Non-Comic Book Authors to Know About
It’s no secret that we’re big fans of comics books here at Geeked Gods, but that doesn’t mean those are the only books we read! Unsurprisingly, there are several geeky books worth reading – and no, we’re not just talking about Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and other mainstream geeky books. There’s plenty out there to discover! All you need is a good lead, and what better lead is there than a list of excellent geeky authors? Read on below to find out who you should look for next at your local bookstore.
Rainbow Rowell
We all know what it’s like to be a fan, but not articulates it as well as Rainbow Rowell does. The young adult novelist has written many books (Fangirl is her best-known work), and they all center on geek culture more than science-fiction or fantasy. It’s one of the reasons her books resonate with so many fans across the world. Though she’s still considered a younger novelist, we have no doubt that Rowell will become one of the best-known YA authors of her generation.
Ernest Cline
His older work has been in screenwriting (Thundercade and Fanboys were both written by Cline), but it’s his more recent works that should have your attention. In 2011, Cline wrote Ready Player One – a video game-infused take at what the future of the United States could look like – and in 2015 he wrote Armada. Cline has been hired to write screenplay adaptations of both his novels, but stick to the prose for these stories. If you love video games and dystopian futures, you’re going to want to buy these books.
G. Willow Wilson
Is this cheating? Adding Wilson to this list feels like cheating. But I’m doing it for a good reason – specifically, to encourage you to read her novel Alif the Unseen. It’s more of a cyberpunk-fantasy than coming-of-age superheroine saga, but Wilson’s perspective as an author is just as clear in prose as it is in comic book inks. The book is also a great reminder to appreciate comic book writers as authors – something that sometimes gets muddled between industries.
William Gibson
His novel Neuromancer is considered the first winner of the science-fiction “triple crown,” having won the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award, but there’s more to read than just this novel. Prior to Neuromancer, Gibson wrote several cyberspace-focused short stories for magazines. These have been instrumental in shaping science-fiction’s approach to cyberspace today; Johnny Mnemonic and Burning Chrome are two great stories to start out with.
Patrick Rothfuss
If you’re the kind of person who likes knowing about things before they’re mainstream, you best go buy this quick. It was recently announced that Rothfuss’ fantasy series, Kingkiller Chronicle, is going to be adapted for television by no other than MacArthur Genius Lin-Manuel Miranda. You should know Miranda from his work on Moana, Hamilton, and other projects – so you should also know that this is a very big deal. The series is still being published, so you have time to catch up and wait patiently for the next book to come out, George R.R. Martin style.
