What are some of the best modern authors whose style is comparable to Charles Dickens? I keep reading the old stuff but I think to learn how to write for today's audience I need to read new stuff. However, I want to learn from only the best whose technique is just as good.
I can't imagine anyone really following that type of style now days. It's dated and Dickens tends to be wordy (he got paid by the word, so why not?). Anyone with a similar style was probably writing around the same time period as Dickens.
Dickens had a weird style. He would add small details into a scene that really made it come alive, but when you really look at it those details are utterly meaningless. His style was not the proper 'Britishness' everyone thinks it is. And no one writes in the 19th century vernacular anymore - thankfully. Here's just four of the best modern writers from the point of view of style: Thomas Pynchon, Don Delillo, Chris Hitchens, and Solzhenitsyn.
Lotsa luck! You might find someone approaching his talent for prose but they will lack his vitality. Nabokov. Updike. You might find someone approaching his vitality but they will lack his talent for prose. Adams. Pratchett. SP's suggestion is a good one in terms of style.
