favorite science fiction/fantasy authors - what are yours?

[Miles]

Carol wrote:
> Going back to the original question stated in the subject line, What
> are your favorite science fiction/fantasy authors, I'd have to say
> none except LOTR (which I reread annually from the time I was fifteen
> till I was about thirty-five and still return to occasionally) and,
> of course, the harry Potter books. I've tried other scifi or fantasy
> authors and just can't get caught up in their worlds or their
> writing, possibly because I don't care to think about the future and
> am intrigued by the real past (historical and prehistoric). For me
> the great mystery of all time is how and when we became human (how
> could something like homo habilis evolve into *us*?)

Miles
But that's what good fantasy and science fiction deals with  - IMO.
But it leads to an interesting question - what is "good" fantasy and science 
fiction?
While personal taste can't be defined properly, for me there are some 
characteristics of good literature in general.

First of all, a good book must be written in good language. I recognise good 
German easily, good English is a bit more difficult. But in both languages 
that I can read I can't endure bad metaphors, overblown style, sloppy 
grammar, or - horribile dictu - bad spelling in a book. Good language needs 
rhythm, a rich vocabulary, and maybe some small surprises.

The second important issue of good literature are the characters. In 
"normal" literature those characters are human - no surprise so far. A good 
author creates his characters in a way the readers can "feel" them. We are 
reminded of people we know in real life, maybe we see parts of ourselves in 
them. We feel with them, sometimes care for them (Harry ;) ), and in good 
books we can learn something about human beings from books. Therefore I do 
not like "wrong" characters. Flawless heroes, purely bad villains, 
stereotypes in general.
While good or bad language is not a question of the genre of a book, in 
science fiction and fantasy books many characters are not human at all. But 
that doesn't mean that it's not possible to have "living" characters in that 
kind of books.
Many interesting "humans" in fantasy are Elves, Hobbits, Merepeople, or 
Vulcans, Klingons and Martians in science fiction. To put them outside our 
world sometimes makes it possible to show their human characteristics more 
clearly. (I would be interested how racists who read Harry Potter think 
about pureblood supremancy in Potterworld?)

What I need in a good book, and this is the third and last issue, is a 
believable "world". I don't need a world full of myths and languages like in 
Tolkien, I like Rowling's potterverse good enough, though I sometimes shake 
my head about all it's flaws. Even those books that use our time and world, 
without fantasy elements ("normal" fiction) set a fictional picture of our 
world. This picture can be believable - or not. "Bad" literature does not 
care for reality or internal logic - and to have a non-authentic version of 
21st century London or an illogical 33rd century Vulcan is both frustrating 
for a reader who sometimes thinks about what s/he's reading.

Miles