favorite authors

I tend to read a lot of science fiction as my escape genre. Here's a quick list of some of my favorite authors (the ones I read time and time again) off the top of my head:

Kelly Armstrong
Lois McMaster Bujold
Jim Butcher
Julie E Czerneda
Eric Flint
Raymond E Fiest
Charlene Harris
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
David Weber

I am sure that I am leaving quite a few off the list, but these are some of the best of those that I've read. What all of these authors have in common is that there stories are character driven in addition to having wonderfully detailed and novel worlds to set their characters in. For me, what sets them apart as favorite authors is not simply their ability to tell a great story, to invent vivid characters, or create detailed and unique worlds; it is the whole package. I've read other authors with a good plot and characters, but their "world" reads to me like a ripoff of another author or is just bland. I've also read books with novel, detailed worlds, but the story or character failed to keep me interested.

I think what sets these writers apart as authors is their ability to consistently deliver what I consider to be a great package in story form that I can enjoy time and time again. I've read other versions of these stories. Sometimes their story is an obvious riff off of a common fairy tale, but I am still hooked.

One more thing: I think that from each I have learned something. Maybe it was a bit of historical trivia or perhaps it spoke to a common theme of humanity. Perhaps it worked out and dealt with current world problems in another setting. Whatever it was, I finished those books with a slightly different view of the world. I may not have agreed with all of that perspective, but I saw it for a moment.