So who is the second best author after SK? Who else should every SK fan know about?

My go-tos are Christopher Moore (Bloodsucking Fiends, You Suck, Bite Me, etc.) and Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club, Choke, Damned, etc.). While neither of these authors writes in the same style or genres that SK does, they both venture to the "dark side" and both do it with humor. Moore is more droll in his humor while Palahniuk is just bizarre. Both are very good writers though, in my opinion.

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Originally Posted by fushingfeef

For children (and quite a few grownup short stories), Roald Dahl.

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I love Roald Dahl!

I second that, JoJo. Anything by Joe Hill is a GREAT read.

okay..if you're thinking horror (or, horrorish) mccammon, chelsea quinn yarbro, peter straub, gary brandner, richard laymon ray bradbury, ray garton, fred saberhagens' dracula series is very good, charles grant, joe lansdale, richard matheson and clive barker top my list: all are almost always excellent

a special nod to H.P. lovecraft...it takes a bit of getting used to but once you 'get' it...you're hooked

have tried simmon several times; only made it through the one about the guy in india...it was not even remotely scary...like koontz, it's one i just don't get. sorry

as for regular authors...george macdonald fraser, douglas adams, john mortimer, joe lansdale (again!), william kotzwinkle, tim powers, i love a jon krakauer non-fiction book..i'm sure there are a few i'm forgetting

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Originally Posted by Patricia A

Robert McCammon's books can be hard to find in used bookstores, and a lot of the time when you do find a one it is in rattacular condition.
You can find his stuff on Amazon or order them directly from his website. It's worth the effort.

http://www.robertmccammon.com/

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Thanks for the link, Patricia! I appreciate it. :) I have noticed his books are hard to find! I haven't seen one yet in the used book stores I've been in recently.

I just started Robert McCammon's "Swan Song" based on recommendations in this thread. So far, so good.

I'll have to check out Robert McCammon. Definitely.

For me, though, it's Neil Gaiman. Good Omens, Anansi Boys, American Gods, Coraline, Neverwhere, The Graveyard Book ... Loved them all. Yes, two are "children's" books, but a good children's book is still a good book.

H.P. Lovecraft (The Shadow Over Innsmouth, Lurking Fear, Call of Cthulhu, The Colour out of Space, The Dreams in the Witch House, The Rats in the Walls, Pickman's Model, The Haunter of the Dark, The Dunwich Horror, In the Mountains of Madness)
Dan Simmons (Summer of Night, Song of Kali, Carrion Comfort)
Peter Straub (Ghost Story, Shadowland, Floating Dragon, A Dark Matter)
John Skipp & Craig Spector (The Light at the End, The Scream, The Bridge, The Cleanup)
Brian Keene (Dark Hollow, Ghost Walk, Ghoul, The Conquerer Worms)
Arthur Machen (The Great God Pan, The Three Imposters, The White People)
Algernon Blackwood (The Willows, The Wendigo)
Clive Barker (Cabal, The Books of Blood)
Ray Bradbury (Something Wicked this Way Comes, The October Country, The Halloween Tree)
Edgar Allen Poe (The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Masque of the Red Death, The Black Cat, The Pit and the Pendulum)

Seriously, check all of these guys out

Okay - Don't laugh... Dianne Gabaldon especially her first book Outlander. I know - she is not horror or science fiction or scary. Well - she is into time travel. Honest to God that book Outlander was so good. I used to say she was my favourite author until I recently got back into Stephen King's books.

Another good one is John Wyndham. I had to read The Chrysalids in high school but I just recently read it again and enjoyed it. He also wrote Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cukoos (sp?)

Not knocking Robert Mccammon in anyway, but I truly am sure Joe Hill and Chuck Hogan are the best novellists working today, one being a master of the contemporary horror novel set in authentic scenarios and the other the best writer of thriller novels in my opinion, with a perchance for building narrative around dialogue and implied reference.

Both are worth reading and both I would wholeheartedly recommend.