Appendix N - The Literature That Inspires Me
That authors and stories that influenced me and that I recommend, organized (roughly) by genre. I tend to read deep rather than wide. That is, I have a small number of authors who's work I champion. That said, if I think an author’s writing is not strong in a certain book, or I just haven't read it, it won't show up in this appendix. This is for the stuff I love, even if it isn't always the highest quality.
Eventually I plan to have links to the author's work and where possible I will point towards smaller stores and indie shops. Any links to Amazon or large corporations should be considered affiliate links.
Lastly, Authors and Stories may show up under multiple genres, depending on what is being written.
Crime/Noir
Laird Barron - I'm a big fan of Barron, as you can hopefully see if you've read my write-ups for the read-along.
Coleridge Book 1: Blood Standard
Coleridge Book 2: Black Mountain
Michael Connelly
Harry Bosch Book 1: The Black Echo
James Ellroy
Black Dahlia
Robert B. Parker
Spencer Book 1: The Godwulf Manuscript
Dan Simmons - Simmons Crime and Noir stuff is worth reading, but if you are looking for your next book from this list, start with Barron's Coleridge Novels. When Hard as Nails ended it seemed like a sequel was on the horizon, but almost two decades later, it still hasn’t materialized.
Joe Kurtz Book 1: Hardcase
Joe Kurtz Book 2: Hard Freeze
Joe Kurtz Book 3: Hard as Nails
Horror
Robert Aickman - Aickman doesn't write stories with a traditional narrative structure. Often you won't know what the story is actually about, even when you are finished with it. Just that it happened, it was good and it was f'n weird.
Cold Hand in Mine: An Anthology
Laird Barron - While Laird shows up in the Crime/Noir section, his best work is in horror.
Coleridge Book 2: Black Mountain
Coleridge Book 3: Worse Angels
Coleridge Book 3.5: The Wind Began to Howl
The Croning
The Man With No Name: A Nanashi Novella
X's For Eyes
Imago Sequence
Occultations
The Beautiful Thing that Awaits us All
Swift to Chase
Little Brown Book of Burials
Shirley Jackson
The Haunting of Hill House
John Langan - I'm not as familiar with Langan as I am with Laird Barron, but they run in the same circles and have similar styles.
The Wide Carnivorous Sky, and other Monstrous Geographies
Thomas Ligotti - While his work can be cold and sterile it plays to his strengths.
Songs of a Dead Dreamer
Grimscribe
H. P. Lovecraft - Yes he's here. The father of Cosmic horror may not have done it best, but he did it first. Much of his work can now be found floating the public domain, but I recommend picking up a copy of his complete fiction from Barnes and Noble, or stopping by the H. P. Lovercraft Society to pick up an audio-book copy.
The Complete Fiction of H. P. Lovecraft
Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher - Much of her work I consider to be "horror-lite" and it often straddles the line between horror and fantasy. Still I love it.
Sworn Soldier Book 1: What Moves the Dead
Sworn Soldier Book 2: What Feasts at Night
A House With Good Bones
Dan Simmons - Simmons is a master at switching genres while I don't like everything he's written, I do think all of it is worth reading, even if it doesn't show up in this list.
Summer of Night
A Winter Haunting
Children of the Night
Song of Kali
Carrion Comfort
The Hollow Man
Lovedeath: An Anthology
Bram Stoker - By my books he is the father of modern horror in every sense of the word. Dracula was brilliant, and honestly that's all you have to read. If you want to read something truly awful though, find a copy of Lair of the White Worm in the public domain. Seriously, don't spend money on Lair of the White Worm. It's the reason I consider him the father of all horror, not just the good stuff.
Dracula
Historical Fiction
Terry Pratchett - Few reach directly into the soul of the human experience like Pratchett does. While these books could be best considered alternate history, they are here because this is where they sit in my mind.
Nation
Dodger
Louis L'amour - A classic author of romantic westerns, Louis L'amour was a staple of my childhood.
The Lonesome Gods
Flint
Jubal Sackett
The Trail to Seven Pines
Horror/Fantasy
Leigh Bardugo - Haven’t read much of her work, but Galaxy Stern is a fantastic series.
Alex Stern: Ninth House
Alex Stern: Hell Bent
Robert Jackson Bennett - I've only read one book and I already want more. The Tainted Cup is fantastic.
The Tainted Cup
Jay Kristoff - Empire of the Damned is an incredible series. Gory, violent, and at times vulnerable, I love these books.
Empire of the Vampire
Empire of the Damned
Richard Swan - I've only read his Empire of the Wolf, but damn. Few authors have the writing skill Swan demonstrates so deftly.
Empire of the Wolf Book 1: Justice of Kings
Empire of the Wolf Book 2: Tyranny of Faith
Empire of the Wolf Book 3: Trials of Empire
Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher - Much of her work I consider to be "horror-lite" and it often straddles the line between horror and fantasy. Still I love it.
Thornhedge
Nettle and Bone
Fantasy
Travis Baldtree - Travis Baldtree has an incredible voice, both on the page and in the audiobooks he narrates. If you are looking for a cozy read, he is the author for you.
Legends and Lattes
Bookshops and Bonedust: A Legends and Latte's Prequel
Jim Butcher - Author of the Dresden Files, Jim Butcher writes the quick talking Noir detective better than anyone. If that detective uses magic? All the better.
Dresden Files Book 1: Stormfront
Dresden Files Book 2: Fool Moon
Dresden Files Book 3: Grave Peril
Dresden Files Book 4: Summer Knight
Dresden Files Book 5: Death Masks
Dresden Files Book 6: Blood Rites
Dresden Files Book 7: Dead Beat
Dresden Files Book 8: Proven Guilty
Dresden Files Book 9: White Night
Dresden Files Book 10: Small Favor
Dresden Files Book 11: Turn Coat
Dresden Files Book 12: Changes
Dresden Files Book 13: Ghost Story
Dresden Files Book 14: Cold Days
Dresden Files Book 15: Skin Game
Dresden Files Book 16: Peace Talks
Dresden Files Book 17: Battle Grounds
Dresden Files Anthology 1: Side Jobs
Dresden Files Anthology 2: Brief Cases
J . M. Clarke - While not the most technically proficient author on the list, Clarke is never the less incredibly fun to read. Mark of the Fool asks "What if Harry Potter but he was a college student in a D&D world? Also he can't use magic, but can somehow." It's a lot of fun!
Mark of the Fool Book 1
Mark of the Fool Book 2
Mark of the Fool Book 3
Mark of the Fool Book 4
Mark of the Fool Book 5
Mark of the Fool Book 6
Mark of the Fool Book 7
Susanna Clarke - One of the most technically proficient authors on this list, Susanna Clarke has incredible prose, fantastic characters, and wonderfully realized worlds. Anything she works on, I will buy.
Piranesi
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell
The Ladies of Grace Adieu and othe Short Stories
Matt Dinniman - The complete opposite of Susanna Clarke in so many ways Dinniman writes fun, gross, hilarious, and chaotic books. I shouldn't have to say this, but don't give your kids these books unless you want the AI to give you a new achievement for interesting parenting styles.
Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 1: Dungeon Crawler Carl
Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 2: Carl's Doomsday Scenario
Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 3: The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 4: The Gate of the Feral Gods
Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 5: The Butcher's Masquerade
Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 6: The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
Lord Dunasany - Before Tolkien, before Lewis, Before Even Lovecraft, there was Dunsany. If you haven't read him, you really, really should.
The King of Elflands Daughter
The Gods of Pegana
Time and the Gods
The Sword of Welleran and other Stories
A Dreamer's Tales
The Last Book of Wonder
Nicholas Eames - A fantastic voice in the space that has sadly been quiet the last few years. I desperately await the release of his third book.
Kings of the Wyld
Bloody Rose
Miles English - Is it literature? No. Miles writes the pulpiest stuff known to man: Isekai. But he gets away with it by being damn good, and really really fun to read.
Bog Standard Isekai Book 1: Scarred
Bog Standard Isekai Book 2: Illusionist
Neil Gaiman - Another incredibly proficient author Neil Gaiman has a mastered voice and prose.
American Gods
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Sandman
Good Omens
R. F. Kuang - While I bounced off her Poppy War Series, Babel is a a fantastically realized and poignant book.
Babel
Fonda Lee - Who doesn't love The Godfather but as a martial arts story in? Fonda Lee's Jade series is easily one of the best I've ever read.
Jade City
Jade War
Jade Legacy
Ursula K. Le Guin - While I read it too late for Le Guin's work to be considered formative, I deeply wish I'd read Wizard of Earthsea earlier.
The Wizard of Earth Sea
Tombs of Atuan
The Farthest Shore
Tehanu
C. S. Lewis - Christian Apologist and a father of fantasy, I adored lewis as a child While his books haven't aged as well as I might hope, I nonetheless love them to this day.
Chronicles of Narnia Book 1: The Magicians Nephew
Chronicles of Narnia Book 2: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
Chronicles of Narnia Book 3: A Horse and His Boy
Chronicles of Narnia Book 4: Prince Caspian
Chronicles of Narnia Book 5: Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Chronicles of Narnia Book 6: The Emerald Chair
Chronicles of Narnia Book 7: The Last Battle
Brian McClellan - McClellan's world building and characters are fantastic, and as far as I can tell he set the stage for the emergence of Black Powder Fantasy. having met him a Dragonsteel 2023, I can also tell you that he is very nice in person.
Powder Mage Book 1: Promise of Blood
Powder Mage Book 2: The Crimson Campaign
Powder Mage Book 3: The Autumn Republic
Christopher Paolini - While some might argue that his books are derivative, (and to some extent they are) I find them to be incredibely imaginative, fantastical, and interesting. Are they perfect? Of course not. But I love them anyway.
Inheritance Cycle Book 1: Eragon
Inheritance Cycle Book 2: Eldest
Inheritance Cycle Book 3: Brisingr
Inheritance Cycle Book 4: Inheritance
Terry Pratchett - So this is going to be a long list. While I've only read about half of discworld, that's still 20 books, and you should read all of them at some point. Just maybe don't start with Color of Magic. I've organized these by series, and within series in order. I recommend starting with either Mort, Guards Guards, Small Gods, or Good Omens (which is entirely seperate from Discworld).
Discworld - Death: Mort
Discworld - Death: Reaper Man
Discworld - Death: Soul Music
Discworld - Death: Hog Father
Discworld - Death: Thief of Time
Discworld - City Watch: Guards! Guards!
Discworld - City Watch: Men At Arms
Discworld - City Watch: Feet of Clay
Discworld - City Watch: Jingo
Discworld - City Watch: The Fifth Elephant
Discworld - City Watch: Night Watch
Discworld - City Watch: Thud
Discworld - City Watch: Snuff
Discworld - Wizards: Colour of Magic
Discworld - Wizards: The Light Fantastic
Discworld - Wizards: Sourcery
Discworld - Wizards:
FaustEricDiscworld - Wizards: Interesting Times
Discworld - Wizards: Moving Pictures
Discworld - Wizards: The Last Continent
Discworld - Wizards: Unseen Academicals
Discworld - Stand-alones: Pyramids
Discworld - Stand-alones: Small Gods
Discworld - Stand-alones: The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
Good Omens
V. E. Schwab - I've only read one of her books that I loved, but I loved it so much I bought a signed special edition.
Invisible Life of Addie La'rue
Brandon Sanderson - The Man, The Myth, The Legend. While his Sci-fi books never landed for me, and not all of Mistborn Era 1 did either, on the whole, I adore his Cosmere series.' Beyond that Sanderson is one of the people who taught me how to write through his BYU college lectures, so I owe a great deal to him, and I was able to thank him in person at Dragonsteel 2023.
Elantris
The Emperor's Soul
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
Sixth of the Dusk
Warbreaker
Mistborn Era 1: Mistborn
Mistborn: A Secret History
Stormlight Archive Book 1: Way of Kings
Stormlight Archive Book 2: Words of Radiance
Stormlight Archive 2.5: Edgedancer
Stormlight Archive Book 3: Oathbreaker
Tress of the Emerald Sea
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
The Sunlit Man
A Wizard's Guide to Surviving Medieval England
Adrian Tchaikovski - Oh man. Where to even begin. Tchaikovski may be the best epic fantasy/sci-fi writer of the current era. While not everything he writes lands (and not all of his stuff is to my taste) there's no denying that he has a fantastic sense of prose, character, pace, plot and theme. Even at his worst, he writes excellent novels.
Shadows of the Apt Book 1: Empire in Black and Gold
Shadows of the Apt Book 2: Dragonfly Falling
Shadows of the Apt Book 3: Salute the Dark
Shadows of the Apt Book 4: Blood of the Mantis
The Tyrant Philosophers Book 1: City of Last Chances
The Tyrant Philosophers Book 2: The House of Open Wounds
J. R. R. Tolkien - The grandfather of modern Fantasy. Any appendix N without mentioning Tolkien is missing something. But before you ask, no. I haven't read The Silmarillion yet.
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings Book 1: Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings Book 2: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings Book 3: The Return of the King
M. L. Wang - I've only read one book of hers, but it was powerful, and I look forward to reading more.
The Sword of Kaigen
Will Wight - A king of modern pulp fantasy. Cradle is awsome, simple fun, and I look forward to finishing the series.
Cradle Book 1: Unsouled
Cradle Book 2: Soulsmith
Cradle Book 3: Blackflame
Cradle Book 4: Skysworn
Cradle Book 5: Ghostwater
Cradle Book 6: Underlord
Cradle Book 7: Uncrowned
Cradle Book 8: Wintersteel
Cradle Book 9: Bloodline
Evan Winter - A powerful writer that like Nicholas Eames hasn't released anything in a few years. Still I highly recommend his two books.
The Burning Book 1: Rage of Dragons
The Burning Book 2: Fires of Vengeance
Yrsillar - Another fun author. I've greatly enjoyed their Forge of Destiny Xianxia series.
Forge of Destiny Book 1
Forge of Destiny Book 2
Forge of Destiny Book 3
Threads of Destiny Book 1
Threads of Destiny Book 2
Threads of Destiny Book 3
Romance
Yes. I read romance. You should too. How else are you supposed to know what your spouse wants? Note: Make sure you are reading the same kind of romance she is. This analogy falls apart if you are reading Omegaverse smut and she is reading Pride and Prejudice and vice versa.
Jane Austen - The Founding Mother of the Romance genre, I don't love all her books, but I do like all of them.
Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
Emma
Mansfield Park
Emily Henry - I've only read one of her novels, but I'm eager to read more. Book lovers is a love letter to the industry, to writing, and to the editors and agents that make the whole business possible.
Book Lovers
Mary Robinette Kowal - Another person who I met at Dragonsteel, and another person who's book I liked so much, I bought the rest of the series. I look forward to reading more of her.
Glamerous Histories Book 1: Shades of Milk and Honey.
Brandon Sanderson - I know what you are thinking, "Brandon Sanderson, a romance author?" Yes, and I will die on this hill. If you've read Warbreaker, Tress of the Emerald Sea, and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, I bet you will too.
Warbreaker
Tress of the Emerald Sea
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
Sci-fi
James S. A. Corey - The conglomerate author that is Ty Frank and Daniel Abraham, the expanse is something you have to read to believe. It's truly incredible.
The Expanse Book 1: Leviathan Wakes
The Expanse Book 2: Caliban's War
The Expanse Book 3: Abbadon's Gate
The Expanse Book 4: Cibola Burn
The Expanse Book 5: Nemesis Games
The Expanse Book 6: Babylon's Ashes
The Expanse Book 7: Persioplolis Rising
The Expanse Book 8: Tiamat's Wrath
The Expanse Book 9: Leviathan Falls
Stories from the Expanse: Memories Legion
T. R. Napper - He may be the modern master of the cyberpunk genre. Literary yet easy to read, Napper is one of my favorite living authors.
Neon Leviathan
36 Streets
Aliens: Bishop
Christopher Paolini - While best known for his fantasy stories, I much prefer his Sci-fi. It's not perfect, but it is carefully tailored for my personal taste, it really helps that the audio books are narrated by Commander Shepherd herself: Jennifer Hale
Fractalverse: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars
Fractalverse: Fractal Noise
Dan Simmons - Dan Simmons authored maybe the best Sci-fi novel I've ever read, and the followups while not as good are still excellent.
Hyperion
Fall of Hyperion
The Hollow Man
Brandon Sanderson/Mary Robbinette Kowal
The Original
Dennis E. Taylor - Hard Sci-fi that also manages to be readable and fun? Sign me up. Bobiverse is fantastic, and narrated by the always excellent Ray Porter
Bobiverse Book 1: We Are Legion (We are Bob)
Bobiverse Book 2: For We Are Many
Bobiverse Book 3: All These Worlds
Bobiverse Book 4: Heaven's River
Adrian Tchaikovsky - Just read the damn books.
Service Model
Children of Time Book 1
Children of Time Book 2: Children of Ruin
Karen Traviss - An excellent writer of Military Sci-fi, her Republic Commando series singlehandedly changed my perspective on the Jedi, the US goverment, war, and got me interested in genetics and science. Sadly the series will never be completed.
Republic Commando Book 1: Hard Contact
Republic Commando Book 2: Triple Zero
Republic Commando Book 3: True Colors
Republic Commando Book 4: Order 66
Imperial Commando Book 5: 501st
David Weber - Another excellent writer military Sci-fi reader. While his formula begins to show it's age around book four there is no denying that his Honor Harrington series is deeply compelling and satisfying. If it begins to bore you, you can stop after book 7.
Honor Harrington Book 1: On Basilisk Station
Honor Harrington Book 2: For the Honor of the Queen
Honor Harrington Book 3: The Short Victorious War
Honor Harrington Book 4: Field of Dishonor
Honor Harrington Book 5: Flag in Exile
Honor Harrington Book 6: Honor Among Enemies
Honor Harrington Book 7: In Enemy Hands
Honor Harrington Book 8: Echoes of Honor
Honor Harrington Book 9: Ashes of Victory
Honor Harrington Book 10: War of Honor
Martha Wells - Murderbot. God I love Murderbot. It's like all of the things I want to do, while being significantly more charismatic and socially awkward about it.
Murderbot Book 1: All Systems Red
Murderbot Book 2: Artificial Condition
Murderbot Book 3: Rogue Protocol
Murderbot Book 4: Exit Strategy
Murderbot Book 5: Network Effect
Murderbot Book 6: Fugitive Telemetry
Murderbot Book 7: System Collapse