My Favorite Fantasy Authors

Hello again! Today I thought I'd take a break from book reviews and instead talk about my favorite authors as of 2017. Obviously, these are my current favorite authors and are prone to change as I hopefully continue to explore the literary world. I have never had a singular favorite author, it has always been different authors for different genres so in this blog post, I shall talk about all my favorite fantasy authors and for contemporary/general fiction authors, I'll make a separate blog post. So without further ado, (in no particular ranking) my favorite fantasy authors:

1. Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare is a wonderful author in many ways but the one particular reason that I love her books above all else is the way she writes her characters. The cast is diverse in terms of backgrounds, cultures and sexuality. None of the diversity feels forced unlike other authors (I'll elaborate on this later). The characters are alive, their relationships are complicated and none of the usual happily-ever-after stuff. There is a proper balance of life and death. Her action scenes are never dragged out and are always to the point. She writes in a way that makes everything seem beautiful and elaborate while not making the description tedious. The dialogues are witty, and full of feeling. The characters make bad decisions and don't feel unreal or 'fantastical' considering the difference in their world and ours. Her world-building is done exceptionally well and her  research is always thorough. There are times when I am crying and there are times I am laughing too hard to breathe. There have been a few times when I've thrown the book across the room and Cassie never bores me with her writing. I love every word of her books. 

2. Rick Riordan

I came across the Percy Jackson books at a time when I was obsessed with mythology. My father had just gifted me a small, very detailed book on all the mythology of the world. I had read it avidly, marvelling at the pictures, laughing at some of the sillier stories and generally fallen in love. A few days later, I was shopping for back-to-school supplies and I saw 'The Lightning Thief" I finished it in one sitting and immediately bought the next four books. since then I have read every single book written by Uncle Rick. The Percy Jackson series was the first YA series I read and it set the standard for all the YA books I have read since. I discovered things in his books that I had previously never thought of. I used to think that only white characters in books were the norm and I should accept it. Maybe it was just I had horrible choice of books or maybe it just wasn't my luck. I read all his books and lived in their world. I loathed Smelly Gabe with Percy, ached for Annabeth's suffering, conflicted over Luke and laughed with Tyson and Grover. I discovered my first LGBT character; Nico and fell instantly in love with him and understood his pain for Bianca. Heroes of Olympus was not as good as PJO but I loved it all the same. Then I had the pleasure of reading about one of the only Muslim characters in mainstream YA. The only reason Rick Riordan is not number 1 is because he tends to drag out the story sometimes. Otherwise, amazing characters, lots of diversity and my very first OTP.

3. J. K. Rowling

You didn't think this list would not feature the Queen, did you? Well, I really shouldn't even have to explain why I love Harry Potter so much, so I won't. I think the world has a pretty great idea about the books ;)

4. Sarah J. Maas

I read Throne of Glass and loved the first three books but after that I didn't like the series as much. There was a severe lack of diversity, holes in the world-building and Aelin wasn't particularly likeable. Then I read A Court of Thorns and Roses and absolutely loved it. The trilogy was well-balanced, not dragged out, diverse characters and a strong and badass female protagonist along with a feminist hero, and amazing plot twists. I loved ACOTAR so much I cut Sarah some slack for ToG and added her to the list. 

So this is it! M favorite fantasy authors as of 2017. Some honorary mentions are; Kiera Cass, Suzanne Collins, Veronica Roth and Leigh Bardugo. I hope you enjoyed this post and I'd love to know you guys' favorite authors so drop 'em in the comments. That's all for today.

Until next time,
Yashal (pronounced,"yuh-sh-l")