Anything by Harlan Ellison
A modern master of the short story. He's not always "on"
but nothing he writes leaves me unaffected. Brutal, gut-
wrenching, soul churning, life examined under the microscope.
Dave Macdonald
Anything by Larry Niven
Since I mostly focus on Sci-Fi, I'll have to plug anything by Larry
Niven. Even those of you who don't normally dig Sci-Fi might enjoy
"Protector". Why? Because Ringworld has gotten too much press and
Protector is significant background for that story.
Scott Sullivan