Original D&D Discussion - What are we reading?

« What are we reading? »

Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.
May 19, 2013, 7:06am

Original D&D Discussion :: Other :: Fiction :: What are we reading?

« Page 4 of 6 » Jump to page Go

Author

Topic: What are we reading? (Read 3,659 times)

garish
Level 2 Seer

member is offline

[avatar]

Joined: Dec 2008
Gender: Male

Posts: 49
Location: Cartersville, GA
Karma: 4

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #45 on Feb 5, 2009, 12:13am »

I'm again reading Fritz Lieber's "Three of Swords". I'm still amazed at what a fine template "Thieves 'House" is for a dungeon crawl.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

"Don't worry little brother, there's plenty more."

snorri
Level 7 Enchanter

member is offline

[avatar]

Melee is fast and furious.

Joined: Oct 2008
Gender: Male

Posts: 679
Location: Lille, France
Karma: 45

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #46 on Feb 5, 2009, 5:05am »

I'm reading a biography of the Merovingian queen Brunehaut. A lot of ideas for plots and intrigues in a late antique world.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

http://awizardinabottle.blogspot.com/

Ghul
Level 8 Warlock

member is offline

[avatar]

AS&SH

Joined: Mar 2008
Gender: Male

Posts: 772
Location: Hyperborea
Karma: 47

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #47 on Feb 6, 2009, 1:26pm »

I'm reading _Dwellers in the Mirage_, by A. Merritt. It's the third Merritt novel for me, and I am enjoying it immensely. I received for Christmas the B&N complete fiction works of HPL. While I have already read all HPL's fiction, some more than once, I am enjoying going through and randomly selecting stories I have not read in several years. Right now I'm reading _Shadow Over Innsmouth_. I find this one particularly enjoyable because the setting is one I've grown up around (well, except for Innsmouth itself, which is a sort of weird fictional mirror of Newburyport, MA).

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea -- A Role-Playing Game of Swords, Sorcery, and Weird Fantasy.

greyharp
Guest

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #48 on Feb 6, 2009, 6:07pm »

I've recently returned home from an interstate trip. I live in an isolated rural area, in an island state with a population of half a million and a severe drought of used book stores, which is incredibly frustrating for a book collector like myself. While on the mainland I found copies of Merritt's The Face in the Abyss, Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions, Burrouhghs' Swords of Mars, Leigh Brackett's The Ginger Star and The Hounds of Skaith, a Moorcock Elric novel I didn't have, and Karl Wagner's Bloodstone.

Just when I was thinking I wouldn't have such luck here at home, yesterday I found Philip Jose Farmer's "translation" of Ironcastle, by French author J.H. Rosny in a thrift shop.

Reading Three Hearts and Three Lions was great even just to see the inspiration behind D&D's Troll and the Pixie with the obligatory Giant Pikes. I'm currently reading Wagner's Kane novel Bloodstone and thoroughly enjoying it so far.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

snorri
Level 7 Enchanter

member is offline

[avatar]

Melee is fast and furious.

Joined: Oct 2008
Gender: Male

Posts: 679
Location: Lille, France
Karma: 45

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #49 on Feb 12, 2009, 11:21am »

I'm reading now a book on barbarians (ie. germans and slavics) laws codes and social organisation, by Karol Modzelewski. Really interesting for any 'dark ages' and barbarian campaign. Karol Modzelewski was also a fonding member of Solidarnosc in Poland and played a great role in the freedom struggle in this country. This personnal history helps him to have a critical view on the political background of the subject historiography.

My next reading will probably be a book on Templars in the south of France.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

http://awizardinabottle.blogspot.com/

Fandomaniac
Level 4 Theurgist

member is offline

[avatar]

I've come here to chew bubblegum and roll d20's and I'm all out of bubblegum.

Joined: Nov 2008
Gender: Male

Posts: 190
Location: Long Island, NY
Karma: 10

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #50 on Feb 21, 2009, 10:41am »

I'm currently reading Berserk, a really cool Japanese manga, which mixes both fantasy and horror. Berserk is about Gattsu (Guts in the english translation), the Black Swordsman, who in his search for vengeance, wanders around the world slaying demons.

Berserk was also made into a 25-episode anime series and is on my list as a "must see" for anyone interested in fantasy and horror.

For more info, here’s a link to the Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berserk_(manga)

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

--Rob C.
Long Island Gamer & Fandomaniac
"D**n it feels good to be a grognard!"

snorri
Level 7 Enchanter

member is offline

[avatar]

Melee is fast and furious.

Joined: Oct 2008
Gender: Male

Posts: 679
Location: Lille, France
Karma: 45

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #51 on Feb 21, 2009, 4:53pm »

I finished recently a book on assyrian king Assurbanipal life. Very living description of this civilization, a must for any sword & sorcery campaign. Assurbannipal fights lions alone to prove he's a great king (and unlike his ancestors he do that on foot rather than riding) ; he learns astrology, magic and rituals, and priests around him fights demons to protect him; destroy full cities, send their people to slavery and tears because they were so nasty with him ; hang his opponents next to the town gates and is happy to have an opponent head hanged in his garden - for weeks... It makes looks Carcossa a fairy tale

Now, I read a book on vikings establishments in western Europe, but nothing very valuable for rpg - apart the Normand duke Rollon, converted to christianism but still sacrificing humans to northerne gods. Never be too prudent...

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

http://awizardinabottle.blogspot.com/

welleran
Level 1 Medium

member is offline

Joined: Feb 2009
Gender: Male

Posts: 20
Location: Alexandria VA
Karma: 6

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #52 on Mar 17, 2009, 8:34am »

I am half way through Jack Vance's Lyonnesse trilogy (currently on The Green Pearl). Although his Dying Earth series is the proto-D&D classic, I really like this series, too. Definitely good D&D idea-pillaging material.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

cadriel
Level 5 Thaumaturgist

member is offline

Joined: Dec 2007
Gender: Male

Posts: 206
Karma: 18

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #53 on Mar 17, 2009, 9:14am »

Last week, I finished The Fallible Fiend by L. Sprague de Camp. I found it really enjoyable, and will be reading the other Novarian books sometime in the near future. I love the idea that the "man-eating demon" is a quiet, philosophical type on his home plane.

Currently I'm on Hiero's Journey by Sterling Lanier - only about a dozen pages in, but it's intriguing so far.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Semper Initiativus Unum - OD&D blog
Dungeon Crawl - Classic Dungeon Print Zine

gnombient
Level 4 Theurgist

member is offline

Joined: Oct 2007
Gender: Male

Posts: 160
Location: San Francisco, CA
Karma: 7

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #54 on Mar 17, 2009, 4:26pm »

I'm reading Our Lady of Darkness by Fritz Leiber, a urban fantasy/mystery story set in 1970s San Francisco. It's fairly entertaining so far, but certainly not one of his best.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

codeman123
Level 5 Thaumaturgist

member is offline

[avatar]

Joined: Jun 2008
Gender: Male

Posts: 242
Location: Nashville, TN
Karma: 4

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #55 on Mar 23, 2009, 2:44am »

Lately been reading alot of Bukowski's stuff and rereading lotr for the 4th time now..

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Owl bears don't flutter..
My OD&D Blog..
http://daggersanddorks.blogspot.com/

ragnorakk
Level 5 Thaumaturgist

member is offline

[avatar]

Joined: Jan 2009
Gender: Male

Posts: 329
Location: Lexington, KY
Karma: 9

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #56 on Mar 26, 2009, 7:38pm »

Finally getting my hands on the third and last book of Vance's Lyonesse trilogy. It has been
an epic battle to get this series read...I stumbled across the first book about two years ago
and started reading it, never having read Vance before. During the first third of the book I remember
literally asking myself "Why I am reading this?" - I didn't think it sucked (though the first part was
a slow build) - I was just kinda baffled by it. It's one of the strangest expereinces I've ever had reading
a book. It's like it confused me enough to keep reading...
And then *BOOM*, it was there - one of the best fantasy books I've ever seen! I went from curiously
interested (and curious as to why I was interested) to totally immersed in the space of a page!

books two and three are (of course) out of print.
several months ago a friend of mine (who I made read it when I was done) ordered the second off eBay.
today he sent me an email saying that he's got a bid on the 3rd!!!

I read a lot - though my recent discovery of forum/blog life has cut into reading time. Mostly sci-fi and
non-fiction (any John McPhee fans out there? WHUP! WHUP!), Really liked Michael Flynn Wreck of
the River of Stars (after the first 60 or so pages)...Souls in the Great Machine by Sean McMullen
too

While I'm at it

READ EVERY WORD WRITTEN BY STANISLAW LEM!

« Last Edit: Mar 26, 2009, 7:54pm by ragnorakk »

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

"I want to be in Kentucky when the end of the world comes, because it's always 20 years behind" - Mark Twain

"...an appropriate exercise in fantasy"
- Dwayanu

[OD&D] doesn't borrow from other genres, it follows other genres into alleys and mugs them and goes through their pockets for loose ideas.
- Gronan

vladtolenkov
Level 5 Thaumaturgist

member is offline

[avatar]

Joined: Oct 2007
Gender: Male

Posts: 320
Karma: 14

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #57 on May 1, 2009, 11:37am »

Just started (re)reading King's The Gunslinger. I read it about twenty years ago and never got past the first book--despite the fact I found it interesting and evocative. I'm going to give it a another go. We'll see if I ever get to the Dark Tower. . .

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

View my Blog at:

http://castledragonscar.blogspot.com/

ragnorakk
Level 5 Thaumaturgist

member is offline

[avatar]

Joined: Jan 2009
Gender: Male

Posts: 329
Location: Lexington, KY
Karma: 9

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #58 on May 1, 2009, 3:01pm »

Finally got books 3 & 4 of Gene Wolf's Book of the New Sun, so reading 3.
Just finished his book 'The Knight' which I thought was fantastic. His writing
in general blows my mind - a recent discovery for me.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

akiyama
Level 3 Conjurer

member is offline

Joined: May 2008
Gender: Male

Posts: 96
Karma: 8

Re: What are we reading?
« Reply #59 on May 14, 2009, 12:34pm »

I just read "King Solomon's Mines" by H. Rider Haggard. I totally recommend it. It's surprisingly D&D-ish for a book that was written over 120 years ago.

A book I'm halfway through is "Microtrends" by Mark J. Penn, an opinion pollster, about surprising trends in the US. One thing I notice is that some trends concern the increasing popularity of pasttimes thought to be "old-fashioned", such as knitting, archery or classical music.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

« Page 4 of 6 » Jump to page Go

Click Here To Make This Board Ad-Free