Who is the greatest living American author?

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Postby otters~1 » 2009.06.03 (00:01)

After some deliberation, I decided the answer is that there aren't any, so I turned to you guys.
This is in Debate so we can ridicule everyone else's nominees.


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Postby pinballwizard96 » 2009.06.03 (01:02)

Mark Twain - ranges from light to dark and serious to sarcastic.
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Postby SlappyMcGee » 2009.06.03 (01:06)

pinballwizard: Mark Twain is no longer with us. I hate to be the guy to tell you.


Thomas Pynchon, all over the place.
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Postby Studebacher Hoch » 2009.06.03 (01:10)

As I maintain William Gibson's status as a Canadian, I give this one Tom Robbins.

Neal Stephenson gets an HM from me, even though he only has two good books.

Also, pinballwizard96... Any rumours you've heard of Mark Twain's death, aren't.

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Postby KinGAleX » 2009.06.03 (02:16)

Larry McMurtry!

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Postby otters~1 » 2009.06.03 (02:41)

DemonzLunchBreak wrote:Dan Brown

amirite?
Oh I forgot. No mentioning Dan Brown.

EDIT: Also, I was thinking of Stephen King. That's when I gave up.
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Postby pinballwizard96 » 2009.06.03 (02:58)

lol missed "living"
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Postby Tanner » 2009.06.03 (04:32)

William Gibson? Canadian.
Neil Gaiman? British.
Isaac Asimov? Dead.
Arthur C. Clarke? Dead.
Pynchon it is.
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Postby blue_tetris » 2009.06.03 (04:56)

William Gibson, who is a sort of American.
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Postby Shark » 2009.06.03 (13:32)

Orson Scott Card. Hands down.

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Postby scythe » 2009.06.03 (15:34)

DemonzLunchBreak wrote:Dan Brown

amirite?
Dan Brown novels are to old people what Twilight is to teenage girls.
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Postby unoriginal name » 2009.06.03 (16:14)

I'd say David Foster Wallace if he hadn't killed himself last year. As is, I'm torn between Pynchon and J.D. Salinger, who is still alive, as far I know.

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Postby Tanner » 2009.06.03 (16:18)

Shark wrote:Orson Scott Card. Hands down.
I'm saving OSC for the "Who is the biggest douchebag and a living American author?" thread.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Scot ... onal_views
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Postby SlappyMcGee » 2009.06.03 (19:38)

gloomp wrote:I'd say David Foster Wallace if he hadn't killed himself last year. As is, I'm torn between Pynchon and J.D. Salinger, who is still alive, as far I know.

Woot reclusive authors!
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Postby otters~1 » 2009.06.03 (20:35)

gloomp wrote:As is, I'm torn between Pynchon and J.D. Salinger, who is still alive, as far I know.
There. I knew I'd forgotten someone. Thanks gloomp. I'm not sure Salinger has written enough to count, but I haven't read any Pynchon. I'll get right on that.

PS: I asked my English teacher a while back and she said Cormac McCarthy.
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Postby unoriginal name » 2009.06.04 (00:54)

flagmyidol wrote:
gloomp wrote:As is, I'm torn between Pynchon and J.D. Salinger, who is still alive, as far I know.
Thanks gloomp. I'm not sure Salinger has written enough to count,
Nearly all of what he's written is brilliance in letter form. He certainly "counts."
Last edited by unoriginal name on 2009.06.04 (14:18), edited 2 times in total.

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Postby otters~1 » 2009.06.04 (04:50)

gloomp wrote:
flagmyidol wrote:
gloomp wrote:As is, I'm torn between Pynchon and J.D. Salinger, who is still alive, as far I know.
Thanks gloomp. I'm not sure Salinger has written enough to count,
Nearly all of what he's written is brilliance letters. He certainly "counts."
Letters? I thought it was short stories. But I agree with you--he's the man.
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Postby SlappyMcGee » 2009.06.04 (14:15)

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Postby unoriginal name » 2009.06.04 (14:17)

flagmyidol wrote:Letters? I thought it was short stories. But I agree with you--he's the man.
Heh, I sorta of rushed that post, but I've clarified it.

Anyway, he did mostly write short stories and novellas, but he also has Catcher in the Rye, and Franny and Zooey is often considered a single work.

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Postby kkstrong » 2009.06.04 (20:49)

I'm quite fond of Christopher Paolini.
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Postby Sniperwhere » 2009.06.05 (22:02)

I'm surprised that Ray Bradbury has not yet been mentioned.

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Postby scythe » 2009.06.05 (23:09)

Chuck Palahniuk. I'm not a huge fan, but as far as living authors are concerned, he's hard to beat. A few years ago I'd've been able to say Kurt Vonnegut.
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Postby SlappyMcGee » 2009.06.05 (23:54)

Sniperwhere wrote:I'm surprised that Ray Bradbury has not yet been mentioned.

If the word "greatest" was "most", and if the word "living" was "overrated", and if the word "American" was "Illinois sucks", then yeah, Bradbury ftw.
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Postby T3chno » 2009.06.06 (01:41)

Douglas Adams - the man lives forever <3.
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Postby Tanner » 2009.06.06 (03:37)

Techno wrote:Douglas Adams - the man lives forever <3.
Douglas Adams, while he was alive, was British.
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