I am a huge fan paranormal fiction and fantasy writing, with a general preference for the paranormal side. This is a list of my favorites and why I love them:
Terry Pratchett – He is the master fantasy writer. No question. The Discworld series are the most imaginative, creative, insightful, funny, and well-written fantasy books I have read. Pratchett, in my opinion, is one of the leading satirists of this generation. Good Omens is another great book, separate from the Discworld series.
Jim Butcher – Butcher has two series – The Dresden Files, and the Codex Alera series. Both are fantastic, if extremely different. The Dresden Files involves Harry Dresden, wizard and investigator. This series is based in Chicago, with the typical cast of supernaturals – vampires, wizards, werewolves, etc. It is probably my favorite paranormal fiction series, mainly because of Butcher’s story development. The Codex Alera series is a more typical fantasy story, and extremely well done.
Charlaine Harris – Harris is quite prolific: The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Harper Connelly Mysteries, Lily Bard Mysteries, among other odds and ends. The Southern Vampire Mysteries involve Sookie Stackhouse, a telepath. This is my second favorite paranormal series, mainly because of Harris’ character development. Always extremely well done. My least favorite is the Harper Connelly Mysteries, but they are still good when you have read all the others!
Tanya Huff – Another prolific writer, Huff writes both paranormal fiction and fantasy. She has the Blood Series, the Keeper Chronicles, The Smoke Trilogy, The Quarters, among many, many other books. Ms. Huff is fantastic, blending humor and descriptive dialogue. The Keeper Chronicles are some of my favorite fantasy books, being extremely original, and I am DYING for a fourth!! Please Ms. Huff!!
Kelley Armstrong – Armstong is best known for the Women of the Otherworld series. She also has a new series, the Nadia Stafford series, which I have yet to read. Women of the Otherworld is a great series that ties all of the lead characters of the various novels together while promoting interesting and diverse story-lines. Armstrong writes about werewolves, vampires, necromancers, witches, and demons in a creative voice.
Simon R. Green – Green’s Novels of the Nightside series are fantastically gritty and clever. His protagonist is a man born of Lilith, John Taylor, a private investigator who can find anything that is lost. These novels take place in the Nightside, another world located in the heart of London. The characters are intense and interesting. Green has many other fantasy novels, and I would recommend Blue Moon Rising, and Shadows Fall.
Laurell K. Hamilton – Perhaps the most famous paranormal fiction writer, Hamilton almost invented the modern genere. While Ann Rice romanticized the vampire as a secret and hidden monster, Hamilton invented the world where vampires announced their existence to the world. The Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels are certainly in any paranormal fiction lover’s bookshelf. Hamilton was my first introduction into paranormal fiction, and I devoured each and every book of her series. Her writing has become more disappointing, focusing mainly on what can only be described as soft-porn scenes, but I continue to maintain hope that she will return to her roots as a dynamic and thoughtful author. Her other series, Meredith Gentry, is about a Fae princess and the perils she faces as attempting to inherit the throne from her Aunt, The Queen of Darkness. Definitely worth reading, though also often overpowered by the soft-core porn.
Maryjanice Davidson – Davidson is considered a paranormal romance writer, but I enjoy her books due to her incredibly humorous characters and dialogue. The Queen Betsy series is a must, and I also recommend the Fred the Mermaid series, the Gorgeous series, and Derik’s Bane.
Kim Harrison – Harrison writes the Rachel Morgan series about a witch formerly employed by the government who goes out on her own, along with a vampire and pixie, to start a private investigator business. This is a good series, though not as masterful as Butcher.
J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter. Not to much else to say about that!
