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.
Marv / Finarvyn
DCC Minister of Propaganda; Deputized 6/8/11 (over 11 years of SPAM bustin'!)
DCC RPG playtester 2011, DCC Lankhmar trivia contest winner 2015;
OD&D player since 1975
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