Exceptional Books discussion

In our original discussion, we had wanted to break the idea of a "top 100" author down into specific genres, because we found that comparing authors with works that were vastly different was very difficult. I can't wait to hear your comments and suggestions!

Arthur C. Clarke
Isaac Asimov
J.R.R. Tolkien
Frank Herbert

I'd suggest including the Grandmaster Award winners:

Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award for Science Fiction:

1975 Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988)
1976 Jack Williamson (1908-2006)
1977 Clifford D. Simak (1904-1988)
1979 L. Sprague de Camp (1907-2000)
1981 Fritz Leiber (1910-1992)
1984 Andre Norton (1912-2005)
1986 Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008)
1987 Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
1988 Alfred Bester (1913-1987)
1989 Ray Bradbury (1920-)
1991 Lester del Rey (1915-1993)
1993 Frederik Pohl (1919-)
1995 Damon Knight (1922-2002)
1996 A. E. van Vogt (1912-2000)
1997 Jack Vance (1916-)
1998 Poul Anderson (1926-2001)
1999 Hal Clement (Harry Stubbs) (1922-2003)
2000 Brian W. Aldiss (1925-)
2001 Philip José Farmer (1918-2009)
2003 Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-)
2004 Robert Silverberg (1935-)
2005 Anne McCaffrey (1926-)
2006 Harlan Ellison [1] (1934-)
2007 James Gunn (1923-)
2008 Michael Moorcock [2][3] (1939-)
2009 Harry Harrison [4][5] (1925-)
2010 Joe Haldeman (1943-)

Gandalf Grand Master Award for Fantasy:

1974 - J. R. R. Tolkien
1975 - Fritz Leiber
1976 - L. Sprague de Camp
1977 - Andre Norton
1978 - Poul Anderson
1979 - Ursula K. Le Guin
1980 - Ray Bradbury
1981 - C. L. Moore

Tamora Pierce for Fantasy

The best are Tolkien, Jack Vance, Rowling, and Verne. These are the authors whose works are truly original.

Don't know if they make any top 100 rating but some of my recent Fantasy faves are:
Robin Hobb (early books)
George R. R. Martin
Stephen Lawhead
Melanie Rawn (early books)
Naomi Novik