D&D 5E (2014) Any authors you think should be in Appendix E but are not?

[Raith5]

David Gemmel and Steven Erikson. Gemmel's work may not seem like masterpieces to you, but to many others he's as relevant as Moorcock and Leiber.

And Erikson...I don't know how the hell GRR is on tat last but Erikson is not. The Malazan series is more D&D relevant the anything in Westeros.

I did not mean to imply that I dont think Gemmels' work is good - I love them - I just thought they were a bit pulpy to be considered in the same type as Moorcock/Leiber/Tolkien (despite enjoying Gemmel more than those types of books)

 

[Malshotfirst]

I did not mean to imply that I dont think Gemmels' work is good - I love them - I just thought they were a bit pulpy to be considered in the same type as Moorcock/Leiber/Tolkien (despite enjoying Gemmel more than those types of books)

I agree its not in same category as Tolkien, but I'm sure contemporaries thought Moorcock and Leiber were pulpy in their day

 

[pkt77242]

While it isn't a "D&D" book Druids by Morgan Llywelyn really impacted my view of Druids (and is just a great book).

I have to agree with the inclusion of the orginal DragonLance books, while not not 'Great" writing for many current D&D players it was one of the first "D&D" books that they read and was very influential on them. I read those books for the first time at around 7 or 8 years old and loved them. While they haven't stood up to the test of time as great writing, I think that for many people it has fond memories.

 

[Nellisir]

Thumbs up for NK Jemisin and Guy Gavriel Kay. Thumbs down for no Barry Hughart.

There are a lot more authors that I don't recognize than I expected. Gives me something to look for.

Thumbs up for Dunsany and McKillip.

I agree Hambly should be on that list. Joel Rosenberg too. My personal list would include Michael Scott Rohan and Robert Holdstock.

 

[Mercurius]

Indeed. One of the things I really loved about "Dark Sun" was that...

I hope to see more of that in future D&D settings. (Or just don't include those races at all, but I'm a realist, that won't happen.)

Dark Sun was definitely one of the bright points in the creative history of D&D. I too would like to see more variants on the core tropes. On the other hand, I'd also like to see WotC try to present a classic setting with a fresh look. As much as I like exotic settings--Talislanta remains one of my all-time favorite RPG settings--I especially like a classic fantasy setting that is done so well that it transcends its vanilla-ness.

Actually, vanilla ice cream is a good analogy. I like to make homemade organic gelato. When I make a great vanilla, there is nothing quite like it. If I get it just right, is rich, dense and creamy, with a sweetness that is balanced by a strong vanilla flavor. But it is also the easiest flavor to make poorly.

Also would have liked to see Tad Williams on there; "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" is a stone cold classic.

No doubt. I read those as a teenager when they came out. I'm looking forward to the sequel trilogy coming out next year.

My personal list would include Michael Scott Rohan and Robert Holdstock.

Two authors I've never read but have been on my to-read list for awhile. Rohan seems to be a lesser known semi-classic. For some reason I just haven't gotten around to reading it - I think I'm tired of the whole "winter is coming" meme.

 

[13garth13]

Richard K. Morgan's "The Steel Remains", and the sequel "The Cold Commands" (haven't read the third one yet; not even sure if it is out)....a little too in-your-face with some of the more....uh......alternative approaches to sex and violence , but delightfully twisted and full of anti-heroes and grimness/nastiness aplenty for those who don't like their fantasy too terribly sanitized (like I said, he does try too hard sometimes to be "grim-dark", but damn it all if I don't like it a bunch).

And a big hearty "hear, hear!!" for [MENTION=371]Hand of Evil[/MENTION] for mentioning Karl E. Wagner's "Kane"; some truly fine dark fantasy/sword-and-sorcery with a wonderfully amoral/downright evil protagonist. The good doctor Wagner is much missed (his horror fiction is also exquisite, but this is a fantasy list....).

Cheers,
Colin

 

[GravyFingerz]

<-------------------

C'mon, Wizards. How long have I worked with you? Hook a guy up!!

Maybe you cheesed someone off. In fact, that's my official explanation.

 

[Greg K]

Beagle, Peter S.- Last Unicron
Eddings, David - the Belgariad series
Feist, Raymond- Riftwar series
Kurtz, Katherine - the Deryni series
Mallory, Sir Thomas- La Morte d' Arthur)
McKillip, Patricia - Riddle Master trilogy
Rowlngs, J.R. - Harry Potter series
Rosenberg, Joel - Guardians of the Flame

I agree with the above. To the list, I suggest the following:
Asprin, Robert Lynn - Thieves' World series
Hambly, Barbara - Darwath Trilogy
Hardy, Lyndon - Master of the Five Magics trilogy
Shetterly, William - Cats Have No Lord, Witchblood. The latter to show how Monks can be made to work in non-Asian Settings
Watt-Evans, Lawerence- The Misenchanted Sword and the rest of the Ethshar series.
White, T.H. - The Once and Future King, The Book of Merlin
Zimmer Bradley, Marion - Mists of Avalon

 

[Nellisir]

Rohan seems to be a lesser known semi-classic. For some reason I just haven't gotten around to reading it - I think I'm tired of the whole "winter is coming" meme.

The setting is fabulous. The story loses a bit after book one, but is still worth reading. I can see how it could look similar to the whole "winter is coming", but it has a completely different feel. There's no fighting the Ice here. It's very much about the end of an age, not the start of a new one.

 

[Lanefan]

Some great ideas throughout!

In my OP I forgot Raymond Feist; glad someone else caught him - I'd put him in both for the Magician series and the subsequent (and very good) Daughter-Servant-Mistress of the Empire series.

One DM I know has incorporated various aspects of C.J. Cherryhs (sp?) books and creatures into the game.

And I quite intentionally did not include the Harry Potter series. I love them, but they just don't say "D&D" to me. Magic, certainly, but not D&D. Ditto the Golden Compass series.

Lanefan