Linkmeister

I have that kind of addiction to Kurt Vonnegut, although I don't know if he qualifies as a genre writer.

Well, I had L'Amour in there, so I couldn't say mystery; then halfway through I remembered all the sci-fi folks, so I broadened it to genre. ;)

Me, it's Carl Hiaasen and Terry Pratchett.

In recent years, I've pretty much devoured anything by Laurie R. King (crime), and Neil Gaiman (fantasy)is starting to get that way for me, too.

Gaiman, definitely. American Gods is a modern classic.

Try the Hyperion novels (Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion) by Dan Simmons -- SF as good as anything from the Golden Age. The two books (really one book broken into two volumes) are nothing short of breathtaking. There's a sequel duet called the Endymion books (Endymion, Endymion Rising) that picks up the threads a few hundred years later.

Off the top of my head, I like Neal Stephenson and William Gibson, but those may be too, well, cyberpunk (is that a term anymore?). Philip Pullman. Sherri S. Tepper. Shirly Jackson. Angela Carter. Elizabeth Hand.

You might try some of the online recommendation sites like WhichBook.net...

http://www.whichbook.net/index.jsp

I've found that I've liked Neil Gaiman's comics a lot better than his novels. I haven't read American Gods, but his two previous ones were pretty forgetable.

Alan Moore's novel, which I think it his only one so far, Voice of the Fire, is really quite amazing. He stuffs 5000 years of Northampton (his hometown) history in one book. I told a friend about it and she thought I should read Sarum by Edward Rutherford.

Fiction writers I am currently exploring are Iain M. Banks and Steve Aylett. I got a bunch of Harlan Ellison to go through too.

I've liked what I've read of James P. Hogan. His Giants series which starts with Inherit the Stars is really good. It starts off with a lot of hard science fiction for the first half of the book and then it really takes off.

Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood End is my favorite of his.

And then there's Jack L. Chalker who is still turning out books (over 60 at this point). I really enjoyed And the Devil Will Drag You Under. It's a good place to start.

Keep them cards and letters comin', folks!

I should have added Tony Hillerman to my list, by the way.

I almost said Hillerman, then thought you might have already tried him and didn't like.

Oh, I definitely agree with John on a few points. So far, I prefer Neil Gaiman's comics to his books (but I have only read Stardust and Neverwhere). Also, Iain M. Banks (just picked up another one of his) is also quite an interesting read and Harlan Ellison is one of my favorites. I've been meaning to re-read Deathbird Stories, but they're very disturbing and I'm already reading a disturbing book right now.

You should read Raymond Chandler's novels. He only wrote six plus a handful of short stories. They're not long on plot, but the way that he pulls you into a scene, makes you breathe the putrid air of the seamy underbelly of LA in the 30s, you can't put the books down.

A less short on plot but with a style as engaging, are the novels of Dashiell Hammett.

One of my favorite Raymond Chandler quotes:

"She's dark and lovely and passionate. And very, very kind."
"And exclusive as a mailbox," I said.
---The Little Sister (Chapter 19)

E.L Doctorow and Joseph Kennedy spring to mind.

Joseph Campbell blurs the line of writing we speak of, an idiosyncratic sort of non-fiction speaking of perenial myth and culture to our jaded society- some how it seems to fit the scheme you are following, albeit loosely. An autuer of enlightenment...

definately Laurel K Hamilton, it just doesnt get much better.