Have you looked at David Weber and John Ringo? They've done a lot of military SF.

Haven't read em, but, I will check them out sometime when I'm not learning Russian 8 hours a day. Promise.

Brian Lumley and Guy Des Cars

Really like David Weber's Honor Harrington series. And Ursula LeGuin has a new book out--Lavinia, about one of the characters in the Aeneid.

Randy Wayne White -secret agent florida stuff. disturbing in a good way. ish

Carl Hiaasen -complet fruitcakesflorida stuff. funny, weird macabre, funny

Jilly Cooper (Riders onwards) very british. hilarious, excellent characters and insight

Steven Gillis literary fiction, varied, friend, but would diss if it was bad. Different. refreshing change. Bri's writing reminds me of this guy's work.

Lindsey Davis Roman detective, but more about the character and the lifestyle than the mysteries

Dick Francis -brit horse-racing related detective. dated. nostalgic and excellent character insight

Janet Evanovich (avoid the seasonal specials) light, silly funny

(I'm working on the fleshing it out thing)

Michael Chabon.

A reviewer once said that Chabon only has one topic - male relationships.

His books are very well-crafted, they are paced and constructed with care for every phrase. I'm reading The Yiddish Policemen's Union right now, and it perfectly merges both the pulp detective style with the dark brooding and desperate undercurrent of Jack London and the klondike authors. I highly, highly recommend it.

After that, maybe read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, a story of two cousins who are early pioneers in writing and drawing comic book. This is the book that won him the Pulitzer Prize.

That is a fabulous title!

www.sheldonsiegel.com


:-)

That's not you, that dude has hair.

Not to mention a wife and two kids.

But he is a friend of mine sort of and he's actually really a nice guy.
And the books are really good too.

Iain M. Banks

Wonderful writer. Though I think i prefer the stuff he writes under Iain Banks, the 'straight' novels, rather than the Sci-fi.

I think I prefer the sci-fi actually. They're longer!
Although just today I was thinking of one of the details from The Wasp Factory (about being able to tell what someone has been drinking from their farts)...

He writes things that stick in the mind!

"All your nonsenses and truths, your finery and squalid options..."