[color=#000000
ost_uid0]Hmmmm... So many authors, so little time...
As far as Star Trek books go, my general feeling is that most of them are lousy. To be precise, they're kinda fun, but really nothing more than something vaguely amusing to do to pass the time.
Exceptions are Peter David, just because his writing's so FUN, and to a lesser degree Michael Jan Friedman and John Vornholt. Seems I'm in disagreement with Things are Good 'bout Vornholt... but those were some of the best written ones, IMHO. On the other hand, I don't really read much Trek anymore, so these recommendations are mainly written by a 15 year old 4 years ago. My favorites are probably PD's Excalibur, because, A) they're Peter David, B) They're original, made for the actual books, C) They've got ongoing story arcs, which I'm a big sucker for (also why I'm willing to read the new DS9 books), and from C stems D) They're books in which significant events can and do happen, a opposed to all other books and most episodes, which end with "Well, all's back to normal."
In other science fiction, well, others have already mentioned Bradbury and Asimov (sheer brilliance, although he gets repetative if you read too much of him). I'd also recommend Hyperion, by Dan Simmons, which I recently read... It's five short stories, tied by an overarcing plot. It's the first of a series - I'm still waiting to get my hands on the rest.
I'm also looking forward to my upcoming trip to the States, and specifically to the Santa Monica Library, where I hope to immerse myself for many a day in the works of Philip K. Dick, who I'm not very familiar with yet - but soon, soon...
The one author I'm surprised no one brought up is Orson Scott Card. Sheer genious. Don't tell me no one here has read Ender's Game, you ignorant boors! And the follow up books, and parallel novels, and Pastwatch, and a dozen other books, all are very different, and really, really, really good. An author who writes amazingly well, but also makes you think and consider. I also found a mammoth collection of his short stories (in my last trip to the Santa Monica Library, year 2000), which were also brilliant...
Douglas Adams, of course, is in a class all of his own.
Now... what about fantasy books?
[/color
ost_uid0]