Top Ten All Time Favourite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and this week we’re talking about our all time favourite authors! This wasn’t really a tough one for me (Amber) because I’m quite picky when it comes to favourite favourites. Here we go!

1. J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter)

Amber: If anyone doesn’t have JKR on their list this week then I’m either going to promptly disown them, or force feed them allllll the Harry Potter until it comes out of their ears. I think she’s an absolutely amazing person, and not only did she write my all time favourite children’s series, she also came from a similar background to me. It gives me hope that maybe one day I’ll be a billionaire with a tree house in my back garden.

Tatum: Because she wrote one of my absolute favourite series, duh. It goes beyond that though; she’s very outspoken about the depression she went through while writing Harry Potter. She never hides that it was difficult for her at times. I also remember her talking about the stigma against people who live on benefits (this is a HUGE thing in the UK at the moment and the ignorance drives me up the wall) because she wrote Harry Potter while unemployed and often talks about how she couldn’t have done so without the safety net of welfare to get her through. Rowling also gives a tonne of money to charities, Basically she is awesome as a person as well as an author and if I ever met her I would probably die.

2. Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking; More Than This; A Monster Calls)

Tatum: He is the bane of my life. Patrick Ness writes really fabulous books that explore complex topics; his stories feature characters of varying age, gender, sexuality and race (in one instance, even species). His books are a great example of how easy diversity is to include in fiction, and he writes with sensitivity no matter the topic. Also I have met him and heard him speak and he is a super great, although very intimidating, person.

3. Kelley Armstrong (Women of The Otherworld; Omens; The Darkest Powers)

Tatum: Her female characters are some of my favourites ever. Kelley Armstrong is so good at depicting women in all their differences while never reverting to stereotypes or pitting women against each other. All her books celebrate women and I just find it so refreshing.

4. Darren Shan (The Saga of Darren Shan; Demonata)

Amber: I started reading The Saga of Darren Shan during the summer between primary and secondary school, and I couldn’t get enough of it. It’s a phenomenal series, and I love the way Shan connects everything together. They’re not the longest or most in-depth books in the world, but they’re a lot of fun and I love the characters and relationships. I also really enjoyed the Demonata series. I’ve started his Zom-B series, but I’ve decided to wait until it’s finished so I can marathon the books as they’re so short. And I met Darren last year and he’s absolutely lovely!

5. Scott Lynch (Gentleman Bastard Sequence)

Tatum: Have you all accepted Locke Lamora into your lives? Honestly, his worldbuilding is amazing; his characters are so developed and the relationships so nuanced…the Gentlemen Bastard sequence has honestly become one of my all time favourite book series in the short time I’ve been reading it. I absolutely love it and would recommend these books to literally everyone.

6. Morgan Matson (Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour; Second Chance Summer; Since You’ve Been Gone)

Amber: BECAUSE FRIENDSHIPS AND SUMMER BOOKS AND CRYING.

7. Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park; Pirate Latitudes)

Tatum: HE WROTE JURASSIC PARK. Okay, but actually I’ve read a lot of Michael Crichton’s stuff and one thing I’ve always loved is his prose – he is so, so good at the technothriller genre and writes with accessibility, so that even some of the more complicated science in his books is always understandable. His stories are always original and addictive.

8. Rachel Vincent (Shifters; Unbound; Soul Screamers)

Amber: I’ve loved every book I’ve read of hers so far, and I’m so happy that Vincent is bringing out two more books this year. It’s been a long break between Soul Screamers ending and The Stars Never Rise coming out! I still have to read the final book in the Unbound series, but I think I’m going to do a full series reread at some point. Anyway, Rachel Vincent has got talent.

9. Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn; The Stormlight Archive; Elantris)

Amber: I am well aware of the problems that Sanderson’s series have (the lack of prominent female characters being one of them, and don’t get me started on the LGBTQ+ representation), but I adore his books. The Mistborn trilogy is one of my all time favourites, and I am in awe of the amount of planning that went into that series. I’m looking forward to seeing how The Stormlight Archive turns out, because if it’s anything like Mistborn it’s going to be epic.

Honourable Mentions

Amber: Scott Lynch (Gentleman Bastard Sequence), who is slowly rising up to the top because he has written about my OTP JeanLocke and his worldbuilding is just so. good. I will be doing a whole post about certain themes in his books soonish. But he’s not quite there yet. Jacqueline Wilson almost made it because the woman is a legend, as did Gillian Flynn and Roald Dahl.

Tatum: Cat Valente (Deathless; Fairyland series); her prose is honestly like poetry and her stories are wonderfully weird and imaginative. Totally agreed with Amber on Jacqueline Wilson, Gillian Flynn and Roald Dahl and I’m gonna add my childhood favourite Enid Blyton into the mix too. Sarah J. Maas also deserves a mention, as do Michelle Cooper and Abigail Haas. OH, also hats off to Frances Hardinge, Libba Bray, John Boyne and Carlos Ruiz Zafon… I maybe like a lot of authors….