Here’s the truth: although there are many truly great male writers in the world, many of them write very similarly to each other. Even some of the best writers in the world can be accused of being a bit lacking when it comes to being original. With that in mind, here are a few writers who you have probably heard of but might not have read, especially if you’re growing up in the Twilight and Harry Potter era.

These are writers (in no particular order) who revolutionized their genre and who still more than stand out today as literary forces to be reckoned with:

1) Robert Ludlum. Forget the conventional thriller plot, when it comes to writing ingeniously intricate thrillers combining brilliant research with break-neck speed, Ludlum is the man. Starting out as an actor, he didn’t have his first novel published until he was around forty (The Bourne Identity). The author of numerous bestsellers, Ludlum breathed life in to a once tired formula in a way that has not since been repeated.

2) Kurt Vonnegut. Are you the kind of person who says what they think and doesn’t mind if it upsets a few people? Then you’ll get along with this man’s work. Born a German-American, Vonnegut was both hilarious and darkly serious about what he saw was wrong with the world. His works span everything from science-fiction to satire and everything in between.

3) Mark Twain. Unbelievably, although considered one of the greatest writers of our time, most people, though familiar with Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, aren’t even aware of Twain’s impressive collection of non-fiction work. An influence on virtually every writer that came after him, Twain was years ahead of his time and explained things in a way that it seems like they could have been written only yesterday.

So there you have it - three authors you should definitely download to your Smartphones e-reader app, or check out next time you’re in a bookstore or library.