Most of us, I’m sure, have our list of authors whom we wish were better known. I won’t hesitate to recommend Chris Beckett, Robert Jackson Bennett, Jedediah Berry, Keith Brooke, Trevor Byrne, Ramsey Campbell, Eleanor Catton, Rana Dasgupta, Tom Fletcher, Mary Gentle, Lesley Glaister, Nick Harkaway, Ryan David Jahn, Shane Jones, Graham Joyce, Simon Lelic, Emily Mackie, Paul Murray, Helen Oyeyemi, Christopher Priest, Anna Richards, Dan Rhodes, Adam Roberts, Ray Robinson, Amy Sackville, Nikesh Shukla, A.C. Tillyer, Jeff VanderMeer, David Vann, Conrad Williams, and Evie Wyld as writers all deserving of your attention.
The Fiction Uncovered website has been publishing various people’s recommendations of overlooked and/or underappreciated fiction, and they recently asked me if I would contribute something. With that lengthy list of writers I gave above, what did I choose? Something else entirely. I’ve gone back to one of the best books I read last year – Ken Grimwood’s magnificent 1986 novel Replay
My piece on Fiction Uncovered is here, and you can also read my original review of Replay here. And do share in the comments any writers you think should be read more widely.
3rd November 2010 at 4:02 pm
That’s so great that they asked you! I love reading blogs because of all the forgotten greats you stumble upon. It’s also one of the reasons I like going to secondhand and charity bookshops:)
3rd November 2010 at 4:11 pm
Yeah, I’ve never heard of any of the writers you mentioned above. Methinks I need to check some of them out, perhaps starting with Grimwood…
3rd November 2010 at 6:19 pm
Good to see AC Tillyer here!
3rd November 2010 at 8:21 pm
Sakura: Must admit I was very chuffed to be asked! And agreed about the serendipity factor — I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve comes across a book of which I’ve never heard and thought, that sounds interesting…
Nate: Oh, do check them out. I’ve reviewed most of them on here at some point.
Charles: Glad to know I’m not the only one who thinks so!
4th November 2010 at 10:31 pm
I agree with a lot of your picks! Trevor Byrne, Emily Mackie, Paul Murray, David Vann, Evie Wyld, Nikesh Shukla, Dan Rhodes. With the exception of Rhodes, they’re all on first or second books, I think, so there are still lots of chances for them to achieve their deserving literary superstar status.