Being an avid reader, far too many influences exist to name exhaustively. While I believe every author should develop their own style, I also believe that style is to some extent, an amalgamation of every other author they’ve read.
Consciously or unconsciously, we all stand on the shoulders of giants.
Of course everyone who writes epic or high fantasy owes a sincere tip of the cap to Tolkien. A few others however, sprinkled throughout the genre spectrum, have inspired me in many ways:
- Stephen King: The fearlessness of his writing, and suddenness of his plot twists.
- Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman: The storyline of magic within the Dragonlance Chronicles (one of my all time favorites of any genre).
- C.S. Lewis: The spiritual relevance of the Chronicles of Narnia.
- Andy Andrews: The fictionalized history of seven scenes he tells in The Traveler’s Gift is fantastic (the story of Joshua Chamberlain at Little Round Top is worth the price of that book alone).
- G.R.R.M.: The character development and narrative perspectives, not to mention the compelling world and cast of Game of Thrones.
- Malcolm Gladwell: A great storyteller. He can take a mundane list of birthdays and spin an amazing yarn out of it.
- Herman Melville: The bold opening imperative “Call me Ishmael,” reminds me to take risks.
- Bill Bennett: The little nuggets of historical detail tucked away in “America: The Last Best Hope” series are joyful. Never knew where the phrase “cuppa Joe” came from until I read volumes I and II.
- The character arch of the protagonists in both The Hunger Games by Susan Collins and The Divergent series by Veronica Roth.
So if you like sudden plot twists (King), rich characters who tell the story from different perspectives (GRRM), strong females (Collins/Roth), powerful mages (Weis/Hickman), and the over-arching theme of redemption (Lewis), my hope is that you will appreciate and enjoy The Dark World Saga series.