My Top 10 Authors of All Time | As of 2024 

I’m surprised there’s no mention of Joe Abercrombie!!!

Mike, i know your very busy, but i hope you can read this comment and know that your channel, your great commentary, and superb literary taste have helped me tremendously. You have reignited my love for reading and word slingers.

10) Michael Crichton 9) Ken Follett 8) Richard Montanari 7) Walter Mosley 6) Robert McCammon 5) Dan Simmons 4) Greg Iles 3) Michael Connelly 2) Dennis Lehane 1) Stephen King HM: Gillian Flynn, Neal Stephenson, Nick Cutter, John Grisham, Don Winslow, George R.R. Martin

King is on my top ten. But my list begins with Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Isaac Asimov. Enjoyed your video. A well thought out list.

Mike, thanks for sharing this list! I've never read anything by Blake Crouch, but the rest of your list are mostly favorites of mine, as well. Thanks for mentioning Michael Crichton and Ray Bradbury. They both are famous, but they don't seem to resonate with many of today's readers. I started reading Michael Crichton paperbacks when the movie Andromeda Strain came out, and loved most of them. Lately, I've been re-reading Bradbury's early stories about 'Uncle Einar' and his weird family. They are so good! Edit: My current top author list would have to include Neal Asher, Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, Alastair Reynolds, Anthony Trollope, Ian Toll, Steven Erikson, Frank Herbert and Walter Jon Williams. And Rudyard Kipling makes 10!

This is where I use your video of 'tell people your top 10 favorite writers' to tell you my favorite writer. Edgar Rice Burroughs

So many of these were introduced to me through you - so thank you x 10 man!

What an amazing list of giants! Awesome.

Great list Mike! I dunno about anyone else but I love a good top ten list and you always knock them out of the park. Keep up the great work sir!

Great list! My favorite authors: 1). JRR Tolkien 2) JK Rowling 3). George RR Martin 4). Tad Williams 5). Michael Crichton I anticipate this list will grow in coming years. I need to re-read Stephen King’s early works and then work my way through his more recent books.

We definitely share our top 2. From there it diverges a fair bit as I’d have (in no special order) Gaiman, Sanderson, Gibson, Grisham, Arturo Perez-Reverte, Herbert, Vonnegut, and Karin Slaughter. But Crichton and King were such events in high school.

My current top ten - 1 Stephen King, 2 Robert McCammon, 3 Dan Simmons, 4 Terry Pratchett, 5 Ken Follett, 6 Iain Banks, 7 James Herbert, 8 Ian Rankin, 9 Robin Hobb, 10 Clive Barker. As I am now getting into more Fantasy, my favourites will soon be Joe Abercrombie, John Gwynne, Brandon Sanderson, Ryan Cahill to name but a few. I just need to read more of them.

Your excitement alone is infectious and loved watching this !

Great video and nice list. Mine would include Daniel pinkwater, Tad Williams, Robin Hobb, Raymond Feist, Robert Jordan, Stephen king, Agatha Christie, Michael Connelly and John Scalzi

I love Swam Song and also The Wolfs Hour by Robert McCammon

I actually just went through and reranked my favorites a couple weeks ago. I scored each of my favorites in 7 different categories: Characters, World Building, Dialog, Plot/Story, Emotions (who made me cry, lol), Prose & Pacing; all these listed in order of importance to me personally; scoring 1 through 5 stars with 5 being great. Here is how that scoring turned out: 10. Stephen R. Donaldson (24 points; highest scores were in Characters, World Building & Plot/Story with a 4 in each) 9. Patrick Rothfuss (24; got a 5 in Prose so he is ahead of Donaldson) 8. Nicolaus Eames (26; got a 4 in every category but World Building and Prose) 7. George R. R. Martin (26; got a 5 in both World Building and Plot/Story so is ahead of Eames) 6. Mark Lawrence (27; got 4's in every category but Emotions) 5. Steven Erikson (27; got 5's in two categories: World Building & Plot/Story so is ahead of Lawrence) 4. David Gemmell (27; got 5's in two categories: Characters & Emotions; I'm more of a character driven reader so that ranks him ahead of Erikson) 3. Brandon Sanderson (27; got 5's in three categories: Characters, World Building & Plot/Story so is ahead of Gemmell) 2. Joe Abercrombie (28; gets 5's in Characters and Dialog) 1. Robert Jordan (29; gets 5's in Characters, World Building & Plot/Story)

Glad you finally made your list! I was surprised with no Abercrombie! And I need to read some Bradbury - I've only read Fahrenheit 451.

1. Brandon Sanderson 2. Octavia E Butler 3. Blake Crouch 4. Joe Abercrombie 5. NK Jemison

I did my thesis on Robert E Howard i’m glad you mentioned him. Nobody on booktube ever talks about him. He was the pioneer of the sword and sorcery genre ❤

Great video, Mike. Some of these were pretty surprising to me. I have very similar feelings about Sanderson

Nice list. Love Bradbury...Dandelion Wine is one of my all time favorites and if you havent read it you definitely should. No complaints about Martin - he's one of my favorite authors also. Fevre Dream! Happy reading!

Love me some Lovecraft! I got into his works in college and I've been a fan ever since. I understand his verbose writing style is not for everyone but his sheer imagination astounds me, not just the Cthulhu Mythos but the Dreamlands stories as well. The Colour Out of Space is still one of my favorite short stories ever. Just perfect cosmic horror on display there.

Crichton and King are my favorites to but i still have a long way to go with many other authors. i just recently bought a copy of lonesome dove so im excited to give that a try

Janny Wurts, Michael Moorcock, Steven Erikson, John Gwynne, Robin Hobb, Joe Abercrombie, R A Salvatore and Tom Lloyd.

Hey Mike, loved your list 😁 Not sure if I have ten or not, but right now some of my favorite authors are George RR Martin, Susanna Clarke, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Fredrik Backman, Justin Cronin, and James Islington. Of course, that list changes all the time!

Crichton is so great, every book a page turner I couldn't put down.

Mine are Tolkien, Cornwall, Abercrombie, Gwynne, Buehlman & Hobb!! Everybody needs to discover Buehlman!!!

Agree with everything you said regarding Bradbury. Husband and I lived close to his hometown Waukegan in Illinois for a few years and it was amazing to walk around the city that was the influence for ‘Green Town’. Very akin to the feeling I get any time I’m in Maine (or most of New England for that matter). I think King’s ability to characterize the towns in his stories is a definite hat tip to Bradbury - probably why they will both be all-timers for me. Like you said, something about their writing just feels like coming home.

Great list. I’m literally reading Sphere right now :)

I reallyyyyy need to check out some Crichton, I have read nothing by him yet oops. Amazing list, curious to see if/how it will change over the coming years!

#5 - As of last year Robin Hobb has entered my all time. #4 - James Michener is an oldie, won pulitzer prize 1948, but he's my favorite of epic/saga historical fiction. #3 - Robert McCammon- my fandom started with Wolf's Hour and was sealed by Matthew Corbett. Boy's Life and Swan Song were just bonus points #2 - Dan Simmons- After reading Summer of Night, I branched off his horror and tried his other literary works and fell in love with his writing. #1 Stephen King has always been my top fav since the 7th grade.

Top 5: King, Crichton, Tolkien, Crouch, and Dostoevsky. Others who could join the top 10 after I read more of their work: GGK, Hobb, Ruocchio, Erikson, and Lehane.

My Top 6 list. These are the only authors I've read all their stuff (or close to) and have enjoyed nearly everything I've read. JD Salinger HP Lovecraft JRR Tolkien Clark Ashton Smith Robert E Howard Joe Abercrombie

Definitely agree with Crichton! I've read nearly all of his. Grisham was another that I dove into but not so much with his more recent stuff.

Hi Mike. Love your channel. I've never read any Lovecraft, where should I start?

Love Robert McCammon, but so far only Boy's Life and Swan Song are next level. Love Ray Bradbury, he is a word wizard. I recommend Chad Lutzke as a fresh, phenomenal storyteller. He writes kids and coming of age horror stories so well. Clive Barker is my number two! I still need to read If You Like It Darker!

I'm aiming for this list. :) Years down the line. Lumi Lumi is my love child right now, but it'll expand into.. a lot. Starting off with a web novel. I'm looking to combine both the concept of anime (light novel or OELN) and novels. I've planned Lumi Lumi out for probably 7+ years if not longer, but you can read the fun little 'Goblins and Grandma' prompt writing contest to see what I can make up in a matter of an hour or so. I usually write the chapter same day.

I havent committed to liveship traders but i hear it scratches that pirate type book itch

Hi Mike. Have always read multiple genres and for me James Lee Burke is my all time number 1. 45 books and counting. Picking up his new novel CLETE on Saturday and will probably read it in 1 sitting. His books just go deep into my bones. Best Regards UK Chris

I'm glad that Robert McGammon's _Swan Song_ got at least an honorable mention, because that is my favorite story of all time. I can't count how many times I've read that book, and I love it. I have it in paperback, Kindle & Audible, and am waiting on getting a hardcover copy. I've had to replace my paperbacks twice because it went through so much with me. However, Stephen King & Anne Rice are my favorite authors. I've read the _The Stand & The Witching Hour,_ many times too. *Edited:* Just subscribed. 🤣

My top three: Anne Rice, A. N. Roquelaure, Anne Rampling. If you get it, you get it. XD Seriously, massive shrine to her. She showed me rhe Savage Garden and with now eleven autographed novels with two personal autographs and a personalized photo of her, think i wont leave her worlds any time soon. Oh, FYI: The AMC Series was a wonderful piece of television and a masterclass of adapating (adaption, not translation).

1.Brandon Sanderson 2.John Gwynne 3.Joe Abercrombie 4.Robert Jordan 5.George R.R. Martin 6.David Gemmel 7.J.R.R. Tolkien 8.Patrick Rothfuss 9.Fonda Lee (reading jade war atm) 10.Dan Simmons

Stephen King was the first author I read and I will always have soft spot for him. Number two would be Philip K Dick who I think not enough people talk about. 3 would be Richard Stark, I got hooked to his Parker books in high school. 4 is Agatha Christie who wrote nice tight mystery books. I can't really think of any authors pass that I have read enough to make a judgement on them.

Hey Mike, love this channel. Have you ever thought about writing your own stories? I would love to read something you wrote, given what you like, i think i would really enjoy that

Nice list. My list would include Neal Stevenson and Douglas Adams, tough to narrow to 10.

Jeez, nice new title card. I don't know if this is the first showing, but MAN. Good stuff.

Agree on your number one, my fave of all time, best character writer imo. Good list!

Great list 👌 👍 I also love reading Stephen King , Anne Rice, and A. Huxley.. Id recommend V.E Schwab.

The first volume of the elric saga arrived about a week ago. I'm reading it and I'm absolutely loving it, it's my first ever novel.

I probably don’t have a top 10 but I think Dostoevsky would be at the top of my list. Also love CS Lewis and Tolkien. JK Rowling was a massive part of my childhood that I enjoy passing onto my kids. George Orwell and Ray Bradbury are fantastic as well. Stephen King and Brandon Sanderson are similar for me in the sense that some of their books are among my all-time favorites, but some of their other books I just don’t care for.

Robert Mccammon is probably my favorite author. I own almost all of his books as the numbered and lettered signed versions. I have hunted down a lot of his 1st editions too. You can't go wrong reading any of his books. Of course his best are swan song and boy's life but try Wolf's hour and the hunter from the woods, Blue world (short stories), they thirst, the border, the listener, all the matthew corbett books (especially Cardinal black or king of shadows where he goes into what events turned the antagonist into the "most evil" it's genius. All of them are good so you don't have to wait for a "good one")

I love that you have both HP and Howard on your list. Absolutely brilliant. Curious have you read Clark Ashton Smith, he was another contemporary of both them. They formed the trinity of weird. CAS wrote some beautiful stories 🤠

Great video My favourites: 1 Stephen King 2 J K Rowling 3 James Herbert 4 Charles Dickens 5 Terry Pratchett 6 Alexandre Dumas 7 Ken Follett 8 Lee Child 9 Joe Abercrombie 10 Richard Laymon

This is wild… I was literally just looking for your top ten authors ever a couple days ago 😂

Michael Crichton and Stephen King are my 2 favorites. I guess that's why I love your channel

aaaaand I just bought another shirt, thanks Mike!

I love that I'm not the only one who uses the line from men in black still 😂❤

my top pics: Joe Abercrombie, Stephen King, Brandon Sanderson, Robert Seethaler, Walter Moers, Goerge Orwell, Agatha Christie

I enjoyed Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. And I’m just starting the final book in The Dark Tower!

Never expected Cormac McCarthy to become my fav author but then I read Blood Meridian and something just clicked. That book was so impactful for me. It was so real and visceral. It was an experience. It's hard to describe because I never felt this way about a book. McCarthy is def not for everyone though.

Have you read any Ronald Malfi yet? I am reading my first of his with his new book Small Town Horror. So far I am really enjoying it. He has a band that is pretty good too called Veer. I've been diving into that as well.

We have the same top 3. 1. Stephen King - his combination of characterization, ideas, genre range and sheer amount of great books is unmatched. The amount of unique great ideas he has is truly astounding 2. George RR Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire is the best thing I’ve ever read, and there isn’t a close second. He isn’t #1 because he doesn’t have King’s story diversity or volume. 3. Michael Crichton - his books are a joy to read. Nobody does scientific thrillers like him

Great list!

It's always a good day when Mike posts a Top 10 list

Yikes... so many options. Dumas, McCammon, Schwab, Wells, Eisler, Freeman, Weis, Butcher... I feel like the longer the list gets the worse you feel about leaving someone off. Bailing now :D

Check out Robert McCammon's The Five. About a touring rock band. Maybe his best novel.

Hmm, good list, here's mine in no particular order. Robert A. Heinlein - nostalgia pick, first Sci Fi author where once I read one of his books, I had to read them all Cormac McCarthy - in my opinion the most important American author of the twenty-first century J. R. R. Tolkien - nostalgia and shear greatness. I have read the Hobbit and LOTR 5 times through Robert McCammon - IMHO, the thinking mans Stephen King Iain M. Banks - Whether his fiction or his sci fi, this Banks is one of the best Dan Simmons - One of the best writers of the last 50 years regardless of genre Neal Stephenson - the king of interesting ideas Alastair Reynolds - he writes 600+ page books you rip through like they're novellas Robin Hobb - Mesmerizing, spellbinding, meaning T. C. Boyle - If you have never read Boyle, you're in for a treat Wallace Stegner - Taught creative writing at Stanford. Students? * Wendell Berry * Sandra Day O’Connor * Edward Abbey * Simin Daneshvar * Andrew Glaze * George V. Higgins * Thomas McGuane * Robert Stone * Ken Kesey * Gordon Lish * Ernest Gaines * Larry McMurtry Honorable Mentions George R. R. Martin Joe Abercrombie Larry Niven/Jerry Pournelle C. S. Friedman Stephen R. Donaldson Greg Bear David Weber Larry Correia I have to stop because I could keep listing more and more

Another book tuber wants, said that she found it way more exciting to discuss Dune and the world of Dune and it was to actually read the books. I admittedly couldn’t agree more.

TBH watched this to confirm King would be No 1. Like. No surprise, Mike? But knock me down with a feather at Sanderson (finally, perspective) and Jordan (right?). Shocked not to find JK Rowling but not sad. Your list made my day! Thank you so much!!

My list: #1 Stephen King, #2 J R. R. Tolkien, #3 H. P. Lovecraft (i don’t agree with his racist views, but i love the Cthulhu Mythos), #4 Michael Crichton, #5 Ray Bradbury, #6 Rick Riordan, #7 C. S. Lewis, #8 Frank Herbert (should be higher, but I don’t like the Dune sequels past Children of Dune), # 9 R. L. Stine (Goosebumps is my childhood), #10 Mario Puzo (The Godfather, The Last Don, Omerta, etc.)

Great! I hope you cover the new Michael Crichton & James Patterson "Eruption". I just finished it and enjoyed it. I'm very curious how it hits you. I know you just said "no", but it's worth it.

1. Stephen King 2. Robert R McCammon 3. Spider Robinson 4. George R.R. Martin 5. Ray Bradbury I love many others but these are the top 5

I'm at a toss up between Robert Jordan and Robert McCammon. Swan Song being my all time favorite book and The Wheel Of Time being my favorite series.

My top authors? Okay. Stephen King, Peter Straub, Joseph Heller, Ken Kesey, Arthur C. Clarke, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Charles Webb, William Wharton. Or how about my top 10, actually 11, favourite books by these authors? 1) _Carrie_ by Stephen King (I'd never read a book like this before that actually shocked me) 2) _The Shining_ by Stephen King (long story, claustrophobic, suspenseful and scary, one of his best) 3) _'Salem's Lot_ by Stephen King (great small town feeling, real people battling an unstoppable evil) 4) _Ghost Story_ by Peter Straub (it literally scared me) 5) _Shadowland_ by Peter Straub (beautifully written, brilliant, suspenseful) 6) _Catch-22_ by Joseph Heller (great characters, black humour, off beat, brilliant and engrossing) 7) _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_ by Ken Kesey (great protagonist, great villain, brilliant writing) 8) _2001: A Space Odyssey_ by Arthur C. Clarke (mind bending, just like the cover says) 9) _Breakfast of Champions_ by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (weird, strange, unusual and I loved it) 10) _The Graduate_ by Charles Webb (brilliant dialogue, how does he do it?) 11) _Birdy_ by William Wharton (stunningly beautiful near the end, the part in italics, beyond brilliant) Honorable mentions: _Different Seasons_ by Stephen King (four novellas, every one brilliant and perfect) _Welcome to the Monkey House_ by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (short story collection, erudite and high brow, not at all like the quirky, alternative stuff he usually writes) _Bambi_ by Felix Salten (read it as a kid, very touching) _Around the World In Eighty Days_ by Jules Verne (fun, adventurous, great story) And as a kid I loved reading Charlie Brown comic strip books, and _Tintin_ by Hergé. And later, as an adult, _Calvin and Hobbes._ I also loved _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_ by L. Frank Baum.

My top 5 Favorite authors Not the best but favorite are: Stephen King Dean Koontz David Eddings Jim Butcher R A Salvatore. I literally have dozens and dozens of books by these authors It's not to say I've read all of them yet but I'm working on it

Long form "why I love Stephen King" video 🤔 sounds like a solid Spooky season idea 😁

Gene Wolfe, Steven Erikson, Pierce brown, Brandon Sanderson. Just started reading more Stephen King books, currently finishing up Salems Lot.

Stephen King is my favourite author as well. Just very fascinating body of work. Also, in spite of being known as a horror writer, his work can be great comfort food.

Great video 😄

No mention of Lois McMaster Bujold? A legit Grandmaster with multiple Hugo and Nebulas? The Vorkosigan saga is top notch Space Opera, and her Penric and Desdemona stories are an excellent and very original Sword and Sorcery series, full of interesting situations and droll wit. If you have not read either of these, I urge you to start, and envy your ability to read them for the first time. I'd put her in over Robert Jordan in a heartbeat. She's a far better writer.

Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, John Gwynne and Tad Williams right now.

Couldn’t agree more. King is America’s greatest living author.

As a lover of the fantasy, science-fiction, horror, western, and mystery genres, I can confidently confirm the best author of all time is Fyodor Dostoevsky. His psychological/philosophical novels are their own genre, and they scratch a deeper itch than any of the others can. Dune, LOTR, ASOIAF, and Lonesome Dove are all 10/10 masterpieces. Crime and Punishment is an 11/10. It breaks the scale. I thought McMurtry wrote the best characters until I read the GOAT. Roskolnikov, Sonia, and Svidrigailov live rent-free in my head now.

The moment you said ‘Steven’ I held my breath. Will it be Erikson or King??

Nice ASMR at the beginning.

Whoa u put GRRm in top 3 great...so please continue his book reviews😅

Have you read anything from Michael Moorcock?

My current top 10: Tolkien Erickson Butcher (Jim) Crichton Glen Cook Agatha Christie Robert Crais Elizabeth Peters Louis L'Amour Dick Francis

My top 10, as of June 2024: 10. James Patterson 9. Lincoln Pierce 8. Roald Dahl 7. Johan Wyss 6. Bryan Jacques 5. Andy Weir 4. John Grisham 3. Jules Verne 2. Isaac Asimov 1. Pierce Brown

Stephen King Karin Slaughter Brandon Sanderson Michael Crichton George Martin Tolkien Makoto yukimura (vinland saga) Dan Brown Agatha Christie R. L. Stine That last one might be a bit of nostalgia, but he is really the first author who got me into horror and lead me to discovering Stephen King

George R.R. Martin also wrote my all-time favorite werewolf story, “The Skin Trade.”

Lol, nice callback to MIB. I think it flew over a few heads. 😂

My list is vast. Stephen King is my top favorite author. Brian Lumley is great also.

I would say Rawling, but everything after Harry Potter just hasn't been the same level, so not top 10. Mo Xiang Tong Xue is my favorite now. My favorite book in the world is by her. Many overlap with you. Stephen King, Tolkien. I love James Clavell - top 3. Shakespeare - I've read everything by him. Christopher Moore can always crack me up - so funny. Last is Tao Wong - he write cultivation novels.

Have you ever read Octavia Butler?

I’m new to Fantasy so no Fantasy/SciFi authors on my list. I’m sure my list will change in the coming years. 3. CJ Box 2. Michael Connelly 1. Stephen King

Ursula K Le Guin, Octavia Butler, Douglas Adams that one time and again, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Samuel R Delaney, a nostalgic shout-out to Brian Jaques and a recency bias shout-out to Vernor Vinge I need to read more Kurt Vonnegut and whoever this Steve King guy is

1. Stephen King 2. Michael Crichton 3. JRR Tolkien this is my top three authors list .

the best top on the internet.

My fav Dean Koontz with no mention of him....