TSR Q&A with Gary Gygax

Col_Pladoh · Apr 17, 2007

dcas said:
I'm surprised Heinlein isn't in that list. He seems right up your alley (especially, say, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress).

Have you ever read The Mote in God's Eye by Niven & Pournelle? One of the best SF books ever written IMHO (and in Heinlein's opinion, too). Unfortunately the sequel (The Gripping Hand) is no good at all.

That list was just a sampling of the SF authors I have read. Good grief, Poul Anderson, ERB, Alfred Bester, Eando Binder, Edmond Cooper, and a host of others aren't on it...including "Doc" Smith, Robert Heinlein, Murry Leinster, and Jerry Pornelle, Ph.D.

Cheerio,
Gary

Mark CMG · Apr 17, 2007

Were you a Second City improv fan when you were growing up in Chicago?

Col_Pladoh · Apr 17, 2007

Mark CMG said:
Were you a Second City improv fan when you were growing up in Chicago?

Heh, kids of age 7 and under don't get to hang out on Rush Street. I did later on, when I was 18 and living on my own there. (I had a doctored ID that showed me as three years older than actual.) So I went Bellini's Coffe House, the Gate of Horn, and the Improv theater there on State, the name of which escapes me, but the owner was listed as "Janitor."

Of course I was a big fan of Second City TV with John Candy et al. on the tube

Cheers,
Gary

edgewaters · Apr 17, 2007

Col_Pladoh said:
You aren't joking, are you? I read SF since I was 12. and have written a few short stories in the genre, and so my name is included in the roster of SF authors.

I have always enjoyed the writing of many SF authors including: Asimov, Bradbury, Clark, Dick, Elkison, Farmer, Gernsback, Hamilron, Raymond Jones, Damon Knight, Laumer, Sam Merwin, Jr., Norton, Offut, Pangborn, Mack Reynolds, St. Claire and Sheckly (and Shaver... ), Tenn, van Vogt, Wellman and Williamson, and Zelazny.

Amazing!! It's a good thing I asked then, I wouldn't have guessed you'd written any yourself.

I was particularly curious on the point of Asimov and would have asked specifically if you hadn't explicitly mentioned him. That's a wonderful list all round. Shaver, even ... probably not the best writing but some of the most bizarre and imaginitive!!

Beware the Deros!!

dcas said:
Have you ever read The Mote in God's Eye by Niven & Pournelle?

I have! That's a great book.

Col_Pladoh · Apr 17, 2007

edgewaters said:
Amazing!! It's a good thing I asked then, I wouldn't have guessed you'd written any yourself.

Indeed, I have as well actually had a short horror story published

I was particularly curious on the point of Asimov and would have asked specifically if you hadn't explicitly mentioned him. That's a wonderful list all round. Shaver, even ... probably not the best writing but some of the most bizarre and imaginitive!!

Beware the Deros!!...

Isaac and I were lined up to work together on a feature film, but as with many such projects, it never got the funding needed for production. We chatted a few times on the phone, and I was set to get together with him when next I was in NYC, but then he died. As with Orson Wells, I came on the scene too late

When I read the "Shaver Mysteries" as a young teen I knew they were bogus but thought the concept fascinating. Soon thereafter I read Leiber's You're All Alone and began to understand the difference between hack writing and good.

Cheers,
Gary

Gray Mouser · Apr 18, 2007

Colonel,

Interesting commenst about your having published sci-fi and horror stories. Can you share the titles of these tales as well as where/when they were published? I'm aware of your fantasy stories (apart from the Gord books, of course) but am not familiar with these other stories.

Gray Mouser

Col_Pladoh · Apr 18, 2007

Gray Mouser said:
Colonel,

Interesting commenst about your having published sci-fi and horror stories. Can you share the titles of these tales as well as where/when they were published? I'm aware of your fantasy stories (apart from the Gord books, of course) but am not familiar with these other stories.

Gray Mouser

Here is the list of most of my short fiction that was published as individual storues. Sadly, I can not find the Fafhrd & Grat Mouser one that runs to about 30K words as I recall :\

“Pay Tribute” (Science Fiction short story in The Fleet anthology)
“Battle off Deadstar” (Science Fiction short story in Fleet Breakthrough anthology)
“Celebration of Celene” (Fantasy short story published in Michael Moorcock’s Elric, Tales of the White Wolf anthology) White Wolf, Inc., 1994
“Duty” (Fantasy short story in Excalibur, anthology) Warner Books, 1995
“Get on Board the D Train” (Horror short story in Dante’s Disciples anthology) White Wolf, Inc., 1996
“Evening Odds” (Fantasy short story with Gord the Rogue sharing Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champions universe) White Wolf, Inc., 1997
“Return of Gord” (with K.R. Bourgoine), Dragon Magazine #344, 2006
“Swords of Eternity” (Fantasy short story based on Fritz Leiber’s “Lankhmar” universe, featuring Sheelba, Ningauble, Fafhrd, and the Gray Mouser—a tribute to Frits that is still unpublished.)

Cheerio,
Gary

Gray Mouser · Apr 18, 2007

Col_Pladoh said:
Here is the list of most of my short fiction that was published as individual storues. Sadly, I can not find the Fafhrd & Grat Mouser one that runs to about 30K words as I recall :\

“Pay Tribute” (Science Fiction short story in The Fleet anthology)
“Battle off Deadstar” (Science Fiction short story in Fleet Breakthrough anthology)
“Celebration of Celene” (Fantasy short story published in Michael Moorcock’s Elric, Tales of the White Wolf anthology) White Wolf, Inc., 1994
“Duty” (Fantasy short story in Excalibur, anthology) Warner Books, 1995
“Get on Board the D Train” (Horror short story in Dante’s Disciples anthology) White Wolf, Inc., 1996
“Evening Odds” (Fantasy short story with Gord the Rogue sharing Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champions universe) White Wolf, Inc., 1997
“Return of Gord” (with K.R. Bourgoine), Dragon Magazine #344, 2006
“Swords of Eternity” (Fantasy short story based on Fritz Leiber’s “Lankhmar” universe, featuring Sheelba, Ningauble, Fafhrd, and the Gray Mouser—a tribute to Frits that is still unpublished.)

Cheerio,
Gary

Colonel,

Thanks for the bibliography. I'll have to keep an eye out on amazon to see if I can score any of the books you mention.

It's a shame about misplacing the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser manuscript. Leiber is one of my favor S&S authors (obviously

) and I'd love to see what you had penned with those characters.

BTW, since you've had a new Gord story published in Dragon and the series is being reissued have you thought of doing any new tales set on Oerth with maybe different characters. Say, perhaps, a certain famous wizard and his former apprentice who is a mage in his own right?

Just a thought!

Gray Mouser

francisca · Apr 18, 2007

Col_Pladoh said:
Here is the list of most of my short fiction that was published as individual storues. Sadly, I can not find the Fafhrd & Grat Mouser one that runs to about 30K words as I recall :\

Very, very sad to hear that, as I'd love to read it.

Col_Pladoh · Apr 18, 2007

Oerth is the IP pf WotC, and I am quite certain that they would not be interested in sharing it further with me, even for nothing but novels.

Cheers,
Gary

TSR Q&A with Gary Gygax

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