favorite science fiction/fantasy authors - what are yours?

[Geoff Bannister]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "susanmcgee48176" <Schlobin at ...> wrote:
>
> Here are mine:
> 
> Tied for first place J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling
> 2 - C. S. Lewis
> 3 - Robert Heinlein
> 4 - Marian Zimmer Bradly
> 5 - Mercedes Lacky
> 6 - Robin McKinley
> 7 - Madeleine L'Engle
> 8 - Susan Cooper
> 
> and here are some others in no particular order, Poul Anderson,
> Isaac Asmiov, T.H. White, Sheri Tepper, Octavia Butler, Andre Norton, Charles de Lint, Orson Scott Card, Ursula LeGuin, E.E. Smith,
> Lord Dunsany, 
> 
> Yours?

Geoff:
I think like another contributor, I will not put them in rank order 
but, in some cases, will give a specific book which has been of 
particular enjoyment for me.

J R R Tolkien - LOTR has been a favourite read for over 50 years. 
  Silmarillion harder work.
J K Rowling - say no more  :-))
C S Lewis - The Narnia books (except The Horse and His Boy) 
  and the first of the Perelandra books (Out of the Silent Planet)
Alan Garner - Weirdstone of Brisingamen, Moon of Gomrath
John Wyndham - The Kraken wakes
Arthur C Clarke - The city and the stars
James  Blish - Cities in flight

There are others but those are the ones which spring immediately 
to mind.