Recommended Reading

Archon

New member
Nov 12, 2002
916
0
0
Recommended Reading

These are the spellbooks with which a GM works his magic.

Read Full Article
 

Archon

New member
Nov 12, 2002
916
0
0
It's really astonishing how trendy the fantasy genre can be. If you go to a local used book store and go to the fantasy section you'll see almost an entirely different selection than you would in Borders/Barnes. I thought I'd look at this list and agree with at least half of your picks but tbh I only recognized two or three (shame, I know) despite the fact that I have like 3 book cases crowded with these pulpy monsters.
 

Croaker42

New member
Feb 5, 2009
818
0
0
A few good suggestions that I may eventually get around to. I have not made time to ready any of the Earthsea set but the few films and at least one anime that I know of, based on the world have gotten me really fired up. (But then I get lost in the works of Glen Cook.)

I will say that when I have a dire need for high fantasy Terry Goodkind and the Sword of Truth series can't go wrong. (Poor taste on my part but I even think the TV series Legend of The Seeker isn't bad.)

@Archon I think at one point you mentioned you were reading the Black Company set. How did you cope with the set pieces offered up in those books? Did any find their way into your DMing?
 

IndianaJonny

Mysteron Display Team
Jan 6, 2011
813
0
0
Quite by chance I read Three Hearts and Three Lions whilst I was having a bit of a Danish phase. The novel lead to me thumbing through old books on the Hundred Years War, the Black Prince, which lead to Arthur Conan Doyle's The White Company (a glorious historical-fiction piece; real "boy's own" stuff) which lead to me fishing out Medieval Total War which took me back to thumbing through books on the Crusades and the Siege of Malta.

Yep, before 'gamification' there were fantasy novels; leading us to all sorts of places.
 

kalt_13

Veteran n00b
Sep 14, 2008
251
0
0
cool I've been wondering what fantasy stuff to read.

Any chance of a list for other genres games?

G/l with Adventurer Conquerer King, I'm backing you.
 

tg851

New member
May 29, 2011
19
0
0
where the frack is eragon? really,REALLY?
probably the best current fantasy series out there
 

Zom-B

New member
Feb 8, 2011
379
0
0
I read the first book in R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing trilogy and thought is was terminally dull, over-wrought and just not that entertaining. But that's just me.


tg851 said:
where the frack is eragon? really,REALLY?
probably the best current fantasy series out there
By your avatar, I see that you are joking.
 

Stein Inge

New member
Jun 9, 2009
316
0
0
tg851 said:
where the frack is eragon? really,REALLY?
probably the best current fantasy series out there
Listen: I LOVEs me some Eragon. I have really enjoyed that series so far!

But! (Keep in mind that I have not read half of what´s on this list...)

I feel that Robert Jordans "Wheel of Time" should be mentioned before Eragon...
 

r_Chance

New member
Dec 13, 2008
141
0
0
I'm there with you for Anderson, LeGuin, Moorcock, Tolkein and Vance. The others are OK, just not formative for me. I do seem to be missing Roger Zelazny though. Dilvish the Damned, Lord Of Light, the Amber books... can't leave Zelazny out :)

*edit* Oh, and if we want to add more recent authors, don't leave out David Eddings and Glen Cook.
 

Archon

New member
Nov 12, 2002
916
0
0
Hello! thanks for the feedback..

r_Chance said:
I'm there with you for Anderson, LeGuin, Moorcock, Tolkein and Vance. The others are OK, just not formative for me. I do seem to be missing Roger Zelazny though. Dilvish the Damned, Lord Of Light, the Amber books... can't leave Zelazny out :)
I enjoyed Amber, but the books were not hugely influential on my gaming, so I didn't include them.

Oh, and if we want to add more recent authors, don't leave out David Eddings and Glen Cook.
I've got Glen Cook on the list. I didn't include David Eddings, or Robert Jordan, or R.A. Salvatore, for the same reason I didn't include Zelazny; they weren't inspirational to me. (At one time I'd have included Jordan on the list but he lost my fandom around book 5.)

Zom-B said:
I read the first book in R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing trilogy and thought is was terminally dull, over-wrought and just not that entertaining. But that's just me.
Sorry you didn't dig it!
 

Archon

New member
Nov 12, 2002
916
0
0
kalt_13 said:
cool I've been wondering what fantasy stuff to read.

Any chance of a list for other genres games?

G/l with Adventurer Conquerer King, I'm backing you.
Thanks for your support!!
 

Archon

New member
Nov 12, 2002
916
0
0
Croaker42 said:
@Archon I think at one point you mentioned you were reading the Black Company set. How did you cope with the set pieces offered up in those books? Did any find their way into your DMing?
I haven't finished reading the Black Company series. It's hard to piece together what the series consists of, all in, and a lot of the books are hard to find...
 

r_Chance

New member
Dec 13, 2008
141
0
0
Archon said:
Hello! thanks for the feedback..

I enjoyed Amber, but the books were not hugely influential on my gaming, so I didn't include them.

I've got Glen Cook on the list. I didn't include David Eddings, or Robert Jordan, or R.A. Salvatore, for the same reason I didn't include Zelazny; they weren't inspirational to me. (At one time I'd have included Jordan on the list but he lost my fandom around book 5.)
For me, Zelazny's best fantasy is Dilvish the Damned. Excellent DM material, especially the short stories (although the Changing Land novel was excellent as well). If you haven't read them, there is a lot of inspiration to be had. The Amber books were fun, but Dilvish is superb. I missed Cook? Sorry. The Black Company books were sxcellent but the Garrett novels are a great read for urban fantasy noire. As for Eddings the Diamond Throne trilogy. Sparhawk. Excellent characterization. Jordan was fairly good (although I agree it was stretched out too far), I never really got into Salvatore. He was OK, but not a great read or inspiration for me.

*edit* Good list btw. Be interesting to see a science fiction list...
 

VanillaBean

New member
Feb 3, 2010
549
0
0
Really like this list, I've been looking for some good Fantasy novels and this is just what I needed.
 

Jenx

New member
Dec 5, 2007
160
0
0
I've been meaning to get into Moorcock for a while now, but I've no damn clue where to start reading the Elric books. What order do I read them, which books and/or stories outside of it should I also read?
 

somonels

New member
Oct 12, 2010
1,209
0
0
Jenx said:
I've been meaning to get into Moorcock for a while now, but I've no damn clue where to start reading the Elric books. What order do I read them, which books and/or stories outside of it should I also read?
Moorcock's multiverse and cross-referencing already comes into play in the second book, "Sailor on the Seas of Fate," where it is heavily featured in the first half of the book.
"Elric of Melnibone," the first book, is good as a standalone and a starting place.

As for series I'd mention Glen Cook's "The Black Company," a grim and gritty book with a similar point of view as the adventuring party.

While Christopher Stasheff's series "The Rogue Wizard" is not exactly exemplary fantasy material, with science fictional undertones, is a worthwhile read for those who are interested in worldbuilding, DM's mainly.
 

Albino Boo

New member
Jun 14, 2010
4,667
0
0
I think that there are 2 significant things missing from the list. The first is Beowulf, the granddaddy of them all, not only the earliest piece of Anglo Saxon literature but the first appearance of trolls and dragons as part of the written word in proto-english. In short no Beowulf, no Tolkien.

The second is Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory, the canon work for Arthurian legend. Ok its a collation of existing stories but its the bench mark for the high romance style that heavily influenced everyone since. His Arthur could easily fit into Moorcock's multiverse.

However, I recognize that its the the works that influenced you, rather than me but if you haven't read them take a look.



On the Adventurer Conquerer King front,I hope all goes well. Could report back to us all the how things went at Gen Con. I would be interested to see how your ideas evolve after letting the general pubic at them. Also, as wild stab in the dark is the title influenced by Argrath's saga form runequest?
 

Archon

New member
Nov 12, 2002
916
0
0
albino boo said:
I think that there are 2 significant things missing from the list. The first is Beowulf, the granddaddy of them all, not only the earliest piece of Anglo Saxon literature but the first appearance of trolls and dragons as part of the written word in proto-english. In short no Beowulf, no Tolkien.

The second is Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory, the canon work for Arthurian legend. Ok its a collation of existing stories but its the bench mark for the high romance style that heavily influenced everyone since. His Arthur could easily fit into Moorcock's multiverse.

However, I recognize that its the the works that influenced you, rather than me but if you haven't read them take a look.
Albino, I totally agree with you! And those works did influence me. However, I didn't include any legendary, mythic, or historic sources in my list. If I did, these would be others I'd add:

Robin Lane Fox - Alexander the Great
Seamus Heaney - Beowulf: A New Translation
Homer - The Iliad
Polybius - Rise of the Roman Empire
Mary Renault - Fire from Heaven, Funeral Games, et. al

On the Adventurer Conquerer King front,I hope all goes well. Could report back to us all the how things went at Gen Con. I would be interested to see how your ideas evolve after letting the general pubic at them. Also, as wild stab in the dark is the title influenced by Argrath's saga form runequest?
No, I'm not familiar with Argrath's saga form runequest, I'm afraid. The title was influenced by Conan - "Conan the Adventurer," "Conan the Conqueror" and "King Conan".
 

tendo82

Uncanny Valley Cave Dweller
Nov 30, 2007
1,283
0
0
Great list. Can't wait to see the science fiction selections.

Personally, I'll throw my recommendation in for Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun series. He definitely took Vance as a starting point, but tossed out the pulp magazine sensibility for something far weirder. Weird extends not only to the flora and fauna, but to the basic mindset of the characters who convincingly embody the mores of a society alien to our present and Western European past. Wolfe also does some interesting things with narrative.

I think for the purpose of an RPG Vance is enough, and I was glad to see him on this list. Still, I felt like mentioning that Wolfe forced me to reconsider the literary value of speculative fiction, and I'm glad I did.
 

Nooners

New member
Sep 27, 2009
805
0
0
Stein Inge said:
I feel that Robert Jordans "Wheel of Time" should be mentioned before Eragon...
The whole time, I was thinking, "Wheel of TIme...Wheel of Time...WHEEL OF TIME...WHERE IS IT?"
I am disappoint. Oh well.