# Authors similar to Kurt Vonnegut



## RikNieu (Jun 2, 2012)

So I've read all I can find by Vonnegut. And it was great. But now I'm at an impasse. It seems that he was generally listed under sci-fi but gosh-darnit-you-know-what, I don't find other Sci-fi books nearly as interesting.

Could any of you maybe suggest any other authors who are similar to him? Is he maybe in some weird sub-genre of sci-fi that I'm not aware of? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

RikNieu said:


> So I've read all I can find by Vonnegut. And it was great. But now I'm at an impasse. It seems that he was generally listed under sci-fi but gosh-darnit-you-know-what, I don't find other Sci-fi books nearly as interesting.
> 
> Could any of you maybe suggest any other authors who are similar to him? Is he maybe in some weird sub-genre of sci-fi that I'm not aware of? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


I've never really thought of him as sci-fi. I think of him more as a satirist who sometimes (but not always by any means) includes sci-fi-like elements. (Is Billy Pilgrim _really_ "unstuck in time", or just mentally unstuck?) Check out this web page for some ideas. (Of those listed, Joseph Heller and Christopher Moore were two that had come to my mind as being similar in some ways.)


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

I'd hazard that 'similar' is the closest that you're ever going to get. Vonnegut was unqiue ... his writing style looks very easy to do, but _you_ try it.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Tony Richards said:


> I'd hazard that 'similar' is the closest that you're ever going to get. Vonnegut was unqiue ... his writing style looks very easy to do, but _you_ try it.


+1


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## MEPurfield (Mar 3, 2011)

I never associated Vonnegut with sci fi myself. For me Dead Eye Dick is my fave.

But to the literary style of Vonnegut you might want to try Richard Brautigan. the first half of his work is literary, then the second half he pokes fun at genres. 

But all and all you will find him humorous and bittersweet.


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## Twofishes (May 30, 2012)

You can try _Infinite Jest_ if you are looking for satire+sci-fi= Vonnegut.


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## aecardenas (Dec 16, 2011)

You should give Christopher Moore (Lamb comes to mind as a good place to start) and Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, or, better yet, the Dirk Gently books) a shot if you are looking for modern authors who are similar in vein to Vonnegut. 

However, if you want a writer who probably comes closest to Vonnegut, you actually have to go back in time (ala Billy Pilgrim) and read Mark Twain, whose colloquial writing style, black humor, brilliant use of satirical irony all of which was imbued with a healthy dose of religious skepticism and harsh criticism of mankind make him a perfect progenitor of the writer of Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse 5.


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## George Berger (Aug 7, 2011)

I'd second Christopher Moore, and also add Robert Rankin...


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## RikNieu (Jun 2, 2012)

Thanks guys, I'll have a look at all the suggestions(except Douglas Adams, I've read all his work years ago already).


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

There is nobody else like Vonnegut.

As for whither he is science fiction or not, I guess that's a matter of taste in categories. Here is a article on the subject:  The Kurt Vonnegut Question

There is a quote attributed to him, that I can't find, saying he didn't want to be called a science fiction author because they got paid less per word.


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## Patrick Skelton (Jan 7, 2011)

Great suggestions! I love Kurt's novels.


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