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Your Choices

NC-Retired 🚫

The assumption… you have been on SOL for some number of years, 5 to 25. Whatever.

You've been here long enough to have read some or many tales in the broad category of 'I could live as a character in that alternate reality'. It does not matter your exact preference, either as the main character or as a prominent secondary character.

And… the exact broad category does not matter. It is your choice.

The only thing that matters is you liked the tale and it was well written enough that you could empathize and 'be' your chosen character within the tale.

My choices are any, or many, of the tales by these authors.

CMSix
Fantasylover
Argon
SW MO Hermit
colt45
aroslav
Old Man with a Pen
Scotland-the-Brave
Joe J
Gina Marie Wylie
aubie56
Ka Hmnd
Howard Faxon
Ernest Bywater

These 15 authors have tales that are a representative sample of the sorts of tales I want your recommendations for.

Generally, their tales feature a strong protagonist with strong supporting characters.

Most likely, your choices will be different than mine. Doesn't matter.

If your favorite authors include some of mine, good for us.

But I wanna know if your favorite authors are different, and maybe a link to a specific tale that you find attractive.

What are your recommendations?

Replies:   jimq2  whisperclaw  Vincent Berg  samuelmichaels  tendertouch  AmigaClone  moondog_199  NC-Retired  NC-Retired  tendertouch  NC-Retired  cmdratom  akarge  George-1  solitude  NC-Retired
      
jimq2 🚫

@NC-Retired

These 15 authors

You need to check your math. 😁😁

I pretty much agree with your list. You could add oyster50, Jody Daniels, Danny January, Charlie for now, or VeryWellAged to make it 15.

Replies:   NC-Retired
      
NC-Retired 🚫

@jimq2

You need to check your math. 😁😁

Oh... damn, I miscounted. 14 instead of 15.

But... in my defense I was multi-tasking as I wrote the original post.

College football on TV, looking at the replay when something caused the announcer to exclaim 'Look at that!'

Social media views.

Inebriated with whiskey and puffs.

Calls from family and friends doing the 'Happy New Year' talkie stuff.

I just went back to the last 100 stories in my history and copied and pasted the authors that appeared there.

I'll go look at your suggestions. Thanks.

      
whisperclaw 🚫
Updated:

@NC-Retired

We have a lot of overlap. I'd add:

Lumpy
Redsilver [correction: Redsliver]
Todd_d172
Stultus
Stangstar06
Qhml1
Longhorn_07

Replies:   NC-Retired
      
NC-Retired 🚫

@whisperclaw

As I said in another reply, I went to my last 100 stories in history and copied and pasted.

A couple of your suggestions are in my history but several are new to me. So, thanks for that, I'll check them out.

Replies:   Radagast
      
Radagast 🚫

@NC-Retired

Redsilver is Redsliver: https://storiesonline.net/a/redsliver
We are still waiting on the autopsy. Was it the whiskey of the puffs?

      
Vincent Berg 🚫

@NC-Retired

Personally, I'd likely add myself, as I fit into a similar category and worked with many of the same authors (discussing stories, not co-writing them).

But I've never been one to brag. I've always trusted my stories to speak for themselves. Just saying.

Replies:   NC-Retired
      
NC-Retired 🚫

@Vincent Berg

Personally, I'd likely add myself,

As I said in another reply, I went to my last 100 stories in history and copied and pasted.

Please do blow your horn. Your tales fit the criteria. And you are in my history, just not the most recent 100 that I referenced.

Replies:   Vincent Berg
      
Vincent Berg 🚫

@NC-Retired

Yeah, like many on these lists, I'm mostly constrained by older, non-functioning, outdated hardware. So I have works in development, yet completing any, until then will be a task. I'm mostly past my concentration and focus issues (long story), so the new ideas are rapidly flowing, it's just getting them down that's the obstacle now.

My last, in 2024, was a hot steaming … mess.

      
samuelmichaels 🚫

@NC-Retired

I've read and enjoyed all of your 14 (!) authors.

How about:
Dilettante
Lazlong
Xenophon Hendrix
Latikia
Green Dragon (David Weber pastiche)
ElSol
dotB (K Pelle)
D A Porter
Dual Writer
Banadin (Ed Nelson)
StarFleet Carl
Gruinard
Grey Wolf
Don Lockwood

Replies:   NC-Retired
      
NC-Retired 🚫
Updated:

@samuelmichaels

Xenophon Hendrix

This author is exactly why I ask these sort of questions.

Just 1 story. When I look through the various authors I skip those with 1 story. Or 2. Or 3.

But as the intoxication was wearing off last night I looked and said to myself, 'Hmmm... I've not heard of this one' and went and started reading https://storiesonline.net/s/56008/magicians-merger

I finally had to put the damn phone down around 1:30 and slept.

Yeah, a very good story and its score, 8.41, reflects that. 111,000 words will keep me busy for a bit.

So thank you for this one that I would have never looked at twice.

      
tendertouch 🚫

@NC-Retired

Sure, I'd add myself — imagining myself as one (or more) of the characters is big part of how, and why, I create stories.

Otherwise:

Brian in the Dark
Sea-Life
Ashley
alan14
WTSman

      
AmigaClone 🚫
Updated:

@NC-Retired

The vast majority of these names are some of my favorites. One of my favorite authors that I didn't see in any of those lists, but was pointed out to be in one, is:

Don Lockwood

Replies:   jimq2
      
jimq2 🚫

@AmigaClone

Yes he is. samuelmichaels mentioned him at 8:23. It is the last name on his list.

      
moondog_199 🚫

@NC-Retired

Those are all favourites that are regularly revisited. It makes the recent reduction in "signal to noise" with new stories stand out all the more by comparison. Nice to see that others have found similar enjoyment of those authors.

      
NC-Retired 🚫

@NC-Retired

To everyone that has replied.

There are 2971 stories in my history. Seems like it should be more than that, but whatever.

I went back to the earliest from 2004 and looked up to 2009 and many of the authors you've suggested are ones that are in my reading history.

And yes, for those despairing about the recent influx AI slop and general lack of quality stories, I cannot recommend strongly enough to buy a premium membership and go download many tales of these various authors. They will help make 2026 a good reading year.

Thanks to all that have posted your favorites that write characters that are 'livable'.

      
NC-Retired 🚫

@NC-Retired

Oh... another author that writes some really good stuff...

Fick Suck

      
tendertouch 🚫

@NC-Retired

And another one with characters that I can relate to:

Arcadia

      
NC-Retired 🚫

@NC-Retired

So... many really great authors have been listed.

I've went and looked at the ones that I did not recognize and found that some of them have a favorites list.

Lo and behold those that do have a list also contain some really great authors. I've spent an hour today clicking here and there checking whether their favorites can become some of my faavorites too.

Another observation that I like... When I scroll the list of stories an author has I come across the vote for that story. Whatever it was, let's say 7.9 and behind that score is "Mine 8.0"

That means that I read the story sometime in the past and liked it enough to vote.

As before, many of these authors have great stories with great characters and dialog and I thank each of you that have contributed your suggestions.

Please do continue to add authors that you like to the list.

Replies:   Nizzgrrl
      
Nizzgrrl 🚫
Updated:

@NC-Retired

As you wish. I will add authors that I have read and re-read, some over a number of years. I have just completed a re-read of Argon's SOL library while I patiently await Danny January's and G Younger's next books. I have tried not to duplicate any authors already cited.

rlfj
Reluctant Sir
G Younger
CWatson
Woodmanone
Celtic Cowboy
Von in your Mind
Uther Pendragon
The Scot
QM
Darkniciad aka Les Lumins aka Reject Reality
CWatson
Dragon Cobolt
Coaster2
Denham Forrest aka The Wanderer
Tallorder64
T-Rix

Replies:   NC-Retired
      
NC-Retired 🚫

@Nizzgrrl

Thank you!

Most of the authors you've listed are in my 'I've read their tales' category.

But there are 4 that I do not recognize, so I'm off to peruse their tales.

      
cmdratom 🚫

@NC-Retired

Also add in Jay Cantrell. I wish hed come.back and become active.

      
akarge 🚫

@NC-Retired

Shaddoth

      
George-1 🚫

@NC-Retired

Lazlo Zalezac

      
solitude 🚫

@NC-Retired

I'd nominate gwresearch, but he removed his best stories from this site. Sigh... shows the importance of archiving the stories you like.

Replies:   NC-Retired
      
NC-Retired 🚫
Updated:

@solitude

Geoff Wolak. He's pretty much disappeared from view. Used to have web sites, but they're gone. Last I looked he still had stuff on that big river place.

Fortunately, I saw his writing 12+ years ago and he and I corresponded for a bit and I have here on the laptop several dozen of his tales. All good of course.

Thanks for mentioning him.

      
NC-Retired 🚫

@NC-Retired

The original remit for this thread was asking for recommendations for authors that created characters where you could see yourself living in that life.

There are many excellent tales from the various authors mentioned. But this one has gotten to me.

https://storiesonline.net/s/68942/dexters-renaissance

No, I've not had a life like Dex of course, but the descriptions of the emotions and situations are close enough that I've had to stop a few times and get my emotions back under control before I could continue.

Yeah, the story is not perfect, but damn good! I rated it a 9.

      
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