Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. A new topic is posted each week, and bloggers post their top ten in the category. I love lists, especially about books, so I just had to participate in Top Ten Tuesday.

This week's topic was Top Ten Authors in [X] Genre, and while it might seem a little predictable, there really wasn't much of a choice for me except fantasy. There are so many amazing fantasy authors I've been able to read, and after all, fantasy is what I know best. So, without further ado...

Top Ten Fantasy Authors

10. Rick Riordan

Okay, so the Heroes of Olympus series was kind of a flop, but Rick Riordan has still written some really amazing books. Percy Jackson and the Olympians was my childhood, pretty much. And I loved The Kane Chronicles. I still love his writing style and his books, and really hope he explores more mythologies and writes more books. 

9. Michael Scott

I was a little hesitant to put him on here, because I've only read his series Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. But, wow, was that series fantastic. I mean - beyond words. And what finally solidified my decision to include him on this list was the question, "If this author wrote a book that came out today, would I rush out to buy it?" And the answer is a thousand times yes. 

8. Tamora Pierce

So there are books of hers that I love more than others, but there aren't any that I really dislike. The first book of hers I read was The Immortals quartet, which I loved and followed up with Song of the Lioness and First Test, the first book in the Protector of the Small series. Then I realized she also wrote The Circle of Magic, which my best friend had been recommending to me for months. Once I read those, I was in love with her books and willing to read pretty much anything she wrote - and I haven't been disappointed yet.

7. Cornelia Funke

Okay, I lied. Percy Jackson and the Olympians wasn't all of my childhood. Although it was pretty prominent from age 11/12 onward, the years up until 5th grade were dominated by Dragon Rider, The Thief Lord, and the Inkheart trilogy. Cornelia Funke's books were some of the first fantasy novels I fell in love with, and they're still among my favorites. I really want her to write more, now. Don't underestimate the lengths I'll go to in order to find out when we're finally getting a sequel to Reckless.

6. Cassandra Clare

The characters and the plot and the setting and Clockwork Prince was too amazing for words and all the original concepts and the Shadowhunters and Magnus and they're making a movie and I need to read everything she's ever written now - well, yeah. You get the idea. 

5. Kristin Cashore

I love her. Just, 100% affection and admiration. Every book she writes continues to top those before it - Bitterblue was even more impressive than Fire, which somehow managed to outshine Graceling. Not sure how that happens, but I love it. If you want to here me gush more about her, check out my review of Bitterblue here. 

4. Jeffrey Ford

This man's short stories blow my mind. My cousin sent me The Empire of Ice Cream for a birthday present, and I loved every single short story - some more than others, but they were all fantastic. I've read more of his short stories in other anthologies, and I just can't get enough. Reading anything by him transports me to a strange and beautiful wonderland, full of unexpected beauty and danger. And isn't that really what fantasy is all about?

3. Cinda Williams Chima

I've repeatedly said that The Demon King is one of the best fantasy books I've ever read, and as the author of it, Cinda Williams Chima is automatically incredible. I also read and loved The Warrior Heir, and can't wait to read more in both of these incredible series.

2. J.R.R. Tolkien

There are very few places I would rather spend my time than immersed in a Tolkien novel, exploring Middle Earth. I've read and reread The Hobbit more than most other novels, and my copy of The Lord of the Rings is falling apart because I literally took it everywhere with me when I was reading it. The world in J.R.R. Tolkien's novels is home for me, and it always will be.

1. Maggie Stiefvater

There are a lot of things I could say in praise of Maggie Stiefvater, and there are a lot of things I've already said, but really, the only thing I think I need to mention is this: she beat J.R.R. Tolkien for spot number one on my list. That itself shows how amazing her fantasy novels are. I'm still waiting on a fantasy author that can top her.

~blackandwhitedreamer