Goodman Games

What are some of your personal faves from among the lesser known titles of Appendix N?

I will share some of mine.

I love The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs. It is one of my favorite books, period. I was so saddened to read the abandoned sequel, where the story is left on a depressing note, not to mention incomplete. I wish someone could turn up the rumored Bellairs novella featuring Prospero and Roger Bacon that Lin Carter supposedly had but never got to publish.

I have a soft spot for Margaret St. Clair's super trippy entries in Appendix N. Oh and, I highly recommend her short stories Horrer Howce and of course The Man Who Sold Rope to the Gnoles.

Then finally, have to say I always enjoy Manly Wade Wellman. I read some Silver John stories ages back and found they really fired up my imagination. Those mountain tales. More recently I was introduced to John Thunstone and that's been a treat too.

I guess it's arguable the extent to which the above are "lesser known"; Bellairs at least has a lot of books out there. But I think compared to say Tolkien, Howard, Lovecraft, Zelazny and some others these three are harder to find in print, at least, but well worth tracking down.

What do you recommend among some of the less discussed titles or authors from Appendix N?

I'm a huge Bellairs fan as well, and Face in the Frost is one of my favorite novels. It's sad to hear about an unfinished sequel.

Don't forget that the old E.C. Comics line is mentioned in the body of influences, if not in the actual list.

I have enjoyed three Merritt novels so far... Picked up the Ship of Ishtar recently, but haven't gotten to it yet.

And I really enjoyed The Black Flame by Weinbaum, which largely read like it was written in the 60s, not the 30s.

I'll third the vote for Face in The Frost, too.