# Stephen Baxter; tremendous fiction author for gaining inspiration



## Architect_of_Aurah (Nov 6, 2012)

Stephen Baxter is one of my favourite scifi/fantasy authors.  His stories are both insightful and believable and I am particularly inspired by his Behemoth and Stone Spring trilogies.

What fiction authors does everyone else read for inspiration?


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## WyrdMystic (Nov 6, 2012)

Lately, Steven Erikson. The words he uses are....just.....yeah!

Thanks for the recommend, I'll take a look.


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## Ankari (Nov 6, 2012)

WyrdMystic said:


> Lately, Steven Erikson. The words he uses are....just.....yeah!



Steven Erikson does just that.  He uses his words like a butcher uses a knife.  They cut past the dense outer shell of our insensitivities to expose the vulnerable flesh beneath.  Sometimes I'll read a passage and put the book down to think about what I just read.

Sometimes I'll feel the sacrifice some of these characters make for their cause.

Sometimes I'll be so moved that I think I can be just as skilled as he is.

Very few authors do what he does.  R. Scott Bakker is similar to Steven Erikson.  A bit cooler, but definitely gripping.


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## WyrdMystic (Nov 6, 2012)

Ankari said:


> Steven Erikson does just that.  He uses his words like a butcher uses a knife.  They cut past the dense outer shell of our insensitivities to expose the vulnerable flesh beneath.  Sometimes I'll read a passage and put the book down to think about what I just read.
> 
> Sometimes I'll feel the sacrifice some of these characters make for their cause.
> 
> ...



Its the way he can make you feel just from describing words carved on a rock! Pure unadulterated genius. I only discovered him recently and I've never read anything that grips me in the same way. Also, it does inspire me and gives me the drive (or part of the drive I need) to forge on.


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## Chilari (Nov 8, 2012)

This thread belongs in novels and stories, not research, so I've moved it.

Stephen Baxter is indeed a brilliant writer. I loved Stone Spring and Bronze Summer.


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