Goodman Games

We know that in 1979 Gary Gygax published the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide with its famous”Appendix N’ composed of Gary’s recommended reading for inspiration of the game.

Did you know that Gary published a similar (shorter) list in 1976? If you go back to December, 1976, in Dragon Magazine #4 you can find an earlier version of the list. Gary called it “FANTASY/SWORDS & SORCERY: RECOMMENDED READING” and it’s interesting.

AUTHORS (SPECIFIC WORK)
Anderson, Poul (Three Hearts and Three Lions)
Blackwood, Algernon
Brackett, Leigh
Burroughs, E.R. (John Carter of Mars; et al)
Carter, Lin (Warrior of the Worlds End)
deCamp & Pratt (Incomplete Enchanter; Castle of Iron; et al)
Farmer, P.J. (Gates of Creation; et al)
Fox, G.F. (Kother the Barbarian; et al)
Howard, R.E. (Conan the Conqueror; et al)
Lanier, Sterling (Hiero’s Journey)
Leiber, Fritz (Swords of Lankhmar; et al)
Lovecraft, H.P.
Merritt, A. (Creep Shadow, Creep; Moon Pool; Face in the Abyss; Dwellers in the Mirage et al)
Moorcock, Michael (Stealer of Souls; Stormbringer)
Saberhagen, Fred (Changling Earth)
St. Clair, Margaret
Tolkien, J.R.R. (The Hobbit; Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
Vance, Jack (Eyes of Overworld; The Dying Earth)
Weinbaum, Stanley
Wellman, M. W.
Zelazny, Roger (Jack of Shadows; Lord of Light; Nine Princes of Amber series)

Interesting Notes:

1. NOT ON THE LIST YET

Several authors of Appendix N haven’t been included on this list: John Bellars, Frederick Brown, August Derleth, Lord Dunsany, Andre Norton, Andrew J Offutt, Fletcher Pratt, and Jack Williamson.

2. PURGED FROM THE LIST

For some reason, Algernon Blackwood appears on the 1976 list but not on the 1979 one. I wonder if it was an oversight, or if Gary decided he didn’t like Blackwood’s works as well as he did a few years before.

How well did Algernon's work mesh with the rest of Appendix N?

What is also interesting is that Clark Ashton Smith doesn't appear on eiither list. There are some people who believe his omission from the DMG list was an oversight. But in light of his omission from both lists, it's hard to believe it is accidental.

A very interesting point, and one I hadn't considered. Strange to have him left off of both.

Personally, I dislike reading Lovecraft. I love his ideas, but something about the way he writes just doesn't do it for me. When I read Mythos fiction I'd much rather read Robert E. Howard's stories rather than Lovecraft's.

I wonder if Gary had a similar reaction to Smith, or if somehow he just never read any of Smith's work.

Lovecraft is not a good writer. I mean this purely on an aesthetic level. His ideas are good, he knows how to set a mood, but his characters are flat and he can't write dialogue.

Algernon Blackwood is an interesting inclusion. I have a couple of volumes of his stories. His short stories are about the supernatural rather than outright sword and sorcery fantasy. His tales range from gentle fantasies to chilling ghost stories.

Lovecraft writes in a mode that's half Gothic and half Icelandic Saga... sort of 18c. newspaper style. Some of the longer works are best because they're light on dialogue.

I hate to say that he's not a good writer, only that I'm not a fan of his writing style. Maybe it's the Islandic Saga part that gets me ... I never could work my way through Beowulf.

What I like best about HPL is his ideas. That's why I like Robert E Howard's "mythos" stories, which sort of build on many of Lovecraft's ideas and then go off their own way. And I love everything REH ever wrote, I think. I can't say that about too many authors...

CAS gets no respect! That is sad.

And so strange. I haven't read much CAS, but clearly his style is one that should have placed him on one or both lists. It does seem strange that his name was an oversight twice, once in 1976 and again in 1979.

The rumor was that Universal was gonna use his work for movies. Imagine CAS along side the names Shelley and Stoker.

Yes, I suppose you step on fewer toes with that approach. I will also admit, I'm not a reader of fantasy. It just isn't usually what I want out of a reading experience. I am, however, trying to change this. I've been going through GRRM ASoIaF series (not appendix N in the slightest), which is okay. I finished Swords and Deviltry this weekend and enjoyed it well enough. Currently I am going through Swords Against Death.