry Harrison Robert Silverberg Ben Bova Frank Herbert Vernor Vinge David Brin China Miéville Ian Watson Peter F Hamilton Kim Stanley Robinson Roger Zelazny David Nobbs 1935- Humour Kingsley Amis Stephen Fry Alan Titchmarsh H E Bates Tom Holt Mark Wallington Colin Douglas Leslie Thomas Nigel Williams Roddy Doyle Peter Tinniswood Jeff Noon 1957- Science Fiction: Near future www.jeffnoon.com Steve Aylett Jon Courtenay Grimwood Arthur C Clarke 1994 Alexander Besher Nick Nielsen Gene Brewer Rachel Pollack Pat Cadigan Michael Marshall Smith Philip K Dick Neal Stephenson Thomas M Disch Kurt Vonnegut 214 Authors listed Genres by genre It is almost impossible to identify accurately individual authors with one particular section of genre fiction; often there is no ‘cut off’ point between, for instance, War and Adventure; between Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror; or between Historical and Saga. So, although in the main sequence this Guide indicates under the names of each author the genre in which they usually write, and these names are repeated again in the lists that follow, it is suggested that readers also refer to linking genres - and in particular to the main list - to discover new names that could become firm favourites. Some categories - Crime, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Sea Stories and War - have been sub-divided to help readers find novelists they will enjoy. Do remember that some authors use a different name when they write in another genre, and others will produce an occasional book which is quite different in character to their usual style. Always look at the book jacket and the introduction before you borrow or purchase. 312 Science fiction Although Science Fiction (SF) and Fantasy are often mixed, SF deals with the possible, and is based (often tenuously) on scientific knowledge obeying the Genres laws of nature in the universe - however fantastic some of the stories may seem. The literature of SF is substantial and we have used five subgenres to help you find the type of author you want to read. Near future Stories concerning all pervasive technologies, their use and misuse, normally set within the next hundred years. Space opera Space adventure stories of extravagant dimensions, often involving galactic empires and space battles. Space and time Travel into either the past or the future, exploring history as it might have been, or the future as the author sees it. Technical SF novels with an overriding emphasis on the technical and scientific achievement, usually involving flight into outer space. Humour Authors whose books highlight the humorous aspects of SF. Brian W Aldiss Bruce Sterling Lois McMaster Bujold Kristine Kathryn Rusch Tad Williams Orson Scott Card Mary Doria Russell Jack Womack C J Cherryh Jules Verne Alan Dean Foster Ian Watson Space and time Colin Greenland John Wyndham Isaac Asimov Joe Haldeman Ben Bova Peter F Hamilton Humour Ray Bradbury Brian Herbert Douglas Adams Octavia E Butler Frank Herbert Rob Grant Philip K Dick Alastair Reynolds Harry Harrison Christopher Evans Adam Roberts Robert Rankin Robert A Heinlein Dan Simmons

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