Who are your influences?

[M.A.N.]

One of my best memories is when I picked up David Eddings The Belgariad. I thought that this is how fantasy should be. Not like the extremely sloooooow Lord of the Rings. Tolkien never got me hooked. I actually never finished The Two Towers ...
So I'm guessing Eddings is an influence. Another one is Herbie Brennan. He's got a knack for not writing unnecessary stuff. To the point. Get on with it, and all that. A bit like a good movie. Can't have unecessary and boring bits there, now can you?
Others that I remember fondly:
Raymond E Feist (Magician)
Eoin Colfer (all Artemis Fowl)
Lev Grossman (The Magicians, wow, what a book!)
J.K. Rowling (goes without saying)
Dean Koontz (Odd Thomas, for instance ...)
Carlos Ruiz Zafon (The Shadow of the Wind)
Neil Gaiman (best storyteller ever?)

and so on and so on

 

[Leuco]

And some more obscure writers from decades past, as well as some of the more classical - Dante anyone?

I like the imagery in Dante's work, but I like the drama and tragedy of Milton. By the way, have you experienced a Dante-like/afterlife dream?