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I recently discovered that one of my all time favorite authors passed away last year and it got me thinking of the various sci-fi fantasy series authors I have enjoyed over the years Terry Goodkind. My concious introduction to fantasy was of course Tolkien through the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings which is the first series I re-read. My serious Sci-Fi introduction was Orson Scott Card and Enders Game another first re-read series. An honorable mention for both Fantasy and Sci-Fi would be Piers Anthony. I discovered Brandon because I was finishing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. After reading his contribution I decided to try Alloy of Law (my favorite Brandon Series), Then I sought out everything else he had out at the time and will give any of his books a try because I enjoyed his style so much. So my favorite Sci-Fi, Fantasy series authors in no particular order are: Orson Scott Card, Brandon Sanderson, L. E. Modesitt jr., Terry Goodkind, Jim Butcher, Allen Dean Foster, and Anne McCaffrey. Now to try to rank them but first Tolkien and Asimov are the Godfathers of the genres to which the others are derivative. 7. Anne Mccaffrey. I absolutely loved her Crystal Singer series, and the Dragons of Pern were both series that immersed me. 6. Allen Dean Foster. It was his Spell singer series and his Starwars adaptations that pulled me in. 5. Terry Goodkind. He used to be higher on the list. I started the Sword of Truth series and Wheel of time at the same time and the contrast between these very similar series kept me switching back and forth. I really liked the rules behind his magic, but kept getting frustrated that Richard never had time for his grandfather to train him until it finally became evident that his gift was unique and wouldn't work like Zed's. It was during a read of his most recent series that I realized his villains are essentially the same villain in different circumstances so he dropped a few spaces. 4.Jim Butcher. I discovered him because of a panel that he and Brandon were on. As I explored Harry's world his writing got more and more entertaining. Then I found his Furies series which has convinced me that I will give anything he writes a chance. Now it gets hard because the other 3 keep switching places on me. 3. Orson Scott Card when his series like Alvin or Ender is on target There is no one better in my opinion, but on his off day like pathfinders ending book it leaves a little gap though still better than most. 2. Brandon is in second for me right now. His characters are deep, scenes are epic, but it is when he writes in humor that it goes over the top. Wax, Lyft, and nightblood season his books with laughter for me. Then stoic Wax, and Steris, and moody Kaladin, and Shallon provide the deep currents to contrast the humor creating worlds of depth. 1. Finally L. E. Modesitt jr. Ironically I have discovered him multiple times without realizing it until relatively recently. He has been writing since the 70's. He started with Sci-Fi so the first series I discovered of his was the Time Lords series where the protagonist was Luke(Loki), and who doesn't want to read about someone named after him. Years later I read the Magic of Recluse without realizing it was the same author. His magic system locked me in. All magic users typically use either order (black) or chaos (white), and some rare individuals straddle both leaning one way or the other. Black magic users are usually craftsmen like carpenters, and smiths, where white magic is good for destruction and offensive battle. when I discovered he was the same author more recently I immersed myself into his other available series and have only less than stunned by his worlds once with one of his most recent books. Oh and he like Brandon lives in Utah. So there you have it. Which authors are your favorites and how do they compare to Brandon.