Dan Simmons

Dan Simmons is a Speculative Fiction author, best known for his sprawling and imaginative sci-fi series The Hyperion Cantos and Illium/Olympos, though he started off (and has since returned to) writing Horror and Fantasy novels.

A common thread throughout all Simmons' novels are references to classic literature, either directly or metaphorically. (Simmons was once a middle-school English teacher).

Some of his non-sci-fi novels include:
 * Song Of Kali - A Maybe Magic Maybe Mundane Psychological Horror about a journalist who encounters a cult in Calcutta.
 * The Hollow Man - A Magical Realism novel about a man who's helplessly telepathic, and how he copes with life after his long-time wife passes away and he's forced to deal with the world at large.
 * The Terror - A Historical Fantasy that depicts the Real Life British lost expedition to find the fabled Northwest Passage around Canada's northern shore. After getting stuck in the polar ice, horror ensues when a supernatural beast starts picking off the survivors one by one.
 * Drood - Also a Historical Fantasy about British people, this time also featuring Charles Dickens!
 * Summer of Night - A Stephen King-esque horror novel about a group of young boys living in a small town facing off against an eldritch supernatural terror.