Those who entertain me, I salute you

I enjoy reading.

In fact I enjoy reading to such an extent that my bookshelves are constantly groaning under the stress of having to hold my ever-growing selection of tomes. As we speak I am building a complex tower of books on top of my shelves simply because there is no other place to put them. Eventually I always end up investing in new bookshelves, and in the long haul in a bigger house so I can fit in all my books into it. Then the cycle begins again...

It takes a special man or a woman to feed my craving for more and more books, for I want a lot from my authors. They have to be good at what they do. They have to write on a subject matter I find at least remotely interesting. And above all, they have to be prolific, for I cannot wait long for my next fix for too long. Below are the names of the authors whose books I always buy without bothering to really check up on the book, knowing full well that their name guarentees me to get my money's worth.

No, they are not the finest writers who have ever lived in my opinion (that list would probably start with somebody like Mika Waltari), but they have brought joy into my life, and done so in abundance. New Dune or Sinuhe only comes around so often. Someone has to get me my dosage of literature meanwhile.

David Gemmell. What can I say? I love his books. Do they tell same or very simlar story each time? Yes. Do they give simpistic moral solutions to complex questions on good an evil? Yes. Is the author clearly a commited christian? Yes. But none of this matters. The pace of action is breathtaking, the heroes are larger than life in their strength as well as in their failings. Gemmell, the ex-bouncer, knows what he is writing about when it comes to the battle sequences. He has wit and humour. And he has never, ever failed me. Each one of his books has always entertained me to the fullest. His Drenai saga is my favourite, though all his work are of very consistent quality. Perhaps the finest living writer of heroic fantasy today. 'Nuff said.

Steven Pressfield. Gates of Fire introduced me to this tremendous author. It is amazing someone managed to write such a fresh book about the battle of Thermopylae. Gates of Fire is being filmed in the Hollywood at the moment, and I cannot wait to see Pressfield's vison of king Leonidas taking on the might of the Persian Empire at the Hot Gates. His second book, Tides of War, recounting the life of Alcibiades during the Peloponnesian war, was even better in my opinion. Still a bit rough around the edges, I can hardly wait how good he will become as the years pass.

Bernard Cornwell. His Sharpe books are mainly very, very light, but his Warlord trilogy which tells a blood-soaked tale of Arthur from the perpective of spearman Derfel is superb. His Vagabond trilogy is perhaps his best work to date, and his love for the period when the English longbow ruled the battlefields of Europe is evident in the joy that these books are written. His historical novels are aways well-researched, and he has a rare gift for humour most of the authors of historical novels sorely lack.

China Mievelle. Has true vision and courage to try to bring something new to the tired field of fantasy novels. Perdido Street Station was tremendous (if a bit flabby), and the Scar is almost as good. His only failing is that he doesn't write anywhere near fast enough for my liking. Still, I cannot wait for his next book.

Arturo Perez-Reverte. My thanks to Quitu for introducing this author to me. His books, are quite simply amazing, and he is capable of holding your interest with the simplest of stories. The Fencing master and the Dumas Club are both masterful works. He seems to be able to write about anything at all, from historical novel to detective story to supernatural tale, all with same seeming ease and with deceptive depth. It is no wonder that he single-handedly got his Spanish countrymen to read books. No mean feat in a country where half the population normally don't read a single book in their lifetime. Out of this list, he has perhaps most pure writing talent.

Ian M Banks. I love the Culture books. Banks has an imagination larger than the universe. He has taken the technolgy so far beyond our capabilities that one can only marvel at his inventiveness. The fact that the humans actually play a second fiddle to their computer Minds makes the books delicious to read. Granted, he likes to repeat himself, but who cares? Besides, what games designer worth his salt could resist a book called Player of games?

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