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INSPIRATIONAL SOURCE MATERIAL

[Ben's note: I placed a check next to authors I have read.]

A good D&D campaign is imaginative and creative. Sometimes a little research is useful to improve a dungeon, flesh out a scenario, and provide inspiration for a campaign. Books on folklore, mythology, fairy tales, bestiaries, and knightly legends can often help the DM fill in important details of a campaign, but fictional tales and fantasy novels usually provide the best sources of inspiration. The following list includes some books which might prove useful. A title list followed by "et al." means the author has written more fantasy titles than those which can be listed in the limited space available. Note that some books listed as "non-fiction" are about myths or legends, but are labeled as non-fiction because they are not on the fiction shelves of the library or book store.

FICTION: YOUNG ADULT FANTASY

Alexander, Lloyd -- The Book of Three; Black Cauldron; Castle of Llyr, et al.
✓ Baum, L. Frank -- The Wizard of Oz; The Emerald City of Oz; The Land of Oz, et al.
Bellairs, John -- The Face in the Frost; The House Without a Clock on Its Walls; The Figure in the Shadows, et al.
✓ Burroughs, Edgar Rice -- A Princess of Mars; At the Earth's Core; Tarzan of the Apes, et al.
✓ Carrol, Lewis -- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; Through the Looking Glass
Garner, Alan -- Elidor, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen; The Moon of Gomrath, et al.
✓ Le Guin, Ursula K. -- A Wizard of Earthsea; The Tombs of Atuan; The Farthest Shore, et al.
✓ Lewis, C.S. -- The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader", et al.

NON-FICTION: YOUNG ADULT

Barber, Richard -- A Companion to World Mythology
Buehr, Walter -- Chivalry and the Mailed Knight
Coolidge, Olivia -- Greek Myths; The Trojan War; Legends of the North
d'Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar Parin -- Norse Gods and Giants; Trolls
Hazeltine, Alice -- Hero Tales From Many Lands
Hillyer, Virgil -- Young People's Story of the Ancient World: Prehistory - 500 B.C.
Jacobs, Joseph -- English Folk and Fairy Tales
Macauley, David -- Castles
McHargue, Georgess -- The Beasts of Never: A History Natural and Unnatural of Monsters, Mythical, and Magical; The Impossible People
Renault, Mary -- The Lion in the Gateway
Sellow, Catherine F. -- Adventures With Giants
Sutcliff, Rosemary -- Tristram and Iseult
Williams, Jay -- Life in the Middle Ages
Winer, Bart -- Life in the Ancient World

FICTION: ADULT FANTASY

✓ Anderson, Poul -- Three Hearts and Three Lions; The Broken Sword; The Merman's Children, et al.
✓ Anthony, Piers -- A Spell for Chameleon; The Source of Magic; Castle Roogna
✓ Asprin, Robert -- Another Fine Myth
Brackett, Leigh -- The Coming of the Terrans; The Secret of Sinharat; People of the Talisman, et al.
Campbell, J. Ramsey -- Demons by Daylight
Davidson, Avram -- The Island Under the Earth; Ursus of Ultima Thule; The Phoenix of the Mirror, et al.
✓ de Camp, L. Sprague -- The Fallible Fiend; The Goblin Tower, et al.
✓ de Camp, L. Sprague and Pratt, Fletcher -- The Incomplete Enchanter; Land of Unreason, et al.
✓ Dunsany, Lord -- Over the Hills and Far Away; Book of Wonder; The King of Elfland's Daughter, et al.
Eddison, E.R. -- The Worm Ouroboros
Eisenstein, Phyllis -- Born to Exile; Sorcerer's Son
✓ Farmer, Phillip Jose -- The Gates of Creation; The Maker of Universes; A Private Cosmos, et al.
Finney, Charles G. -- The Unholy City; The Circus of Dr. Lao
✓ Heinlein, Robert A. -- Glory Road
Howard, Robert E. -- Conan; Red Nails; Pigeons from Hell
✓ Lee, Tanith -- Night's Master; The Storm Lord; The Birthgrave, et al.
✓ Lieber, Fritz -- The Swords of Lankhmar; Swords Against Wizardry; Swords Against Death, et al.
✓ Lovecraft, H.P. -- The Doom that Came to Sarnath; The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath; The Dunwich Horror
Merritt, A.E. -- The Moon Pool; Dwellers in the Mirage; The Ship of Ishtar, et al.
✓ Moorcock, Michael -- The Stealer of Souls; The Knight of Swords; Gloriana, et al.
Mundy, Talbot -- Tros of Samothrace
✓ Niven, Larry -- The Flight of the Horse; The Magic Goes Away
✓ Norton, Andre -- Witch World; The Year of the Unicorn; The Crystal Gryphon, et al.
Offutt, Andrew -- The Iron Lords; Shadows Out of Hell
✓ Pratt, Fletcher -- The Blue Star; The Well of the Unicorn
Smith, Clark Ashton -- Xiccarph; Lost Worlds: Genius Loci
Stewart, Mary -- The Crystal Cave; The Hollow Hills; The Last Enchantment
✓ Stoker, Bram -- Dracula
Swann, Thomas Burnett -- Cry Silver Bells; The Tournament of the Thorns; Moondust, et al.
✓ Tolkien, J.R.R. -- The Hobbit; The Lord of the Rings (trilogy)
✓ Vance, Jack -- The Eyes of the Overworld; Dying Earth; The Dragon Masters, et al.
Wagner, Karl Edward -- Bloodstone; Death Angel's Shadow; Dark Crusade, et al.
✓ White, Theodore H. -- The Once and Future King
✓ Zelazny, Roger -- Jack of Shadows; Lord of Light; Nine Princes in Amber, et al.

Some additional authors of fantasy fiction are:

✓ Beagle, Peter S.
Bok, Hannes
✓ Cabell, James Branch
✓ Carter, Lin
✓ Cherryh, C.J.
Delany, Samuel R.
Fox, Gardner
Gaskell, Jane
Green, Roland
✓ Haggard, H. Rider
Jakes, John
Kurtz, Katherine
Lanier, Sterling
✓ McCaffrey, Anne
✓ McKillip, Patricia A.
Moore, C.L.
Myers, John Myers
Peake, Mervyn
✓ Saberhagen, Fred
Walton, Evangeline
Wellman, Manly Wade
Williamson, Jack

SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS

✓ Carter, Lin (ed.) -- The Year's Best Fantasy Stories (in several volumes); Flashing Swords (also in several volumes)
Offutt, Andrew (ed.) -- Swords Against Darkness (in several volumes)

NON-FICTION

Borges, Jorge Luis -- The Book of Imaginary Beings
✓ Bullfinch, Thomas -- Bullfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable, The Age of Chivalry
Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend

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