An eclectic list to be sure with a lot of film and
television scribes—these are writers whose output I have enjoyed the most, and
no doubt have had an influence my work.
Robert E. Howard
I recall Harlan Ellison once saying something like, “Howard
was better than any of us because he was crazier than a bedbug.”
There is a raw physicality to Howard’s writing style and
colorful action sequences that was ingeniously captured by the legendary cover
paintings of Frank Frazetta. Although his “Conan” stories are classified as
Sword & Sorcery (Howard practically created the genre), Howard creates
real, naturalistic worlds and writes stories that feel like they may have
actually happened sometime during the mythical lost history “between the years
the ocean drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities…”
What to check out:
Almost any “Conan” book (or comic book) but this is the best collection
because it is contains the fully restored and unedited text of Howard, The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (Conan the Cimmerian #1)
Robert Silverberg
There is a wonderful article written by Silverberg in the
outstanding pulp retrospective book “Sin-O-Rama” where he talks about cranking
out a new 50,000 word erotic pulp novel—every two weeks! And you know what? I
have read many of them and they are damn good reads.
How good is Silverberg? One of my favorite books ever was
this scanner-type science fiction romantic thriller I picked up in the ‘70s. It
was a reprint and when he was asked to write a new forward Silverberg confessed it was
something he had cranked out just to pay the bills and had forgotten about it.
Of course, nobody but me even remembers any of these old
pulps and today Robert Silverberg is best known for his artful, poetic prose and award-winning, intelligent science fiction and fantasy novels.
"The World Inside" is highly recommended for fans of the recent best-seller "Divergent".
What to check out:
Joan Ellis
I am a huge fan of vintage pulp fiction from the early and mid
‘60s known as “the sleazy pulps”, especially those published by a company
called Midwood. Most stories were set in Manhattan and have a very “Mad Men”
quality to them. Often the characters even worked in advertising.
Joan Ellis was the all-time best at this sub-genre of
fiction. Do not let the term sleazy pulps fool you. Her books are rich,
expertly crafted, romantic, noir-ish works of wonder. Ellis has a real knack
for creating vivid, young female characters dealing with teen angst and
blossoming sexuality. Today these books would be called “Young Adult”.
What to check out:
Just about anything she wrote at Midwood Publishing.
Personal favorites include “In The Shadows”, “Sooner or Later”, “Gang Girl”, and "Reluctant Nympho".
D.C. Fontana
Okay, I know this one will be unfamiliar to most people.
D.C. Fontana (a.k.a Dorothy Fontana) is a television writer who started out as
Gene Roddenberry’s secretary then went on to write several of the greatest
episodes of classic “Star Trek”. She served as story editor for “Star Trek” and
several other shows including the Emmy Award winning animated “Star Trek”, “The
Fantastic Journey” and “Logan’s Run”. The list of outstanding episodes she
penned over the last five decades are too numerous to list here but include
scripts for “Circle of Fear”, “Land of the Lost”, “The Six Million Dollar Man”,
“Kung Fu”, “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century”, “Star Trek: The Next
Generation”, “Babylon 5”, “Deep Space Nine”, and “Earth: The Final Conflict”.
What to check out:
“This Side of Paradise” and “The Enterprise Incident” from
classic “Star Trek”.
“Eslewhen” from “Land of the Lost”.
John Jakes
John Jakes may be the best writer of epic historical fiction
ever—certainly of American history. There are many writers—and many of them
quite successful—where you can feel the strain of the work the author put into
it. As a result these books often do not make for a smooth read. In a John
Jakes novel this is never an issue. He is just a gifted storyteller and a
natural writer who delivers impeccable craftsmanship and flowing narratives you
will get lost in. Most of his historical fiction is truly epic in scope and
length—I am talking telephone book thick door stopper novels. Yet, they read
fast and smooth.
Like Silverberg, Jakes started out in pulp fiction doing
everything from sleazy romance to science fiction to a “Conan” inspired Sword
& Sworcery series, “Brak the Barbarian”. All of it is great!
What to check out:
“The Bastard”, “North and South”, and his novelization to “Conquest
of the Planet of the Apes”.
Glen Morgan and James Wong
It is staggering how many outstanding television scripts
this writing team delivered in the ‘90s, including the majority of the best
stuff from Chis Carter’s brooding tandem of “The X-Files” and “Millenium”.
Everything these guys write is exciting, imaginative, and more often than not,
groundbreaking. In addition to their work
for Carter, the duo created, produced, and wrote their own series—a barely seen
gem of a show “Space Above and Beyond”. “Space
Above and Beyond” was an addictive, beautifully produced, intelligently written
and acted show that should have become the “Battlestar Galactica” of the ‘90’s,
but was poorly handled by FOX who kept pre-empting it and barely bothered with
any promotion.
What to checkout:
“Space Above and Beyond” and the “X-Files” episodes “Home”, “Ice”,
“E.B.E.”, “Squeeze”, “Little Green Men”, “The Field Where I Died” and “Musings
of a Cigarette Smoking Man”. Also just about the entire second season of “Millenium”.
James Cameron
He is primarily known as a visionary director who creates
revolutionary new technology to bring his vision to the screen. But all of
those movies begin with a blank page. James Cameron writes all his own material
and he is one hell of writer.
When I was studying screenwriting I read his scripts for “Rambo:
First Blood part II”, “Aliens”, and “The Abyss” non-stop. His story-telling instincts
are razor sharp, his expertly paced screenplays rich with vivid writing and
memorable characters.
What to check out:
Anything with his name on it of course, but from a reading
the screenplay point of view, “Aliens” and “The Abyss” read like great science fiction action-adventure novels.
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