tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post7283216899740788252..comments2024-03-18T20:22:06.331-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Open Friday: Forgotten AuthorsJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-50590160496651053022012-01-25T04:58:03.517-05:002012-01-25T04:58:03.517-05:00I see no one mentioned Edward John Moreton Drax Pl...I see no one mentioned Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett (a.k.a. Lord Dunsany.) His "The King of Elfland's Daughter" must be one of the best tales I ever read.Antoniohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17258180992723371727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-65119436110865597362012-01-24T23:23:06.075-05:002012-01-24T23:23:06.075-05:00Miguel de CervantesMiguel de Cervantesgdbackushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09245941451462450346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-46863932000917484312012-01-24T06:36:10.096-05:002012-01-24T06:36:10.096-05:00Some excellent suggestions here. My vote would hav...Some excellent suggestions here. My vote would have to go to Hope Mirlees for her solitary volume Lud in the Mist, which is one of the finest examples of obscure yet influential high fantasy. Reprint has a foreword by Neil Gaiman who states 'Hope Mirrlees only wrote one fantasy novel, but it is one of the finest in the English language'. I'd agree.Andy Hazelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15244635915893523784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-89256191201100076922012-01-23T10:11:41.636-05:002012-01-23T10:11:41.636-05:00So glad someone put Bellairs here. He is definite...So glad someone put Bellairs here. He is definitely one of my top answers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-88035078998839199442012-01-23T08:21:07.392-05:002012-01-23T08:21:07.392-05:00Philip Jose Farmer for his Opar stories. Wonderful...Philip Jose Farmer for his Opar stories. Wonderful and evocative picture of antediluvian Africa.Antoniohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17258180992723371727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-83019150825575704592012-01-22T16:18:30.214-05:002012-01-22T16:18:30.214-05:00Teofilo Folengo, originator(?) of the multiracial ...Teofilo Folengo, originator(?) of the multiracial adventuring party; http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=43135&p=916190#p916190 :) (site with the pics gone, sorry)irbyzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10193584357850337816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-75306290218448483402012-01-22T13:52:40.630-05:002012-01-22T13:52:40.630-05:00Fantasy:
Poul Anderson - you're right porphyre...Fantasy:<br />Poul Anderson - you're right <b>porphyre77</b>! Not only paladins in 3 Hearts & 3 Lions, but cosmic Law vs Chaos conflict a decade before Moorcock.<br /><br />Fritz Leiber - ok, I guess his name isn't an unfamiliar one to most readers of this blog, but until one has actually read his Fafrhd & the Mouser yarns, one can hardly imagine how much D&D-type fantasy is going on there.<br /><br />C.S. Smith - for his <i>Zothique</i> cycle, especially<br /><br />Science Fiction:<br />Poul Anderson (again!) - Traveller, anybody?<br /><br />Jack Vance - here again, his influence on fanatasy RPGs is unquestioned, but a much larger portion of the Vance corpus is made up of his "Gaean Reach" sci-fi. The Reach is setting which carries over into many, unrelated books, like a campaign setting, of sorts.<br /><br />Horror:<br />Storm Constantine: I've seen it asserted that hers was an influence on <i>Vampire: the Masquerade</i> - maybe not as great as Anne Rice's - but I cannot confirm it. Since my knowledge of Ms Constantine's work and V:tM is limited and superficial (at best), can anyone else confirm or deny?L. Beauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13652846614886274866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-11931951447005773182012-01-22T06:00:29.159-05:002012-01-22T06:00:29.159-05:00How about John Bellairs? The Face in the Frost is ...How about John Bellairs? The Face in the Frost is listed in Appendix N and is an excellent novel - a truly strange mix of humour and horror. It lulls you into a false sense of security with the gentle humour and then hits you with some of the most effective horror sequences in modern fantasy. Plus, the way that Prospero studys his book of spells the night before he intends to cast them may have influenced the way that magic-users prepare spells in D&D (It's likely that Gygax combined this idea with the Vancian notion that spells are forgotten when you cast them). Plus some of his young adult fiction can be raided for ideas - I recommend The House with a Clock in Its Walls and The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb in particular.<br /><br />While we're on the subject of Abraham Merrit, it should be pointed out that LibriVox has released free audio adaptations of some of his works that have fallen into the public domain. For example: <br /><br />http://librivox.org/the-moon-pool-by-abraham-merritt/<br /><br />They also have a very nice audio adaptation of the short story "The People of the Pit" here: <br /><br />http://www.archive.org/download/ghostandhorror10_1008_librivox/15ghohor010_peopleofthepit_merritt_mn_64kb.mp3Ian Mageehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06156995293439922576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-83005114797129550252012-01-21T19:00:02.542-05:002012-01-21T19:00:02.542-05:00Jules Verne, Journey to the Center of the EarthJules Verne, Journey to the Center of the EarthBrian MacKenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12752842049666489041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-31164081122312414422012-01-21T17:59:54.664-05:002012-01-21T17:59:54.664-05:00Hmmm...out of those not listed?
L. Frank Baum. H...Hmmm...out of those not listed?<br /><br />L. Frank Baum. He invented a persistent universe which lacked the "tied up" feel at the end of a major adventure, and filled his narratives with small jaunts that were almost unrelated to the main story.<br /><br />In a word, the man was king of the Side-quest.Turkish Proverbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02423061909797064886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-42988728578252443122012-01-21T08:37:45.464-05:002012-01-21T08:37:45.464-05:00The Worm Ouroboros was a good one, though for the ...The Worm Ouroboros was a good one, though for the life of me, I've not read it in many long years!<br /><br />Otherwise, I don't rightly think any one author that interests me is obscure enough or stands out enough as such.Joshuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10009433185355976238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-50542678468156246052012-01-21T07:48:12.657-05:002012-01-21T07:48:12.657-05:00I often have the impression that, in the french ga...I often have the impression that, in the french gaming community, Poul Anderson doesn't get the credit he deserves. <br />Sometimes, I feel like having a "you're not allowed to debate over alignment and paladins if you haven't read Anderson" policy...porphyre77https://www.blogger.com/profile/07620350717226228078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-58245617862808468882012-01-21T07:46:30.377-05:002012-01-21T07:46:30.377-05:00Yup, got to cast my vote for Karl Edward Wagner to...Yup, got to cast my vote for Karl Edward Wagner too. I've yet to run an adventure based on any of his works, but I'd love to unleash the Scylredi on my players' characters one of these days. And serve calamari on the same day.Darielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13806327785685632058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-41412251888980661302012-01-21T01:25:21.513-05:002012-01-21T01:25:21.513-05:00Edward Bulwer-Lytton. He may be older, and a less...Edward Bulwer-Lytton. He may be older, and a less direct influence, but The Coming Race was basically about a race of subterranean psionics-users. How much more D&D can you get?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11446889385501600300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-20991344098416577002012-01-20T23:38:08.391-05:002012-01-20T23:38:08.391-05:00I'll stick with Robert E. Howard. The movies h...I'll stick with Robert E. Howard. The movies have almost nothing to do with his stories and L. Sprague deCamp -- and others -- were somewhat "lacking" in their attempts to continue Howard's Conan stories.<br /><br />In addition to Conan, he wrote Kull and Bran Mac Morn, two other Sword and Sorcery "heroes."<br /><br />Howard wrote other stories as well, but we're talking "fantasy" here.<br /><br />And Allan, Farmer and his World of Tiers is a good one for me too. ;)Mystic Scholarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07593826779432906953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-17349494740077389162012-01-20T20:54:59.869-05:002012-01-20T20:54:59.869-05:00If I recall correctly, The Silver John stories ser...If I recall correctly, The Silver John stories served as the basis for a proto-horror RPG by Sandy Petersen and indirectly helped form Call of Cthulhu when he was given the task of designing that game.Michael Curtishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13217338828086458862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-70696724930772970172012-01-20T19:44:11.753-05:002012-01-20T19:44:11.753-05:00A big ditto for Zelazny and I'll throw in a Fl...A big ditto for Zelazny and I'll throw in a Fletcher Pratt for good measure!Anthony Simeonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04312134763577949405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-70721860272322995912012-01-20T18:26:26.281-05:002012-01-20T18:26:26.281-05:00I'll second that, Zach. I was turned on to Ho...I'll second that, Zach. I was turned on to Holdstock by Moorcock years ago at a Nomads of the Time Streams meeting at DragonCon. <br /><br />His _Where Time Winds Blow_ was pretty good, too.<br /><br />Allan.grodoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11800184312511280050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-78190967799022420932012-01-20T18:20:48.347-05:002012-01-20T18:20:48.347-05:00I think Riverworld is a good series, but I like th...I think Riverworld is a good series, but I like the World of Tiers better. Farmer has numerous one-off novellas, novels, and numerous collections of short stories as well, and many of them pushed the boundaries of SF in terms of how it dealt with politics, sex, religion, etc.<br /><br />Allan.grodoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11800184312511280050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-89071010134257097832012-01-20T18:06:24.528-05:002012-01-20T18:06:24.528-05:00Agreed! And not just the Amber books, but Jack of ...Agreed! And not just the Amber books, but Jack of Shadows and the Dilvish stories, too.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871235554044658552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-46867347840681775662012-01-20T17:52:58.929-05:002012-01-20T17:52:58.929-05:00I just remembered that J. Eric Holmes reviewed Bur...I just remembered that J. Eric Holmes reviewed <i>Burn Witch Burn/Creep Shadow Creep</i> on Amazon in 2002. It's his only fantasy review there, and just about the last thing I've found that he wrote in public. He gets the movie right as Barrymore is in <i>The Devil-Doll</i> (1936).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Burn-Witch-Creep-Shadow/product-reviews/0843939443/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_4?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addFourStar" rel="nofollow">Holmes' review of BWB/CSC on Amazon</a><br /><br />"Merrit wrote spooky fantasy for Argosy Magazine in the 1920-1930s. Fans argue endlessly about which is his best. These stories are pretty good. (Shadow is a sort of sequel to Burn Witch Burn.) The evil old witch makes lifelike dolls that come to life and kill people. She is brought down by a rational doctor and a superstitious Mafia boss. Made into a movie with Lionel Barrymore as the witch (really!). Strong stuff for the time it was written."Zenopus Archiveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14069501995927451558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-28310462566326150582012-01-20T17:16:18.439-05:002012-01-20T17:16:18.439-05:00William Hope Hodgson: his works are the a primary ...William Hope Hodgson: his works are the a primary influence in modern horror, weird fantasy and science fiction. Heck, two words: Night Land.lizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09786809318270279916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-74197611302487460672012-01-20T16:39:05.004-05:002012-01-20T16:39:05.004-05:00aycorn makes great points. Jack Kirby and Lloyd A...aycorn makes great points. Jack Kirby and Lloyd Alexander were two of my top choices here...Jonathan Linnemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04711517194240426383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-24869703960398858772012-01-20T16:31:36.187-05:002012-01-20T16:31:36.187-05:00The Beowulf poet.The <i>Beowulf</i> poet.ClawCarverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07236809815213343281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-4121084442665915132012-01-20T16:08:34.767-05:002012-01-20T16:08:34.767-05:00Seconding James Branch Cabell -- for D&D purpo...Seconding James Branch Cabell -- for D&D purposes, especially Jurgen, Figures of Earth and The High Place.Rodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10976139843020550189noreply@blogger.com