Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Appendix N is the literary wellspring of the DCC RPG. Discuss it here, along with related subjects: D&D history, pulp sci-fi/fantasy magazines, pre-genre literature, etc.

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Panthros
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Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by Panthros »

We all know Gary's Appendix N. Perhaps everyone has their own list they recommend to others. I thought I would share mine. I look forward to seeing yours.

Appendix N: For a New Generation

Many of these books I read in my teens and early twenties. Some have been releases much later. I would like to believe that these books Gary Gygax would add to his “Appendix N” list if he was still alive.

Bradley, Marion Zimmer – The Mists of Avalon series, et al
Brooks, Terry – Shannara series, Magic Kingdom of Landover series, et al
Butcher, Jim – Dresden Files series, et al
Cook, Glen – Chronicles of the Black Company, et al
Eddings, David – Belgariad series, et al
Erikson, Steven – Malazan series, et al
Gaiman, Neil, - American Gods series, et al
Goldman, William – The Princess Bride
Goodkind, Terry – Sword of Truth series, et al
Grossman, Lev – The Magicians series, et al
Hardy, Lyndon – Master of the Five Magics, Secret of the Sixth Magic, et al
Herbert, Frank – Dune series, et al
Hickman, Tracy – Dragonlance Chronicles, et al
Hobb, Robin (Ogden, Margaret Astrid Lindholm) – Farseer Trilogy
Jordan, Robert – Wheel of Time series, et al
King, Stephen – The Dark Tower series, et al
Le Guin, Ursula K. – Earthsea series, et al
Martin, George R. R. – Game of Thrones series, et al
McCaffrey, Anne – Dragonriders of Pern series, et al
Moon, Elizabeth – Paksenarrion series, et al
Niven, Larry – Ringworld series
Pratchett, Terry – Discworld series, et al
Rowling, J.K – Harry Potter Series, et al
Salvatore, R. A. – Legend of Drizzt series, et al
Weis, Margaret – Dragonlance Chronicles, et al
Williams, Tad – Otherland series
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Re: Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by soulcatcher78 »

Apparently you're checking out my bookshelf, lol.

Couple of adds for you:
Scott Lynch - Gentleman Bastard series (3 so far, waiting on the 4th FOREVER).
Jim McDoniel - An Unattractive Vampire
Roger Zelazny - Damnation Alley (MCC related)
Hugh Howey - Wool (MCC related)
Russell Jeffries - Dungeoneers
Robert Asprin - Myth series & Thieve's World series of stories (various authors) - Green Ronin did a D20 adaptation
Brian Lumley - Necroscope series (more horror then fantasy but good stuff anyway)
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Re: Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by Ravenheart87 »

I would add Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun to the Appendix N list. And almost everything from Clark Ashton Smith, naturally.
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Re: Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by mobro »

A caveat is, these are supplemental to the existing body of Appendix N, not a replacement.

Abercrombie, Joe
Adams, Richard: Watership Down, Shardik, Maia
Alexander, Lloyd: The Chronicles of Prydain
Christopher, John: The Sword of the Spirits trilogy
Cook, Glen: The Black Company series
King, Stephen: The Dark Tower series; The Mist
King, Stephen and Peter Straub: The Talisman
Kirkman, Robert and Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard: The Walking Dead
Lansdale, Joe
Le Guin, Ursula: The Earthsea Series, especially The Tombs of Atuan
Lynch, Scott: The Gentleman Bastards series
Martin, George R. R.: A Song of Ice and Fire
Mieville, China: The Bas-Lag novels
Mignola, Mike
Nix, Garth: The Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz stories
Pini, Wendy and Richard Pini: Elfquest (the original 20 issues)
Smith, Clark Ashton
Stroud, Jonathan


I'm sure I'm forgetting some items I'll regret! I left off a few that seem more appropriate to MCC (Jack Kirby, John Christopher...).
Last edited by mobro on Wed May 09, 2018 5:40 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by Griffith »

Adams, Robert: The Horseclans series
Ash, Sarah: The Tears of Artamon series
Carter, Lin: "Thongor"; The Green Star series; The Callisto series (anything but the World's End series, it's awful)
Green, Simon R.: The Deathstalker series (SCC; Space Crawl Classic?)
Jakes, John: "Brak the Barbarian" series
King, William & Long, Nathan: "Gotrek & Felix" series
McKiernan, Dennis L.: The Iron Tower trilogy
Moorcock, Michael: "Corum" series
Piserchia, Doris: THE SPINNER
Saunders, Charles: IMARO
Shea, Michael: IN YANA, THE TOUCH OF UNDYING
Smith, Clark Ashton: Zothique series; Hyperborea series
Zelazny, Roger: DILVISH, THE DAMNED
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Re: Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by Gentlegamer »

I would import most of the Inspirational Reading list from Moldvay, notably Lloyd Alexander, Prydain Chronicles and Bullfinch's Mythology.

I would personally add John Norman, Gor series.
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Re: Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by finarvyn »

Interesting. When I saw the thread title I assumed newer books and newer authors, yet many of the posts list older books which happened to not to be on Gygax's list. I would have anticipated a list for recent years, say 2000 or later. That would be an interesting list. :D
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Re: Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by ThickSkullAdv »

Off the top of my head I would add:
  • Barker, Clive - The Scarlet Gospels (especially for magic use), but almost anything he did in the Imagica and Weaveworld settings
  • King, Stephen - The Dark Tower series
  • Niven / Pournelle - all the sci-fi they did together (Lucifer's Hammer, Footfall, etc.)
  • Rothfuss, Patric - Kingkiller Chronicles
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Re: Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by herecomethejudge »

Definitely Stephen King -- lots of Lovecraft mythos works in his short stories collections and novels -- and Clive Barker (Books of Blood and Weaveworld are solid).
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Re: Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by Feirsteax »

Was curious if anyone had referenced Terry Pratchett as Appendix N or Appendix N adjacent, and I'm glad this thread did. The Discworld books were my childhood, and definitely a big inspiration when I'm running my games. They definitely have a lighter more comedic feel than most but the fantasy world painted by Pratchett is really something special.

I'm currently listening to an audiobook of The Colour of Magic, you can get it on YouTube, and it's absolutely brilliant. All the voices and all the narrator does are well acted and appropriately silly. Big reccomend.
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Re: Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by BanjoJohn »

Peter F Hamilton.
Neal Stephenson
I haven't caught up on recent good authors other than these two.
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Re: Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by Jakob »

I'd go along with pretty much everything on the list (especially China Mieville's Bas-Lag, Le Guin's Earthsea, Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, Pratchett's Discworld), and I'd add:

Zachary Jernigan, Jeroun-Duology (pretty unknown, but it is really, really weird and kind of get's the energy of Zelazny's Lord of Light).
C.J. Cherryh, Downbelow Station (more of a Traveller-Novel, but the interstellar politicis in it are great).
Lavie Tidhar, By Force Alone (King Arthur by way of Tarantino, with some Roadside Picnic thrown into the mix).
K.J. Parker, The Company (stand-alone fantasy novel with some really interesting ideas about the psychological toll of being a warrior).
Josiah Bancroft, The Books of Babel (have only read the first two yet, but boy, would that be another great DCC setting!).
R. Scott Bakker, Prince of Nothing series and Aspect Emperor series (I love to hate these. Full of really unlikeable characters and so over the top, but still mesmerizing.)

EDIT: And also:
Samuel R. Delany, Neveryon-Series and The Einstein Intersection (especially the latter; Neveryon might be a little too "theoretical", but If you've every wanted to play out a slave revolt, you'll need to read the first book, at the very least.)
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Re: Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by Griffith »

Karl Edward Wagner, his Kane books are excellent…
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Re: Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by Mithras »

So for my personal Appendix N the following books are on the list:

Eddings, David – Elenium Trilogy
Le Guin, Ursula K. – Earthsea series
Martin, George R. R. – Game of Thrones series
Adrej Sapkowski - The Witcher series
Karl Edward Wagner - Kane series
Paul S. Kemp - The hammer and the blade series (pure good sword & sorcery)
Mark Smylie - The barrow
Michael shea - Nifft the lean series
Gardner F. Fox - Kothar the barbarian sereis
John Jakes - Brak the barbarian series
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Re: Appendix N: For a New Generation - What is your list?

Post by BaophraT »

I would also add:

Farmer, Philip José, "Hadon of Ancient Opar," Flight to Opar".
K. Dewdney, Patrick, "The Syffe Cycle."
Jaworsky, Jean-Philippe, "Winning the War", "Janua Vera"

These last two authors write in French, I don't know if they have been translated into other languages but their worlds and their way of writing are extraordinary.
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