10 Awesome Authors Every Game of Thrones Fan Needs to Read
4. Simon R Green
This is my wild card entry because its not your traditional fantasy series, even in the way that Sanderson or Martin arent your traditional fantasy writers. How can I put this? Greens books are fun. Really fun. They whip along at breakneck pace, the story carried by larger than life characters who leap from the page, set your boots on fire and steal your wallet. You end up grinning uncontrollably while you read his books, partly because they're bloody funny, and partly because of the sheer amount of awesome ideas he manages to cram into each one. The storytelling is dramatic and the action is gloriously over the top, with breathless fight scenes, plenty of last stands against evil hordes, and villains who have style. Greens heroes are usually reluctant ones, forced by a sense of honour and duty to make a stand against evil because they can not, will not look away. They fight alongside companions noble and not so noble (If you couldnt hit it, steal it, or sleep with it Ruby was often lost for an option) and often save the day for a completely ungrateful world. If it sounds a little light Ill grant you its no Dostoevsky, but don't be fooled. Woven within the mayhem are moments of real pathos and real insight, and out of all the authors featured in this article, Green is the one who verges closest to horror. His stories always focus on the little things that make up humanity as well as scale the mountainous questions of reality and eternity, all with a deftness of touch that means its all done absolutely seamlessly. The book to start with is "Blue Moon Rising" as it has all the hallmarks of a traditional fantasy: a dragon, a princess, a hero with a magic sword, and a demon prince to defeat, but like youve never seen before. This is pure, undiluted entertainment.