The Heretic
Should be playing D&D instead
All the talk about Appendix N on this board makes me feel right at home. One of the first things I did when I went off to college was to start to read the books listed in Appendix N.
The Pruning Book by Lee ReichAnybody got any good non-fiction, non-Appendix N books to recommend?
The Forgotten Crafts by John Seymour. For fleshing out your villages.Anybody got any good non-fiction, non-Appendix N books to recommend?
Eyyyy how far did you get?All the talk about Appendix N on this board makes me feel right at home. One of the first things I did when I went off to college was to start to read the books listed in Appendix N.
Not as far as I thought I did. The library didn't have Pratt, A. Merritt, and several of the other 60's-70's authors that were on the list, and I didn't know about interlibrary loan until later, when I was preoccupied with other authors. Let's see, I was able to find Lieber, Howard, Lovecraft, Derleth, Moorcock, Poul Anderson. de Camp and Carter were easy to find due to their work on Conan. For Saberhagen I was only able to find his Sci Fi, which was quite enjoyable. I was only able to find one book by Jack Vance, and that was at a used bookstore.Eyyyy how far did you get?
Derleth I haven't read, and I'm not generally a fan of pastiches, especially of inimitable authors like Lovecraft or Howard but all those others are pretty good. Moorcock doesn't age as well as I thought, with early Moorcock having pretty bad prose. I loved Harold Shea and am suprised the series doens't get mentioned more as one of the foundational works for early DnD, definetely the other major inspirational source; spell components, rule of sympathy, travel into imaginary worlds etc. etc. I got pretty far into Saberhagen's Berserker series but he gets kind of long-winded in the later parts.Not as far as I thought I did. The library didn't have Pratt, A. Merritt, and several of the other 60's-70's authors that were on the list, and I didn't know about interlibrary loan until later, when I was preoccupied with other authors. Let's see, I was able to find Lieber, Howard, Lovecraft, Derleth, Moorcock, Poul Anderson. de Camp and Carter were easy to find due to their work on Conan. For Saberhagen I was only able to find his Sci Fi, which was quite enjoyable. I was only able to find one book by Jack Vance, and that was at a used bookstore.
Shh! Prince is a member of MRA, he won't appreciate this.To broaden your perspective, I recommend Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. It's told from a woman's perspective and is quit good at illustrating witty alternatives to combat.
August Derleth's Cthulhu mythos stories were terrible. He did do a lot of writing outside of the the Cthulhu mythos though. I have to give him props for keeping Lovecraft's work from obscurity. Arkham House is within an hour of where I live too.Derleth I haven't read, and I'm not generally a fan of pastiches, especially of inimitable authors like Lovecraft or Howard but all those others are pretty good. Moorcock doesn't age as well as I thought, with early Moorcock having pretty bad prose. I loved Harold Shea and am suprised the series doens't get mentioned more as one of the foundational works for early DnD, definetely the other major inspirational source; spell components, rule of sympathy, travel into imaginary worlds etc. etc. I got pretty far into Saberhagen's Berserker series but he gets kind of long-winded in the later parts.
A.Merritt is the king of pulp fantasy and I can recommend him. Most of his stories involve men of action going on expeditions into lost civilisations and confronting ancient, almost lovecraftian evils. There's time travel, assyrians, witchcraft, super-technology, wild, stirring stuff.
My bad. The Kyrik or Kothar series by Gardner Fox, I think.Kull = Krull? That was Howard IIRC.
I used to think MRA's were all about hating women until I went into their clubhouse and had a talk with them. Turns out they only cared about child custody and burden of proof in domestic abuse cases or something. What a bunch of gaylords. Never spoke to them again.Shh! Prince is a member of MRA, he won't appreciate this.
I hear Novik is alright but my shelves are already polluted with Sandersons, Lawrences and Rothfusses. I am getting jaded by modern fantasy. I sold a complete set of Rowena Corey Danielses. The only post-2010 fantasy author I will heartily endorse is R.Scott Bakker and I have some cautious hope for Guy Gavriel Kay.To broaden your perspective, I recommend Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. It's told from a woman's perspective and is quit good at illustrating witty alternatives to combat.
I read one Gardner Fox and sold the fuck out of it. It reads like someone doing a terrible Conan (or in this case John Carter) impression. Brrrr.My bad. The Kyrik or Kothar series by Gardner Fox, I think.
My bad. You're not MRA, you're NRA, Nuns' Rights Activist.I used to think MRA's were all about hating women until I went into their clubhouse and had a talk with them. Turns out they only cared about child custody and burden of proof in domestic abuse cases or something. What a bunch of gaylords. Never spoke to them again.
Nah.I have some cautious hope for Guy Gavriel Kay.
Ah, so just like Lin Carter's Thongor series. Blech.I read one Gardner Fox and sold the fuck out of it. It reads like someone doing a terrible Conan (or in this case John Carter) impression. Brrrr.
The Sabres of Paradise is a rough biography of Shamyl and the Russian conquest of Dagestan. It is basically Dune in real life, several larger than life characters have deadly clashes and capers. Daring cavalry raids, warrior-mystics, and cameos by like half the Russian 19th century authors.Anybody got any good non-fiction, non-Appendix N books to recommend?
I never replied to this, drawing a complete blank, but looking at my nightstand last night I saw...Anybody got any good non-fiction, non-Appendix N books to recommend?
I'm pro Crushing Puss and Playing Sports.My bad. You're not MRA, you're NRA, Nuns' Rights Activist.
Not ole Guy, too? Were all those cover blurbs a lie? He seemed semi-literate, an accomplishment in post-2010 fantasy.Nah.
Gardner Fox, Lin Carter, a good reminder that Gygax took shits too.Ah, so just like Lin Carter's Thongor series. Blech.