A Question for the 25 and under crowd - What have you read?

[Pale Jackal]

I haven't read Rowling, Brooks or Jordan, though I'll read the first few novels of Rowling's some day I suspect. I'm actively avoiding Brooks and Jordan. What stories I read of Vance, I did not enjoy, nor did I really enjoy Leiber's work.

 

[Hussar]

I'm 25, and I voted for Tolkien, Jordan (only read the first three books before I lost all interest in the Wheel of Time, though), and Brooks (my brother read more of his stuff than me).

The lack of Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Mercedes Lackey, Lloyd Alexander, and especially C. S. Lewis means that many of the authors I spent a lot of my youth reading are not on this list. Even Piers Anthony was more significant to my exposure to fantasy than anyone on that list short of Tolkien. In fact, these days Shakespeare might be a more important influence on my view of fantasy than anything on that list short of Tolkien (Prospero is pretty much the definition of the classic fantasy wizard, after all). If we are moving past fantasy (which seems reasonable considering that the Discworld guy gets mentioned), then mentioning Isaac Asimov is simply a necessity.

Of course, my fondness for myth and folktales predates my interest in fantasy literature, and my interest in fantasy has been fueled just as much by videogames and anime as books. I never understood why the "fantasy canon" in these threads is always limited to just books...

Oh, this was never meant as an exhaustive list by any stretch. I picked 5 "old skool" authors which get touted about quite often in threads and 5 popular new authors off the top of my head.

I'm not really, honestly, a big fantasy fan. I read a lot more SF than fantasy. But, the whole point of this thread was a talking point towards a point in that I wanted to show that focusing the inspirations for the game on dead authors wasn't really a great idea for attracting younger gamers. What's the point in using Vancian casting when no one's read him? Why focus on Lieber when he's far and away less read by younger readers than Jordan?

Mearl's recent inspiration thread pretty much speaks to my point. The inspirations he drew for the classes he designed were not, by and large, the traditional fantasy that gets trotted out every time.

 

[Kunimatyu]

I miss your cutoff by a year, but I've read books from all of those authors.

It is worth noting that i didn't seek out the older ones until I'd been exposed to the via ENWorld and blogs, so I already had a year or two of D&D under my belt.

Ultimately, though, you're asking the wrong question - movies and games are likely a much more significant influence on my generation than books, and I say that as an avid reader.

 

[Hussar]

I miss your cutoff by a year, but I've read books from all of those authors.

It is worth noting that i didn't seek out the older ones until I'd been exposed to the via ENWorld and blogs, so I already had a year or two of D&D under my belt.

Ultimately, though, you're asking the wrong question - movies and games are likely a much more significant influence on my generation than books, and I say that as an avid reader.

Well, perhaps. I note that this story in Newsweek is certainly promising.

Teens are reading in record numbers. So, there is a bit of a bright spot out there.

But, sure, your point is certainly valid. Unfortunately, I couldn't add that many lines to my poll. Really, I think I've shown my point rather well to be honest. The fact that more younger readers have read Harry Potter than have read Vance, Lieber and Howard COMBINED points to newer gamers probably recognizing Potteresque elements far easier than Vancian magic or "steely thews".

 

[twistnack]

I'm about three years too old for the poll. I'm sort of a cheat, since I've been making an effort to read some of the pulp fantasy that originally inspired D&D.

I've read a little of Leiber, Howard, Rowling, Jordan, Pratchett, and Brooks; and I've read more of Tolkien and Moorcock. I've meant to read some Vance and Mieville, but I haven't gotten to either yet.

I've also read Peake, Martin*, Novik, Bojold, Butcher, and Gaiman. My most recent fantasy read was Jay Lake's book Mainspring.

* Actually two Martins--George RR and Charlie--but the later recently changed his name to Brooks.

 

[Desdichado]

I'm... er... a bit over 25. I've read at least something from all of them.

Of course, that doesn't mean that I necessarily think that D&D should reflect something from all of them, regardless of how old I am, and regardless of what I've read. And in many cases, it's the older stuff that I like least... I dislike Vance and Moorcock both, for example.

Course I also dislike Pratchett, Jordan, Mieville, and Brooks, so I don't know where that gets us. I don't know where Pratchett and Brooks are supposed to fall, since the peak of their popularity was quite a while ago too... just not as long ago as the peak of Howard or Leiber's popularity.

 

[JoeGKushner]

I haven't read anything from J. K. Rowlings,China Mieville, or Terry Pratchett.

I hope to get to them sometime soon but hardly a priority. There's a ton of fiction.

As to what authors you should have included, R A Salvatore, hated or not, with Drizzit, as a New York Time bestseller on multiple occassions, with numerous graphic novel adaptations, etc... etc..., should be on here.

 

[Hussar]

I'm... er... a bit over 25. I've read at least something from all of them.

Of course, that doesn't mean that I necessarily think that D&D should reflect something from all of them, regardless of how old I am, and regardless of what I've read. And in many cases, it's the older stuff that I like least... I dislike Vance and Moorcock both, for example.

Course I also dislike Pratchett, Jordan, Mieville, and Brooks, so I don't know where that gets us. I don't know where Pratchett and Brooks are supposed to fall, since the peak of their popularity was quite a while ago too... just not as long ago as the peak of Howard or Leiber's popularity.

Well, both Pratchett and Brooks still regularly top best seller lists when their books come out, so, I don't think they're past their prime really. But, in any case, I was pointing to authors that started either in the very late 70's (Terry Brooks) or in the late 80's (Pratchett) or later as a comparison to the "giants" of the field.

In other words, don't get too hung up on the specifics, but rather look at the numbers.

Funily enough, I just read Kobold Quarterly's interview with Joseph Goodman and one of hte points Goodman makes dovetails pretty much perfectly with what I'm saying:

Jones: Why is 4e doing well? What is it about 4e itself that is selling well?
Goodman: Good question. You can answer this question in a thousand different ways, depending on your perspective as an active fan, a grognard, a retailer, a publisher, a creator, or someone else entirely. I can relate something of my own experience as well as that of many retailers I’ve spoken to, which is that 4E truly seems to be reaching a new audience.

Maps are more important. Stats are a totally different ballgame. You have to consider the digital side more. There are new graphics, new game play, and new support structures that are all intended to connect to a generation whose sense of mythology is influenced not by reading J. R. R. Tolkien and Robert E. Howard, but by viewing movies and playing video games several steps removed from that original source material.
I see that in the fact that Goodman Games has new customers who didn’t previously play D&D – which is exactly what 4E is supposed to be accomplishing.

Bold mine.

So, it looks like I'm not alone in this little theory.

 

[Pierson_Lowgal]

I'm over 25, by a bit, so I didn't vote in the poll but I did look at the results. Way more votes for Tolkien than Rowling? Ummmm, those Harry Potter books have a massively larger audience than LoTR/Hobbit, especially for people under 25. (And they are incidentally a much better read, IMO.) Any theory on this?

 

[Mr. Wilson]

I'm 28, so I didn't pollute the results by voting.

I've only read Tolkien, half a book by Jordan, and Terry Brooks.

By far, I enjoyed Brooks the most. I have watched all the Potter movies with my g/f who owns all the Potter books, but never bothered to read them, though Steph swears they are much better novels than movies.

I prefer the Russians (Tolstoy, Doestoyevsky, Bulgakov) and Camus if I'm reading for value. If I read fantasy novels, they tend to be Eberron, Dragonlance, or FR light reads I can finish in one or two sittings.