APPENDIX N:
INSPIRATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL READING
"Inspiration for all of the fantasy work I have done stems directly from the
love my father showed when I was a tad, for he spent many hours telling
me stories he made up as he went along, tales of cloaked old men -who
could grant wishes, of magic rings and enchanted swords, or wicked
sorcerors and dauntless swordsmen. Then too, countless hundreds of comic
books went down, and the long-gone EC ones certainly had their effect.
Science fiction, fantasy, and horror movies were a big influence. In fact,
all of us tend to get ample helpings of fantasy when we are very young,
from fairy tales such as those written by the Brothers Grimm and Andrew
Long. This often leads to reading books of mythology, paging through
bestiaries, and consultation of compilations of the myths of various lands
and peoples. Upon such a base I built my interest in fantasy, being an avid
reader of all science fiction and fantasy literature since 1950. The following
authors were of particular inspiration to me. In some cases I cite
specific works, in others, I simply recommend all their fantasy writing to
you. From such sources, as well as just about any other imaginative writing
or screenplay you will be able to pluck kernels from which grow the fruits
of exciting campaigns. Good reading!"
- Gary Gygax, Dungeon Master's Guide (1st Edition) 1979
Inspirational Reading:
Anderson, Poul. THE BROKEN SWORD. 1954 (1971)
Neither mortal love nor Elfland magic could blunt the fury of a changeling scorned!
Anderson, Poul. THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS. 1961
Anderson, Poul. HROLF KRAKI'S SAGA. 1973
The Norse Legends newly brought to life by a master fantasist
Bellairs, John. THE FACE IN THE FROST. 1969
Authentic fantasy by a writer who knows what wizardry is all about
Brackett, Leigh. THE SWORD OF RHIANNON. 1953
Cosmic peril in a lost world
Brackett, Leigh. THE SECRET OF SINHARAT. 1964
Behind the banner of eternal life lies eternal horror
Brackett, Leigh. THE COMING OF THE TERRANS. 1967
Could Earthmen stand against the forgotten science of the Red Planet?
Brown, Fredric. WHAT MAD UNIVERSE? 1949
The SF classic of a man trapped in a hilarious alternate reality!
Brown, Fredric. MARTIANS, GO HOME. 1955
They were little green men, but with a difference... and what a difference!
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. A PRINCESS OF MARS. 1912
The first book of the famous Martian series
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. THE MOON MAID. 1912
Discovery and adventure in the unseen world of the Moon
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. PIRATES OF VENUS. 1934
Excitement in the Tarzan tradition on the planet of mystery
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. SAVAGE PELLUCIDAR. 1941
The last adventure of David Innes at the Earth's Core
Carter, Lin (editor). DRAGONS, ELVES, & HEROES. 1969
Carter, Lin. THONGOR AND THE WIZARD OF LEMURIA. 1965
The famous first adventure of the mightiest warrior-hero since Conan
Carter, Lin. THONGOR AND THE DRAGON CITY. 1966
Swordplay and spells - and bizarre adventure for the mightiest warrior-hero since Conan
Carter, Lin. THE QUEST OF KADJI. 1971
Kadji, the young warrior, axed a path through a hundred adversaries
Carter, Lin. THE WARRIOR OF WORLD'S END. 1974
The first book of the Gondwane epic
de Camp, L. Sprague (editor). SWORDS & SORCERY. 1963
Action, magic, enchantment - eight novelettes by masters of heroic fantasy
de Camp, L. Sprague (w/ Fletcher Pratt). THE INCOMPLETE ENCHANTER. 1941
Two mortals adrift in worlds of magic and wild adventure
de Camp, L. Sprague (w/ Fletcher Pratt). THE CARNELIAN CUBE. 1948
Ancient magic opens the door to strange worlds in a universe where all dreams come true!
de Camp, L. Sprague. THE TRITONIAN RING. 1951
Thrilling sword and sorcery for the fans of Tolkien's LORD OF THE RINGS
de Camp, L. Sprague. THE GOBLIN TOWER. 1968
A bold warrior and his sorceress lady - a spellbinding quest for a magic amulet
Derleth, August. THE MASK OF CTHULHU. 1958
Stories of eldritch terror based on the concepts of H.P. Lovecraft
Dunsany, Lord. THE KING OF ELFLAND'S DAUGHTER. 1969
A fantasy novel in a class with the Tolkien books
Dunsany, Lord. AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD. 1970
Dunsany, Lord. DON RODRIGUEZ: CHRONICLES OF SHADOW VALLEY. 1970
Dunsany, Lord. BEYOND THE FIELDS WE KNOW. 1972
...a key unlocking rich storehouses of dream
Dunsany, Lord. THE CHARWOMAN'S SHADOW. 1973
He had the magic of the myth-maker
Dunsany, Lord. OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY. 1974
Farmer, Philip Jose. THE MAKER OF UNIVERSES. 1965
The enigma of the many-leveled cosmos
Farmer, Philip Jose. A PRIVATE COSMOS. 1968
I looked forward for over a year to the book you are holding in your hands
Fox, Gardner. WARRIOR OF LLARN. 1964
Envoy to a world of science-wizardry
Fox, Gardner. KOTHAR AND THE WIZARD SLAYER. 1970
It was the Magnificent Barbarian's most dangerous quest - to stop the wizard killer
Fox, Gardner. KYRIK: WARLOCK WARRIOR. 1975
The mightiest swordsman who ever walked the Earth
Howard, Robert E. CONAN THE CONQUEROR. 1950
Volume five in the saga of fantasy-adventure's mightiest hero
Robert E. Howard's only book-length novel of Conan!
Howard, Robert E. ALMURIC. 1964
Alone on an uncharted planet
Howard, Robert E. CONAN THE ADVENTURER. 1965
The world's greatest fantasy hero - the ultimate in swashbuckling adventure
Howard, Robert E. BRAN MAK MORN. 1969
Savage! Furious! Thrilling! The mightiest adventures of the greatest hero of them all
Howard, Robert E. CONAN. 1969
The earliest, most savage battles of fantasy-adventure's mightiest hero
Howard, Robert E. THE HAND OF KANE. 1970
Lanier, Sterling. HIERO'S JOURNEY. 1975
In a holocaust world of strange beasts and savage men, he rode forth
Leiber, Fritz. SWORDS AGAINST WIZARDRY. 1968
Fafhrd the Barbarian and the Gray Mouser battle awesome monsters and treacherous sorcerers, in this new novel by the master of heroic adventure
Leiber, Fritz. SWORDS AGAINST DEATH. 1970
Fafhrd the Barbarian and the Gray Mouser battle the most dangerous sorceries in all Newhon
Lovecraft, H.P. THE DREAM-QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH. 1970
The finest weird fantasy ever written
Lovecraft, H.P. THE DOOM THAT CAME TO SARNATH. 1971
Lovecraft, H.P. THE SPAWN OF CTHULHU. 1971
Merritt, Abraham. MOON POOL. 1919
What secret compulsion made this lovely girl the handmaiden to unnatural horrors?
Merritt, Abraham. DWELLERS IN THE MIRAGE. 1932
Packed with all the elements that make Merritt the top fantasy author: a lost land, a beautiful witch, and a supernatural horror from the ends of time
Merritt, Abraham. CREEP, SHADOW CREEP. 1934
Moorcock, Michael. THE STEALER OF SOULS. 1961
Elric, wanderer of strange worlds... and his enchanted sword Stormbringer... in fantasy-adventure at its best
Moorcock, Michael. STORMBRINGER. 1965
Elric, the haunted warrior king, fights a titanic war against the forces of Chaos! Powerful and sustained imagination
Moorcock, Michael. SWORD OF THE DAWN. 1968
Dorian Hawkmoon journeys through time and space to defeat the spreading tentacles of the evil Dark Empire
Norton, Andre. DAYBREAK 2250 A.D. 1952
All new, all original, and all excellent (original title STAR MAN's SON)
Norton, Andre. WITCH WORLD. 1963
One man against a wonder planet
Norton, Andre. YEAR OF THE UNICORN. 1965
Norton, Andre. WARLOCK OF THE WITCH WORLD. 1967
He read his destiny in alien stars
Norton, Andre. HIGH SORCERY. 1970
Warlocks of other worlds - or scientists of times unknown
Offutt, Andrew (editor). SWORDS AGAINST DARKNESS. 1977
Heroic fantasy in the tradition of Robert E. Howard
Pratt, Fletcher (w/ L. Sprague de Camp). LAND OF UNREASON. 1942
A droll masterpiece of fantasy!
Pratt, Fletcher. THE BLUE STAR. 1952
The tale of a parallel world
Saberhagen, Fred. THE BROKEN LANDS. 1968
Who rides an atomic "Elephant" dares not dismount!
Saberhagen, Fred. CHANGELING EARTH. 1973
The turning point for Terra had come
St. Clair, Margaret. THE GREEN QUEEN. 1956
Was she mistress of miracles or puppet of super science?
St. Clair, Margaret. SIGN OF THE LABRYS. 1963
Imaginative, inventive, original - the science-fiction novel of an ultra-modern world without a future
St. Clair, Margaret. THE SHADOW PEOPLE. 1969
They came from the underearth to take over the world
Tolkien, J.R.R. THE HOBBIT. 1937
The enchanting prelude to THE LORD OF THE RINGS
Tolkien, J.R.R. THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. 1954
(1965 Ace Unauthorized Edition)
Superb - one of the major achievements of epic imagination in our lifetimes, and your life is the poorer if you have failed to read it
Tolkien, J.R.R. THE TWO TOWERS. 1954
(1965 Ace Unauthorized Edition)
It is an extraordinary work - pure excitement, unencumbered narrative, moral warmth, barefaced rejoicing in beauty, but excitement most of all
Tolkien, J.R.R. THE RETURN OF THE KING. 1955
(1965 Ace Unauthorized Edition)
An impressive achievement, unique among the imaginative works of our time
Tolkien, J.R.R. THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. 1954
(1965 Ballantine Edition)
The authorized edition of the famous fantasy trilogy THE LORD OF THE RINGS newly revised with a special foreword by the author
Tolkien, J.R.R. THE TWO TOWERS. 1954
(1965 Ballantine Edition)
The authorized edition of the famous fantasy trilogy THE LORD OF THE RINGS newly revised with a special foreword by the author
Tolkien, J.R.R. THE RETURN OF THE KING. 1955
(1965 Ballantine Edition)
The authorized edition of the famous fantasy trilogy THE LORD OF THE RINGS newly revised with a special foreword by the author
Vance, Jack. THE DRAGON MASTERS. 1963
The book that won the Hugo Award for Best Science-Fiction Novel
Vance, Jack. THE EYES OF THE OVERWORLD. 1966
Quest at the end of time
Vance, Jack. CITY OF THE CHASCH. 1968
Planet of Adventure #1 Marooned on a world of mysterious aliens and unpredictable dangers
Weinbaum, Stanley. THE BLACK FLAME. 1939
A landmark work in modern science fiction Stanley G. Weinbaum's brilliant novel of the far future
Weinbaum, Stanley. A MARTIAN ODYSSEY. 1962
And other great science-fiction stories
Weinbaum, Stanley. THE NEW ADAM. 1969
A long-neglected milestone in modern science fiction!
Wellman, Manly Wade. WHO FEARS THE DEVIL? 1963
Fantastic stories of science fiction
Wellman, Manly Wade. THE SOLAR INVASION. 1968
From beyond the fifth dimension, a master fiend threatens to destroy the universe
Williamson, Jack. THE GREEN GIRL. 1930
A great science-fiction novel about a weird land beneath the Earth
Williamson, Jack. REIGN OF WIZARDRY. 1964
The magic of the dark one enslaved the world... Theseus alone stood against it
Zelazny, Roger. LORD OF LIGHT. 1967
The Hugo Award-winning novel
Zelazny, Roger. NINE PRINCES IN AMBER. 1970
A prine of The Blood returns to rule the only true world
Zelazny, Roger. JACK OF SHADOWS. 1971
The gripping new adventure of a mighty hero's battle with the forces of decay - set in a world of darkness and despair
"The most immediate influences upon AD&D were probably de Camp &
Pratt, REH, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, HPL, and A. Merritt; but all of the above
authors, as well as many not listed, certainly helped to shape the form of
the game. For this reason, and for the hours of reading enjoyment, I
heartily recommend the works of these fine authors to you."
- Gary Gygax, Dungeon Master's Guide (1st Edition) 1979