Back in October, Strange Attractor Press announced an upcoming anthology of pulp fantasy literature entitled
Appendix N: The Eldritch Roots of Dungeons & Dragons. The book is now available for sale
here. I hope to do a review of it at some point in the future. I'm particularly intrigued by its endpapers, which depict an old school blue-and-white dungeon that reminds me vaguely of the sample dungeon from the Holmes
Basic Set.
This looks interesting. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAlso have to plug one of the first modern day Appendix N researchers and reviewers, Jeffro Johnson.
Appendix N: The Literary History of Dungeons & Dragons
I came into the comments for doing the same.
DeleteAs soon as you mentioned Holmes, I immediately thought of his book, Maze of Peril
ReplyDeleteSeems the special version with the hardcover and dungeon endpapers is OOS. Only the paperback "non special edition" is in stock at this time. FYI for those interested.
ReplyDeleteThat's a pity.
DeleteI just saw a copy in the game store 30 minutes ago. I didn't buy it because I'd read every story in it except one. It had the dungeon endpapers.
DeleteIf you want one, contact Games & Stuff in Glen Burnie MD: https://gamesandstuff.com
The special edition was also shipped with a booklet containing A. Merritt's 1918 novella People of the Pit.
DeleteThat map does not inspire a lot of faith in the author's deeper understanding of the game. Very little freedom of movement or choice there. It's a straight line with a bunch of one-off or two-off branches springing from the main trunk. Zero Jaquays.
ReplyDeleteIt's a little thing, but if you can't get a detail like that right, what does it say about the rest of the book?
That "map" is rather a decoration, not a play map. It serves as a sort of TOC for the book. Each story has its own room assigned, e.g. #8 with a secret door is connected to a section of the book called a "Secret Chamber" and so on.
DeleteAh, thank you for keeping me from going off more than half-cocked. Much obliged.
DeleteMine arrived a few months back (ordered from the UK) accompanied by a beautiful standalone copy of The People of The Pit. That was nice.
ReplyDelete