Who is the greatest modern fantasy author?

Clive Staples Lewis. Rowling doesn't belong on the list because she's a post-modern author.

 

Tolkien

I also enjoyed Tad Williams and David Eddings, but they're not on the same scale as Tolkien was.

 

Tolkien

 

I'll go with Piers Anthony, Pratchett, Gaiman and throw in, Jacqueline Carrey, Rowling gets a nod, Zimmer-Bradley definately and perhaps McCaffrey but she is a bit sci-fi.

 

Probably Tolkien, but Stover writes some awsome stuff.

 

tolkien owns em' all.

 

Uhhh. . . Terry Goodkind!

<[-]> Saber

 

I would have to say: terry brooks "The shananara series" and Christopher paolini "Eragon".

 

Tolkien, not just because of the story he created with The Lord of the Rings, but also because of the way he wrote it. There is a purity and great memorability to Tolkien's writing and dialogue. It's not always the best but it's generally very good to read.

I've been working on a few books of my own for a while and I always find myself sifting through Tolkien's books for inspiration in writing.

Although, there are certain things about Tolkien that annoy me. I read The Return of the King again recently and came across this passage: "And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them..."

I don't care how happy you are. You wouldn't be singing during a deadly battle

 

J.R.R. Tolkien is the greatest. I do not say this to simply jump on the LOTR bandwagon. His impact on fantasy lit has been enormous. There are only a few fantasy series that do not resemble his work in some way or another. Also mentioning that the relm of Middle Earth is not exclusive to the LOTR and the Hobbit, but was in fact his lifes work spanning almost 20 books and several COMPLETE languages, for me, he ranks at the top.

 

I enjoy Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series immensely because of the sheer reasoning for him writing them to begin: he saw Fantasy as a medium as the most efficient classification to convey his philosophy.

His characters are dynamic, his land richly detailed, his creatures innovative, he's not afraid to tackle the tough issues, and reason is held in the upmost regard in decision-making in all his books.

The Wizard's Rules are some of the most sensible tenets generated in fiction that can apply to actual life. He's not apprehensive when it comes to grappling issues such as rape, murder, torture, and black magic.

His villains aren't mindless drones committing terrible acts out of compulsion, rather than actually justifying atrocious acts of violence, oppression, and violation of the human being.

The main character is a hero in every sense of the word. Although he makes occasional mistakes along the way, he uses his sense of right to see the error of his ways and correct them.

True love conquers all.

These aren't just entertaining, you can get a real sense of enlightenment from reading them.

<[-]> Saber

 

::Reads previous post::
::Shoots self::

 

Tolkien - no contest.

 

Easily Tolkein.

Though Gandalf should have put Terry Brooks and Ursula LeGuin as options on the poll.

 

Garth Nix and Philip Pullman.

 

I voted for Tolkien.

Also enjoy Harry Turtledove's alternate history stories.

 

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings are great.

 

I personally dont like Tolken, but I dont have a favorite cause I dont really like fantasy.

 

Terry pratchett is just so randomly hilarious that he's my favorite, handsdown.

 

J.R.R. Tolkien - without a doubt!

 

J. K. Rowling is right up there with Tolkien in my book.

 

Karen Kancock.

 

Clive Barker by miles the others just rehash the same old stuff

 

Tolkien

 

J.R.R Tolkien