Catholic Fiction Authors:

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abelville

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Hi friends!

I’m looking for Catholic fiction authors. So far I’ve read Katherine Valentine (like Jan Karon), Gene Wolfe (fantasy), Louis DeWal (historic fiction & saints):

Thanks very much!

Al:thumbsup:
 
In addition to those mentioned already:

Ralph McInerny
Michael D. O’Brien
Flannery O’Connor
Walker Percy
 
Pierced by a Sword by Bud MacFarlane jnr. Free from the Mary Foundation at www.catholicity.com.

Not fussed about his other books but I got 4 copies of that one so I can lend it out without losing my copy again.

I couldn’t put it down and neither could the only one of my kids who has read it. She has just returned to the sacraments after 4-5 years after reading it.
 
R.A. Lafferty. Somewhat similar to Gene Wolfe but more humorous. Was especially noted for his short story writing but i’ve enjoyed a number of his books as well–such as Past Master (which has St. Thomas More as a character), Fourth Mansions (which was inspired by the writings of St. Teresa of Avila), The Devil is Dead (which is where my signature quote comes from) and Alaric: The Day the World Ended (which is an historical work about the fall of the Roman Empire).

Before launching into Lafferty i highly recommend reading an excellent introduction to him and his writing style that can be found at this site: Five-Star Masters
 
Catholic mystery authors:

I am fairly certain that Mary Higgins Clark is Catholic, although Catholicism doesn’t play a part in her books.

Veronica Black’s “Sister Joan” mysteries are entertaining – light reading, but decent enough mysteries.

Ralph McInerney’s “Father Dowling” series is excellent – not silly like the old television series. They’re a little more dense (they contain really good Catholic apologetics, for example) than typical mysteries.

Dean Koontz is Catholic – check out his “Odd Thomas” series (there are three titles).

'thann
 
thann said:
Catholic mystery authors:

I am fairly certain that Mary Higgins Clark is Catholic, although Catholicism doesn’t play a part in her books.
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Sorry cant stand her books.
Veronica Black’s “Sister Joan” mysteries are entertaining – light reading, but decent enough mysteries.
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I will check this out
Ralph McInerney’s “Father Dowling” series is excellent – not silly like the old television series. They’re a little more dense (they contain really good Catholic apologetics, for example) than typical mysteries.
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I will check these out as well.
Dean Koontz is Catholic – check out his “Odd Thomas” series (there are three titles).

'thann
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Cant stand his books either.

Thann, thank you for the suggestions, I will look into those two.
🙂
 
Eileen_T said:
Pierced by a Sword by Bud MacFarlane jnr. Free from the Mary Foundation at www.catholicity.com.

Not fussed about his other books but I got 4 copies of that one so I can lend it out without losing my copy again.

I couldn’t put it down and neither could the only one of my kids who has read it. She has just returned to the sacraments after 4-5 years after reading it.
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I love his books. And it’s funny how people’s tastes differ. While I truly, truly love PBaS, I like the other two better. They are Conceived Without Sin and House of Gold. The last one gets me every time. I have a new set sitting here waiting to re-read these wonderful stories. I took my last set and left them at my oncologist’s office. They have a book shelf for people. I hope they find a good home, if they haven’t already.

Also, for mysteries, has anyone mentioned G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown stories?
 
abelville said:
Hi friends!

I’m looking for Catholic fiction authors. So far I’ve read Katherine Valentine (like Jan Karon), Gene Wolfe (fantasy), Louis DeWal (historic fiction & saints):

Thanks very much!

Al:thumbsup:
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Holy COW! It’s someone who has actually READ Gene Wolfe! :eek:
I’m gonna freak out now. 👍

Cormac McCarthy is a Catholic. But his books aren’t so. I like him anyway.
 
Filius99993 said:
Holy COW! It’s someone who has actually READ Gene Wolfe! :eek:
I’m gonna freak out now. 👍
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Nepenthe and I are both huge fans 🙂

In addition to being one of the greatest fantasy writers yet to exist, Wolfe was one of the engineers who designed the machine that makes Pringles potato chips. The world may never repay the debt it owes him.

Christopher Buckley (Thank You For Smoking is a fun read) is apparently Catholic. So were James Joyce and Jack Kerouac.
 
Mirdath said:
Nepenthe and I are both huge fans 🙂

In addition to being one of the greatest fantasy writers yet to exist, Wolfe was one of the engineers who designed the machine that makes Pringles potato chips. The world may never repay the debt it owes him.

Christopher Buckley (Thank You For Smoking is a fun read) is apparently Catholic. So were James Joyce and Jack Kerouac.
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A friend of mine read Thank You For Smoking a while back… it’s not too graphic, is it? It’s pretty awesome that some people here have read Gene Wolfe here. I already knew about the Pringle thing. The only writers of speculative fiction I like nearly as much as Wolfe would probably be Heinlein (his early stuff moreso) and Bradbury. But they aren’t Catholic, sadly.
 
Evelyn Waugh and William Faulkner. Flannery O’Connor. Andrew Greeley.

See? Lots of Catholic authors of fiction out there.
Every now and again I find a turn of phrase in a work of fiction that is a sort of tell-tale that the author is Catholic. You know what I mean: the sort of expression that only a born and bred Catholic would use.

Matthew
 
Filius99993 said:
A friend of mine read Thank You For Smoking a while back… it’s not too graphic, is it?
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Nope. As far as I can recall, the protagonist is just too busy for it to get particularly sexual or violent – though he does end up running around naked covered in nicotine patches in a kidnapping/attempted murder incident. It’s a stitch, and I recommend it highly for anyone looking for a little light satire.
The only writers of speculative fiction I like nearly as much as Wolfe would probably be Heinlein (his early stuff moreso) and Bradbury. But they aren’t Catholic, sadly.
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I never got into Heinlein, but Bradbury – definitely. Fahrenheit 451 didn’t really impress me, but just last year I finally read the Martian Chronicles and was just blown away.

I don’t know if any of these are Catholic (and some I know aren’t) but you might want to check some of them out: H. P. Lovecraft, William Hope Hodgson (Victorian author; The Night Land is the prototypical Dying Earth novel, Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun being a later example), Fritz Leiber (the man who invented the term ‘sword and sorcery’), China Mieville, Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere is a good one, and he has some brilliant short stories), Thomas Ligotti (more horror, but a master), Italo Calvino, and Hermann Hesse.
 
Mirdath said:
Nope. As far as I can recall, the protagonist is just too busy for it to get particularly sexual or violent – though he does end up running around naked covered in nicotine patches in a kidnapping/attempted murder incident. It’s a stitch, and I recommend it highly for anyone looking for a little light satire.
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Oh good. I could use a light read. (After I’m finished reading Shalimar the Clown, that is)
I never got into Heinlein, but Bradbury – definitely. Fahrenheit 451 didn’t really impress me, but just last year I finally read the Martian Chronicles and was just blown away.
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Yea, I liked Something Wicked This Way Comes much better than Fahr. 451. But, in my opinion, Brave New World blows just about any other dystopian novel away. (Especially anything by Ayn Rand…)
I don’t know if any of these are Catholic (and some I know aren’t) but you might want to check some of them out: H. P. Lovecraft, William Hope Hodgson (Victorian author; The Night Land is the prototypical Dying Earth novel, Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun being a later example), Fritz Leiber (the man who invented the term ‘sword and sorcery’), China Mieville, Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere is a good one, and he has some brilliant short stories), Thomas Ligotti (more horror, but a master), Italo Calvino, and Hermann Hesse.
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I’ve heard of all of these authors before, but have had only read stuff by Neil Gaiman (only Neverwhere) and Lovecraft, who was most definitely not Catholic… but he did invent the Cthulu mythos so he’s just about awesome about Wolfe anyway.

drafdog: Faulkner was Catholic? I knew Hemingway converted to Catholicism, but he’s not that wonderful, and most certainly didn’t adhere to the faith. He drives me INSANE. Modernists…
 
Thanks much everyone. You’ve opened up my world of reading alot!!!🙂

Al
 
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