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

[goathunter]

No, "whoever" and "whomever" are pretty much synonymous.

Uh, no, they're not. "whomever" is used as the object of a clause or a preposition. It's quite simple, really: if you'd use a pronoun like "he", "she", "it", or "they", then you'd use "who" or "whoever". So "Whoever is the literary equivalent" is correct.

Hunter
Grammar Police

[E.Freemantle]

Alright, My King top alternative reads:Robert R. McCammon and Dan Simmons have been suggested, often-justifiably so- therefore I must move on to my other personal favorites. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child -in tandem or alone- make GREAT page turning stuff. Clive Barker can make you queasy or have an epiphany. Daniel Easterman is a veritable historical reference, I recommend "The Night of the Seventh Darkness". "The Brotherhood of the Tomb" ,"The Ninth Buddha","The Number(Name?) of the Beast" He is like Ian Flemming, Preston and Child- but historically based -and terrifyingly hallucinogenic. If I need something of a faster-and more sarcastically delectable read; I go to Kurt Vonnegut. I used to read Dean Koontz , but i found myself re-reading-in separate novels- his flowery prose peppered with his all -time favorites- "cul de sac" and "bougainvillea", thus I like "Lightning" and "Shadowfires" written under a pseudonym, initially; and I deigned to try his Frankenstein series ( they are pretty damned good). It just goes to show one; not every harvest is the best. Also Bentley Little can turn the most banal places into Satanic dens of iniquity. Last-but certainly not least Is the Larry Niven's co-written- (sorry not in front of me)- Lucifers Hammer ( This one is brilliant)! Hope you have not read all of their anthologies. Enjoy, between King publication releases.

[Christiane17]

I would suggest James Herbert, Scott Smith, Steve Berry for suspense and thrillers. Of course Dan Brown and Ken Follet for mix of history and fiction. Those are my faves.

[Neesy]

I kinda like Diana Gabaldon, especially her first book called "Outlander". That one kept me turning pages long into the night

[Moderator]

I kinda like Diana Gabaldon, especially her first book called "Outlander". That one kept me turning pages long into the night

Went on an Outlander marathon beginning in April and finished all of those that have been published to-date a couple months ago. Obviously enjoyed them a lot. Steve had been asking if I was reading the 50 Shades of Grey books and I told him I wasn't primarily because I was involved with the Outlander series as my guilty pleasure. That's when he told me he'd read a few of the Outlander books and liked them saying they were a lot better than 50 Shades.

[Spideyman]

Went on an Outlander marathon beginning in April and finished all of those that have been published to-date a couple months ago. Obviously enjoyed them a lot. Steve had been asking if I was reading the 50 Shades of Grey books and I told him I wasn't primarily because I was involved with the Outlander series as my guilty pleasure. That's when he told me he'd read a few of the Outlander books and liked them saying they were a lot better than 50 Shades.

I've only read the first book in the Outlander series. Glad to hear both MsMod and Uncle Steve enjoyed it too. Onward to the next book!

[Neesy]

"Steve had been asking if I was reading the 50 Shades of Grey books and I told him I wasn't primarily because I was involved with the Outlander series as my guilty pleasure. That's when he told me he'd read a few of the Outlander books and liked them saying they were a lot better than 50 Shades"

I actually tried to read the second in the series (i.e. 50 Shades Darker and it sucked (in my humble opinion). Actually if you look at the premise of the first book, what are the chances that a virgin is going to meet up with a multimillionaire who just happens to be a bit kinky? I did read the initial book but I do feel kinda like it was a "guilty pleasure" at best.

[GenXAccord]

Here are a few of the novelists I can recommend...

1. CSLewis
2. JRRTolkein
3. Peter S Beagle
4. William Goldman (not Golding)
5. Sherwood Anderson
6. JDSalinger
7. Shirley Jackson
8. Henry James
9. Michael Chricton
10. Dean R Koontz
11. Douglas Adams
12. Terry Pratchett
13. Meg Gardiner

C.S. Lewis's "Screwtape Letters" is brilliant, but you really have to reflect on it to understand why.

[GenXAccord]

I can't believe I saw no mention of Dennis LeHayne (Shutter Island.) I read "Shudder," I did not see the movie, so I cannot compare the two. I do highly recommend the book.

If you can stand King at his bloodiest, then you can handle Cormac McCarthy and his novel "No Country for Old Men." I recommend the book over the movie if you have the choice. And if you can tolerate McCarthy's prose at some of it's more mind bending and obtuse, like in "Blood Meridian," then I recommend William Faulkner, especially "Light in August" and "Sound and the Fury." I personally feel that the opening paragraph in Quentin's chapter of "Sound and the Fury" is one of the most skillfully executed and insightful in English language prose (or at least of all the prose I have read in my short 40 years). The paragraph in question was the one paraphrased by the old man in season one of the t.v. show "The Walking Dead." Faulkner's influence on McCarthy shows if you ever read Faulkner before McCarthy. However, McCarthy's prose is right up there with Faulkner in the skill level, he is by no means a cheap imitator.

[Shoesalesman]

Dean Koontz.

I can't get enough of this guy's work.