Goodman Games

Greetings All,

I'm fortunate enough to have read a lot of the "Appendix N" books. All great stuff. However, I've come across some other, even lesser known arcane books. Can we list some Classic reading material that is not on the Appendix N list?

I would like to regulate these books to ones that have stood the test of time. That is, more than 20 years or so old, and have multiple printings and editions.

A first example from me is this one: "Jirel of Joiry" by C.L. Moore. The Jirel stories are about a powerful female fighter/knight from medieval France. The stories sometimes start with a fairly normal medieval Europe feel...and then plunge right in Sorcery and High Weirdness. Our hero starts off with her land being conquered. So she takes off into the dungeon of her chapel through a secret passage...into another hellish dimension.

Very Clark Ashton Smith.

The stories can be found in anthologies as well. This one I found is a collection of her stories. my bookshelf:

I think there was another thread on this. The other author called it "Appendix O."
http://www.goodman-games.com/forums/vie ... =60&t=8525

Basically, I'm of mixed minds on this.

1. While your "test of time" model sounds good, books 20 years old would still be written as late as 1991. It's hard to stack those against a classic which has endured from the 1930's (Conan) or others like that, but essentially you're only adding part of the 1970's and all of the 1980's.

2. It's interesting to note that your example, "Jirel of Joiry" was written in the 1930's, so it's old enough to have been on the list without changing the criteria for years. I would guess that "Jirel of Joiry" isn't on the Appendix N list because either Gary never read them or didn't like them.

3. Remember that the DCC RPG is specifically targeted at Appendix N literature. I suspect that the style of writing has changed a lot since the 1970's. Once you get past Sword of Shannara (1976?) I think that much of the writing style changes a lot. Fantasy became more mainstream, more authors joined in, and there is a lot more diversity in style. The older writers were mostly trying to get published in Fantastic and Weird Tales and other magazines, which promoted the short story format, but the newer writers were trying to start out with a full novel or perhaps an entire series. This changes the type of story told quite a bit. Heck, even some of the authors from Appendix N change their style; Michael Moorcock, for example, moves from the short story action format of the 1960's to the plodding philosopical novel of the 2000's.

Bottom line is that I'm not entirely sure what we gain from making another list, particularly since it won't be the focus of the DCC RPG. Having said all of that, it would be interesting to see what books got added as inspirational reading. I'd like to find some living authors who can match the quality of the masters.

Greetings,

And now my "Noob" status shows. I now see I'm covering old ground. Please feel free to shuffle, delete or purge this thread as you see fit!

I'm going to go and find some books by Bernard Cornwell!

Thanks!

No biggie.

Fortunately, this forumn isn't that old and is only 5 pages long. You might look around at some of the older threads to see what's been covered.

SniperTodd wrote: I'm going to go and find some books by Bernard Cornwell!

Good choice. I love his hundred years war and viking stuff.

The Imaro stories by Charles Saunders would fit well in Appendix N.

How about a guy who influenced R E Howard:

Harold Lamb - his Khlit the Cossack stories, written between 1917-1926. There's a good compilation called 'Wolf of The Steppes'.

Master of driving pace, exotic setting, and complex plotting, Harold Lamb was one of Robert E. Howard's favorite writers. Here, at last, is every pulse-pounding, action-packed story of Lamb's greatest hero, the wolf of the steppe, Khlit the Cossack. Journey now with the unsung grandfather of sword and sorcery in search of ancient tombs, gleaming treasure, and thrilling landscapes. Match wits with deadly swordsmen, scheming priests, and evil cults. Rescue lovely damsels, ride with bold comrades, and hazard everything on your brains and skill and a little luck.

Great name for a hero, try asking for that in Borders.