The List

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Dungeon Crawl Classics was created to support the kind of wild, weird adventures from the fabled Appendix N reading list. For those who don't know, this list was originally composed by E. Gary Gygax and published in the AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide.


Anderson, Poul: Three Hearts and Three Lions; The High Crusade; The Broken Sword
Bellairs, John: The Face in the Frost
Brackett, Leigh
Brown, Fredric
Burroughs, Edgar Rice: “Pellucidar” series; “Mars” series; “Venus” series
Carter, Lin: “World’s End” series
de Camp, L. Sprague: Lest Darkness Fall; Fallible Fiend; et al
de Camp & Pratt: “Harold Shea” series; Carnelian Cube
Derleth, August
Dunsany, Lord, The King of Elfland’s Daughter
Farmer, P. J.: “The World of the Tiers” series; et al
Fox, Gardner: “Kothar” series; “Kyric” series; et al
Howard, Robert E.: “Conan” series
Lanier, Sterling: Hiero’s Journey
Leiber, Fritz. “Fafhrd & Gray Mouser” series; et al
Lovecraft, H. P.
Merritt, A.: Creep, Shadow, Creep; Moon Pool; Dwellers in the Mirage; et al
Moorcock, Michael: Stormbringer; Stealer of Souls; “Hawkmoon” series (esp. the first three books)
Norton, Andre
Offutt, Andrew J., editor Swords Against Darkness III
Pratt, Fletcher: Blue Star; et al
Saberhagen, Fred: Changeling Earth; et al
St. Clair, Margaret: The Shadow People; Sign of the Labrys

Tolkien, J. R. R.: The Hobbit; “Ring Trilogy”
Vance, Jack: The Eyes of the Overworld; The Dying Earth; et al Weinbaum, Stanley
Wellman, Manly Wade
Williamson, Jack
Zelazny, Roger: Jack of Shadows; “Amber” series; et al

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There you have it, folks. One of the greatest reading lists ever put to paper. What are your favorites? Are any of these books on your reading list this year?

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Also, do you know of any books that aren't on it but should be?

I sure as heck do. Where is Clark Ashton Smith? Where is Karl Edward Wagner?

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Not sure if you guys would agree but Terry Brooks and the Shannara series is a good one 

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I’ve been tempted by Shannara from time to time. Raymond Feist’s Riftwar series and Glenn Cook’s Black Company books would be good adds, too.

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But I still need to read a bunch of the books that are already on there. I’ve only read around 1/3 of the Elric stories, same with Conan. I want to get copies of those Poul Anderson books and maybe some A. Merritt this year.

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I read my first A. Merrit book in an attempt to deepen my Appendix N. knowledge. I stumbled on a copy of Burn Witch, Burn, and that was good, campy fun (no actual witches were harmed @Malkavian Grin.)

Next up on Appendix N, I'd like to read Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson, which was apparently the book that inspired the Paladin class. First, I have to finish the last part of Book of the New Sun. BotNS is one of those books that isn't part of Appendix N (it was published a few years later), but it would fit right in. Monte Cook credits it for inspiring his game Numenera.