Topic: Recommended Reading

[PhillipAEllis]

I wanted to start up a discussion of some of the reading that can serve as inspiration and source material for our games, a reference section, as it were. Hopefully, we could gather together a list of items, print, online, multimedia, and so on, that we can share with out fellow gamers.

Shall I start?

[intothatdarkness]

It might be useful (or not) to break such a list up by genre or types of game. For example, High Fantasy, more gritty fantasy, and so on. I actually pull more than a few ideas from our own history, so that might be an option as well.

[PhillipAEllis]

Sure, I see where you're coming from, and it can be a function of each description to list recommendations for genre (eg. high fantasy, sword & sorcery, urban fantasy, and so on).

[PhillipAEllis]

And another point: it is always useful to cite the ISBN of a work, especially since it is unique to a given edition, and bookstores love them (rather than a vague memory or description of a book).

[PhillipAEllis]

Silvia, Paul J., How to Write a Lot: a Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing (Washington : American Psychological Association, 2007) ISBN: 9781591477433

This slim book is not just good for game designers and fiction writers. It can be used by GMs, by players involved in writing up PCs (or anything else), by anyone who is involved in creating for their campaign, and so on. Simply, it presents arguments for basic, practical ways of increasing productivity. An example is the recommendation to set aside a regular amount of time to write in, and only to write it. To schedule, that is, time to create. In gaming terms, that means we should set aside a regular amount of time in which to dedicate our efforts at creating, whether it be a gaming supplement, and adventure, or a campaign world, and so on.

There are other, and more tips (and I won't go into these) but the end result is more material created more regularly. If you do NaNo I'm sure you know the drill: writing regularly, over time your material will build up.

If there is, though, anything that I would add, it is the exhortation that, when dealing with others, game publishers, magazines, and so on, to remain professional in all of your dealings.

Good for: game designers, GMs, creative gamers

[intothatdarkness]

My reading tends to inspire in two different ways: setting and plot. I have to admit that many of my plot ideas come from historical reading and research and not traditional fantasy. Setting ideas, on the other hand, tend to combine the two. I like my worlds to have a very strong sense of their own history, and that seems (to me, anyhow) to be missing from some fantasy stuff (at least one setting always bothered me because it had "300 years where nothing happened" followed by one event and then another 600 years of nothing).

Just about anything by R.E. Howard is interesting in a low-magic fantasy sense. I also have a deep fondness for Brian Daley's Coramonde books (Doomfarers of Coramonde ISBN 0595437451 and Starfollowers of Coramonda ISBN 144018447X - both seem to be out of print so I'd suggest ABEBooks or a similar outlet).

[PhillipAEllis]

G'day!

Feel free to talk in more depth about the two Coramonde books, with details of how they may inspire GMs, players, etcetera. Similarly to above, perhaps.

And feel free to talk about the various REH items, and how they can be inspirational.

[intothatdarkness]

Coramonde is fascinating for two reasons: the way Daley blends time periods and genres (both books involve people who were transported from the U.S. circa 1969 or so to a fantasy world) and the depth of place he brings to the setting of Coramonde. One realm in particular involves a caste of warrior women who have been traditionally separated from the men of the realm as a method of conflict avoidance. The men are restricted to monkish lives, dedicated to learning and healing, while the women fight. Swan, one of the main characters' first love interests, is a member of this society. It's also notable for being rather low magic, but the magic that appears is quite dramatic and ranks high on the destruction scale. Daley also does a good job of showing the strengths and limits of gunpowder weapons in such a setting. A great primer for those considering crossover campaigns.

Howard is really one of the founding fathers of heroic fantasy, and is best read in that light. Conan is a great gritty fantasy with minimal magic and great character sketches (Howard wrote for the pulps, where story action and vivid characters were mandatory). He also does a great job of sketching in a setting that is at once familiar and fantastic. Great primer for those who want quick, vivid adventures that are strong on action.

[PhillipAEllis]

I agree: Howard is a must-read for those interested in sword-and-sorcery, especially in the way he develops moods and action, and keeps the pace going. He is also good for his westerns, both humerous and serious, and his Vultures of Wahpeton is an example of the sort of gritty, doom-laden atmosphere that I love in a good Western narrative. It's worth reading just for its handling of mood, a sort of western noir, as a critic once described it.

[markc]

 I would like to recommend Patrick Rothfuss book, Name of the Wind  ISBN 978-0-7564-0474-1 . It was a collaborative work by the author and 4 other authors, IIRC. He won a contest and had the other 4 authors help him out on the book. IMHO it is good and the second book is also good (but not quite as good as the first).


MDC

[arakish]

One of my most favorite series is also (in my opinion) a MUST read:

Jean Marie Auel's Earth's Children series.

However, I have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed with the last book, The Land of Painted Caves.

Overall, as said, this is a MUST read.

rmfr

[Colin-ICE]

I really enjoyed the first of Jean M Auel's Earth's Children but the second one, I thought, took a while to get going. Is it worth persevering?

[RandalThor]

Coramonde is fascinating for two reasons:

I read the first one, and it didn't thrill me enough to read the next one, but it wasn't terrible.

[arakish]

I really enjoyed the first of Jean M Auel's Earth's Children but the second one, I thought, took a while to get going. Is it worth persevering?

True, but yes, it is still worth reading.

I will admit that Valley of Horses did drag on a bit, but I still found it a very enjoyable read.  Most of what Jean describes Ayla going through (and the boat making techniques used by the Sharamadoi (msp?)) is things I learned as a Boy Scout and some in Survival Training in the USNavy.  The one thing I love best about her books is the detail of herbal medicine.

rmfr

[markc]

 I just finished Besieged by Rowena Cory Danieles which was a good read and I am looking forward to the next book.
MDC

[Zut]

Just finished one book of the Twelve Kingdoms serie, The Vast Spread of the Seas. Very imaginative world of japanese-like heroic fantasy. The kirin is the sacred animal of the kingdom who chooses the king/queen. If the ruler fails his or her duties, the kirin becomes sick and may eventually die, the ruler following soon after that. When there are no ruler in a kingdom, chaos reigns and monsters roam all around.

People, animals, monsters, and kirin are born from trees. The palace of the ruler sits at the top of a high mountain, higher than clouds. From there you can look down and see the landscape through the Sea of Clouds, a real sea (with water) spreading over real clouds.

I could go on forever about the particularities of this world, but its true strength lies in character development. The first story of the serie starts with Youko, a typical high school student in Japan. Nothing exceptional here, a typical plot hook. A strange character appears and tells her she is the queen of a foreign land (one of the twelve kingdoms). She must follow him quickly and they are soon attacked by a monster. Summoning a storm, the strange one brings them to the world of the 12 kingdoms, but is captured soon after their arrival.

The story focuses on the character growth of Youko from a weak personality to someone who can assert herself. This is far from easy and she has realistic reactions to what happens to her.

It's refreshing fantasy, I heartily recommend it.

[markc]

 I am about 1/2 way through the Mongoliad Book 1 by Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Mark Teppo (and 4 others). So far it is interesting and a lot different from the two books fantasy series by Michael Sullivan I just finished.
MDC

[OLF, i.e. Olf Le Fol]

The Vast Spread of the Seas. Very imaginative world of japanese-like heroic fantasy.

Chinese...

[Zut]

The Vast Spread of the Seas. Very imaginative world of japanese-like heroic fantasy.

Chinese...

Yes, it is inspired by Chinese culture, but it is still written by a Japanese.

[Old Man]

My inspirations:

• Steven Brust, the Jhereg books
• Glen Cook; The Black Company books, The Dread Empire books and the Instrumentalities of the Night trilogy (so far)
• Raymond Feist; The Magician Series
• Simon R Green; the Hawk and Fisher books, and the Deathstalker books (Space Opera)
• Brent Weeks; the Night Angel trilogy