Originally this was a vast laundry list of novels that have had some influence on what inspires me when I run, read, write and play rpgs but it was rewritten to both A) reflect material that has had an enduring influence on my writing and gaming over a prolongued period of time B) parse it down somewhat since time is limited and there is only so much you can read on this earth.
What follows is a list of classical works of history and mythology, which serves as the primary inspiration for my gaming. This is supplemented by a fairly standard list of supplementary works, the majority being derived from Appendix N. Non-appendix N fantastic works are arbirarily divided into pre- and post 70s year of publication.
Of the Classics I will recommend Homer’s The Odyssey as the most all encompassing in terms of giving an impression of living in an ancient world of kings, honor, mythological creatures & the whims of fickle gods. Consider also Tacitus’s Germanica or The Conquest of Gaul for inspiration for barbarian or evil humanoid tribes.
Of Appendix N I can heartily point to R.E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance & Abraham Merrit as the quartet of writers that strike most at the essence of what DnD is about. To this I would add the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, Michael Moorcock and J.R.R. Tolkien as essential supplementary material.
If there was one pre-70s author of fantastic fiction that I could recommend, it would probably be E.R.R. Eddison, whose mastery of language and stirring heroic tales are second to none.
In terms of post-70s authors, I would point to the writings of R.Scott Bakker as being most influential on my gaming and writing.
Classics
Tales of 1001 Nights vol 1. – Penguin classics edition
Alexandre Dumas – The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Christo
Arrian – The Campaigns of Alexander
Beowulf
Dante – The Inferno
G. Flammbert – Salammbo
H.J.C. von Grimmelhausen – Simplicius Simplissimus
Hesiod – Theogeny
Herodotus – The Histories
Homer – The Illiad, The Odyssey
Julius Caesar – The Conquest of Gaul
John Milton – Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained
Livy – ‘From the Founding of the City’ Book I-V (Penguin Books translation), ‘Rome and Italy’ Book VI-X. War With Hannibal (Book XXI-XXX)
Luo Ghuanzhong – The Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Magnus Magnusson & William Morris – The Saga of the Volsungs
Sir Gawain & the Green Knight
Snorri Stürleson – Egil’s Saga (E.R.R. Eddison translation), Njal’s Saga, The Saga of Grettir the Strong, The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, The Saga of the Orkneys, The Vinland Saga
Sophocles – The Theban Plays
Sun Tzu – The Art of War
Tacitus – Germanica
Tale of the Heike (Royall Teller trans.)
The Nibelungenlied
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Kalevala
The Mabignogion
The Mahabharata
The Ramayana (abridged version, R.K. Narayan)
The Tain (Ciaran Carson translation)
Thuycidides – History of the Peloponesian War
Virgil – The Aenead
Wagner – The Ring of the Niebelungs
Werner Goëthe – Faust
Xenophon – The Persian Expedition, Hellenica
Appendix N(or affiliated by author)
P. Anderson – The Broken Sword, The High Crusade, Three Hearts & Three Lions
J. Bellairs – The Face in the Frost
L. Brackett – The Ginger Star
Lord Dunsany – Don Rodriguez: The Chroncles of Shadow Valley, The Charwoman’s Shadow, The Gods of Pegana, Time & The Gods, The King of Elfland’s Daughter,
Ursula Le Guin – A wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan
Edmond Hamilton – The Star Kings, The Weapon From Beyond
R.E Howard – Conan the Barbarian (“The Scarlet Citadel”, “Tower of the Elephant”, “Red Nails”, “Beyond the Black River”, “A Witch is Born” etc.) Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn (“Worms of the Earth”), Kull, “Children of the Night”, “The Black Rock”, “Wolfshead”, “The People of the Dark”, “Skull-face”, “The Fires of Asshurbarnipal” et. al.
S. Lanier – Hiero’s Journey
Fritz Leiber – Faffhrd & the Grey Mouser series (exempt Knight and Knave of Swords collection)
H.P Lovecraft – (The Mound, At the Mountains of Madness, Call of Cthulhu, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Shadow Out of Time, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Within the Walls of Eryx, The Shadow over Innsmouth, Pickman’s Model et. al.).
A. Merrit – Dwellers in the Mirage, The Moon Pool, The Face in the Abyss, The Ship of Ishtar, The Metal Monster, The Fox Women, Seven Footprints to Satan
M. Moorcock – Hawkmoon (first quadrilogy), Corum, Elric (Elric of Melniboné, The Dreaming City, Fortress of the Pearl, While the Gods Laugh, Sailor on the Seas of Fate, the Sleeping Sorceress, Stormbringer), Erëkose, “The Greater Conqueror.”
J.R.R Tolkien – The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Silmarillion, The Children of Hurin, The Fall of Gondolin
J.Vance – The Dying Earth series, Lyonesse trilogy, The Demon Princes series, Big Planet, Blue Planet, The Miracle Workers, The Dragon Masters, The Last Castle et. al.
Fletcher Pratt – The Well of the Unicorn
F.Pratt & L.S. de Camp – Harold Shea series (The Compleat Enchanter et. al.)
Manly Wade Wellman – Heroes of Atlantis & Mu
R. Zelazny – Amber series, Lord of Light, Shadowjack
Misc. Fantasy/SF (pre 70s)
J.G. Ballard – Vermillion Sands (collection), The Crystal World, Chronopolis (collection)
William Barton – Vathek
B.J.Bayley – The Garments of the Caean, The Pillars of Eternity, The Grand Wheel, the Seed of Evil, Knights of the Limits, The Fall of Chronopolis, The Soul of the Robot, “Battle of the Archeosaurs,” Eye of Terror
Aldris Bugys – Rogue Moon
Robert W. Chambers – The King in Yellow
E.R.R Eddison – The Worm Ouroboros, Mistress of Mistresses, A Fish Dinner in Memison
W.H. Hodginson – The House on the Borderland, The Night Land
R.A. Lafferty – The Devil is Dead
D. Lindsey – A Voyage to Arcturus
K. Morris – The Chalchiuhite Dragon
W. Morris – the Well at the World’s End
M. Peake – Ghormenghast series
R.T.M. Scott – The Spider Strikes, The Wheel of Death
Cordwainer. Smith – The Instrumentality of Man
C.A. Smith – Zothique, Poseidonis, Xiccarph, Averoigne, Hyperborea, “Maze of the Enchanter”, “City of the Singing Flame” et. al.
B. Stoker – Dracula
B. Strugatsky – Roadside Picnic, Prisoners of Power
J.Verne – Journey to the Centre of the Earth
A.E. van Vogt – World of Null-A, Players of Null-A, Slan, The Empire of the Atom, The Weapon Shops of Isher
Misc. Fantasy/SF (post 70s)
R.Scott Baker – The Prince of Nothing Series, the Aspect-Emperor Series
W. Barlowe – God’s Demon
Robert Aspirin – Thieves World , Tales of the Vulgar Unicorn (collected together in Thieves World: First Blood)
M. J. Harrison – Viriconium, The Centauri Device
D. Drake – Ranks of Bronze
D. Gemmel – Legend
G. Wolfe – Book of the New Sun, Soldier of the Mist
F. Herbert – Dune series
C. Mevielle – Perdido Street Station
P.K.Dick – Valis, Ubik, Eye in the Sky, the Penultimate Truth, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch et. al.
D. Schweitzer – We are all Legends
M. Chrichton – Eaters of the Dead
K.E. Wagner – Dark Crusade, Bloodstone, Darkness Weaves, Death’s Angels Shadow
L.Niven – Ringworld, Ringworld Engineers, The Legacy of Heorot
T. Lee – Storm Lord, Anackire, Birthgrave, Night’s Master, Tales of the Flat Earth (collection), Empress of Dreams (collection)
O. Gluhkovsky – Metro 2033, Metro 2034
Ryu Mitsuse – One Million Days and One Hundred Billion Nights
R.Pinto – Stone Dance of the Chameleon series
G.R.R. Martin – Game of Thrones series
D. Simmons – Illium, Olympus, Hyperion series, The Terror
A.H. Smith – Grey Maiden
P. Watts – Blindsight, Echopraxia
A. Reynolds – Diamond Dogs, House of Suns, Chasm City, Galactic North (collection)
Ray Bradbury – Something Wicked This Way Comes
S. King – Dark Tower series, The Shining
J.C. Wright – Null-A Continuum, Orphans of Chaos Sequence, Superluminary, The Golden Age trilogy, Awake in the Night Land, The Iron Chamber of Memory
J.C. Carey – Kushiel’s Legacy series, Banewreaker & Godslayer
G. Hancock – War God
T.Goodkind – Sword of Truth series
A. Sapkowski – Witcher series
A. Rennie – Bleakwarrior
L. Sharp – God Killers
Glen Cook – The Black Company, Shadows Linger
D.M. Ritzlin – Necromancy in Niltztiria
DMR Books – Samhain Sorceries (anthology)
Vox Day – Throne of Bones
Byron A. Robberts – The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor I & II
John R. Fultz – World Beyond Worlds
Misc.
C. Mcarthy – Blood Meridian
Harold Lamb – Swords From the Sea (collection), Swords from the Desert (collection)
J.G.Ballard – The High Rise, Chronopolis (collection), Concrete Island, the Unlimited Dream Company
Jorge Luis Borges – The Book of Imaginary Beings, The Aleph & Other Stories, Fictions
Art
Frank Frazetta
Hieronymous Bosch
Wayne Barlowe
H.R. Giger
Gustave Dore
Philipe Druillet
Kentaro Miura
John Blanche
Karl Kopinski
Ian Miller
Comics & Manga
Kentaro Miura – Berserk
Slaine (2000 A.D.)
Tsumoto Nihei – Blame!
Hiroya Oku – Gantz
Chronicles of the Black Moon (Froideval)
Jodorowski – Metabarons
Turn Loose Our Death Rays and Kill Them All! – Fletcher Hanks
D. Lawrence – Storm (original run)
Philipe Druillet – The 7 Voyages of Lone Sloane, Chaos
S.Abernathy – Atomika: God is Red
Mark Smylie – Artesia
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures [anime]
Neon Genesis Envangelion + End of Evangelion (anime)
Tehxnolyze (animu)
Golgo 13 – The Professional (animu)
Ninja Scroll
Vampire Hunter: D
Video/tabletop Games.
Warhammer Fantasy (anything pre-Age of Sigmar)
Doom I & Doom II
Darkest Dungeon I
Dark Souls series
Castlevania (NES, Sega and SNES)
Age of Dusk 