Hi I am a big reader and I love DND. I am looking for Some DND books to read. I have 2 Dragonlance novels (Dragons Of Autumn Twilight and Dragons Of Deceit and The Road To Neverwinter) but am a fast reader and am always looking for more. Any suggestions are welcome and graphic novels are included. Thanks and have a good day!
If you want strictly official D&D novels that Dragonlance novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight is the perfect start! Its sequels Dragons of Winter Night and Dragons of Spring Dawning are also what I'd call essential among the official D&D novels. I'd also suggest the Dark Elf Trilogy and the Icewind Dale Trilogy by R. A. Salvatore. If you want novels that 'feel' like D&D but aren't necessarily official D&D books you could make your way through APPENDIX E: INSPIRATIONAL READING.
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INSPIRATIONS:Clark Ashton Smith, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, M. John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Steven Brust, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville.
DragonLance Chronicles (Autumn, Winter, and Spring) are an amazing epic story. Also based upon a real D&D campaign.
Drizt Do'Urden is super popular. Start with the Crystal Shard trilogy, then the prequels. The first series read like a D&D adventure
Brimstone Angels (Neverwinter trilogy) is a great series.
Darksun (Five book series) is really different flavor wise, but also a very D&D story.
Shadowdale - Avatar Trilogy by Ed Greenwood - This one does a great job of showcasing the Forgotten Realms mythos
Greyhawk by Gary Gygax is a very different look at 1st edition AD&D. Very different story from any other D&D published novels. This is more for serious readers than for the casual reader that just wants a taste of D&D. I think it was a seven novel series.
Darkwalker on Moonshae (Monshae Isles Trilogy) is underrated. Not as good as many above, but interesting D&D book.
Hobbit and Lord of the Rings - Halflings were invented after an IP lawsuit regarding Hobbits in an early iteration of what would someday be D&D.
I really like Venom in Her Veins. It came out during the 4th Ed era, so some of the characters use classes that won't quite be familiar for newer players, but over all the story was really good and was a good character study.
I enjoyed reading I, Strahd and Knight of the Black Rose, two books set in the Ravenloft setting. As you have read Dragonlance books already, you may especially enjoy Knight of the Black Rose, as it ties in characters from that setting as well.
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read every single one of them. Use Goodreads to get the correct chronological.
Many of the early books significantly helped define Forgotten Realms and will give you a rich histor.
I read all of the books up until those published after 2015.
I made the list and went on ebay and purchased/bid on what I could. Quite a few people were selling huge selections.
After reading I turned around and put them back up on ebay. Literally I read quite a few books with very little investment. Pay for the books with shipping and sell them making the buyer responsible for shipping
Another great place to look for them is Abe Books which is an online resource for used book sellers that combines the resources of hundreds of used book stores.
Thanks guys! I’m heading to Barnes and Noble to get some more. I’m thinking of definitely getting Dragon lance and some R.A Salvatore but maybe dungeon academy even though it looks a bit young. I’ll update you with what I got!
Thanks guys! I’m heading to Barnes and Noble to get some more. I’m thinking of definitely getting Dragon lance and some R.A Salvatore but maybe dungeon academy even though it looks a bit young. I’ll update you with what I got!
Happy reading!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
INSPIRATIONS:Clark Ashton Smith, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, M. John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Steven Brust, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville.
Got The Druid’s Call and Dungeon Academy: No Humans Allowed! Very excited to start both. Thank you so much for the suggestions! I’m always open to new book recommendations
25-30 years ago, I read RA Salvatore and thought it was great. Today, I consider it ... well, I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but my views on literary quality have shifted considerably. If you want quality writing, Patrick Rothfuss, China Mieville and Richard Morgan have done spectacular things for the genre. Less of a literary heavy weight, but still wonderfully entertaining is Joe Abercrombie.
They're all problematic, though. Rothfuss seems unable to finish his trilogy. Mieville is great, but is more steam punk than medieval fantasy. Morgan is a sprinter - his series start out absolutely fantastic, but lose momentum (somewhat). And Joe Abercrombie, although I love him, is sorta tropey.
The Builders by Daniel Polansky isn't really fantasy at all, but a western fable, but it's still absolutely brilliant =)
Moving off topic, I'll try to veer back. Polansky's Low Town series is fantasy, and great. Robert Jackson Bennett wrote the City of Stairs trilogy, which is also somewhat steam punky, but great fantasy none the less. His Founders trilogy is more straight fantasy, though.
'But Acromos' I hear you object, 'none of these are actually D&D books!'
No, but great fantasy tales are the best inspiration. And I'd venture that these are better by far than anything that carries the brand. Sorry, brand.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
There are no decent D&D books, they all read like really bad fan fiction written by a DM. The writing style is commonly written like an adaptation from a comic, graphic, novel or adventure shallow and clunky. If there isn't a name for that there should be.
I would look to general fantasy writing or maybe a LitRPG for a laugh. The Stormlight\Mistborn stuff by Brandon Sanderson is great, as the Windershins series. In both cases there are well written stories and researched stories. The stuff classic D&D was based off of, like LOtR and Michael Moorcock's stuff are good, between those two authors you have the whole sense of good and evil, from Tolkien's simple child like view to the more harsh realist take in Morrcock's works, he's where AD&D hardcore consequences come from.
Personally, I enjoy all of the Forgotten Realms novels, and I tend to find a lot of stuff outside those to be heavy handed and tedious. DragonLance is good as well, but with a more serious tone. I find the Realms novels to be light and moderately goofy and hokey enough to be enjoyable as an escape. Easy reading, often fun, interesting adventures and most of the series books develop characters pretty well. Ravenloft is another series tied in with those and I find most of them interesting as well, though a few seemed to drag out and plod along the storyline so slowly, I found my interest waning.
If you enjoyed the DragonLance you've already read, those 3, Forgotten Realms, Ravonloft and Dragonlance offer a LOT of books and you'll likely enjoy them all. I have started looking for Eberron books at my local second hand bookstore, but haven't yet had any luck. For outside the D&D world, I enjoyed Terry Brooks work as well, especially the Landover series.
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Talk to your Players.Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
There are no decent D&D books, they all read like really bad fan fiction written by a DM. The writing style is commonly written like an adaptation from a comic, graphic, novel or adventure shallow and clunky. If there isn't a name for that there should be.
I would look to general fantasy writing or maybe a LitRPG for a laugh. The Stormlight\Mistborn stuff by Brandon Sanderson is great, as the Windershins series. In both cases there are well written stories and researched stories. The stuff classic D&D was based off of, like LOtR and Michael Moorcock's stuff are good, between those two authors you have the whole sense of good and evil, from Tolkien's simple child like view to the more harsh realist take in Morrcock's works, he's where AD&D hardcore consequences come from.
If you want literary fantasy you need to look to Wolfe and Vance and to Peake. Not to Brandon Sanderson.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
INSPIRATIONS:Clark Ashton Smith, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, M. John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Steven Brust, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville.
Do you have some titles or a full names, I will check it out. These are well crafted worlds, that stay within the limits of their ages.
Brandon Sanderson is good stuff. No question.
For fantasy considered to be reaching literature, I'd recommend The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, Titus Groan and Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake, and The Dying Earth, The Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel’s Saga, and Rhialto the Marvellous by Jack Vance.
Wolfe is glorious. Is arguably the best the genre has to offer.
I'm an English teacher and actually aim to include Peake in the curriculum at work. Already snuck some fantasy and even some great, pulpy sword and sorcery legends in there! It's different to the usual fantasy fare. Is quite gothic in flavor. You'd won't find better descriptions of architecture outside of its pages.
Vance is probably the one who I'd say reads the most like D&D among the three but the man was also masterful in his use of language. The first two books of his listed there were a big influence on Gary Gygax. The names of spells in his books read just like those in D&D.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
INSPIRATIONS:Clark Ashton Smith, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, M. John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Steven Brust, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville.
I really like Venom in Her Veins. It came out during the 4th Ed era, so some of the characters use classes that won't quite be familiar for newer players, but over all the story was really good and was a good character study.
Totally agree. Venom in her veins was really fun.
For other DnD novels I like Richard Baker’s stuff (the Last Mythal) and Erin Evans series with the tiefling twins.
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Hi I am a big reader and I love DND. I am looking for Some DND books to read. I have 2 Dragonlance novels (Dragons Of Autumn Twilight and Dragons Of Deceit and The Road To Neverwinter) but am a fast reader and am always looking for more. Any suggestions are welcome and graphic novels are included. Thanks and have a good day!
If you want strictly official D&D novels that Dragonlance novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight is the perfect start! Its sequels Dragons of Winter Night and Dragons of Spring Dawning are also what I'd call essential among the official D&D novels. I'd also suggest the Dark Elf Trilogy and the Icewind Dale Trilogy by R. A. Salvatore. If you want novels that 'feel' like D&D but aren't necessarily official D&D books you could make your way through APPENDIX E: INSPIRATIONAL READING.
INSPIRATIONS: Clark Ashton Smith, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, M. John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Steven Brust, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville.
SYSTEMS: ShadowDark, C&C, AD&D.
GEAR: pencils, graph paper, dice.
DragonLance Chronicles (Autumn, Winter, and Spring) are an amazing epic story. Also based upon a real D&D campaign.
Drizt Do'Urden is super popular. Start with the Crystal Shard trilogy, then the prequels. The first series read like a D&D adventure
Brimstone Angels (Neverwinter trilogy) is a great series.
Darksun (Five book series) is really different flavor wise, but also a very D&D story.
Shadowdale - Avatar Trilogy by Ed Greenwood - This one does a great job of showcasing the Forgotten Realms mythos
Greyhawk by Gary Gygax is a very different look at 1st edition AD&D. Very different story from any other D&D published novels. This is more for serious readers than for the casual reader that just wants a taste of D&D. I think it was a seven novel series.
Darkwalker on Moonshae (Monshae Isles Trilogy) is underrated. Not as good as many above, but interesting D&D book.
Hobbit and Lord of the Rings - Halflings were invented after an IP lawsuit regarding Hobbits in an early iteration of what would someday be D&D.
I really like Venom in Her Veins. It came out during the 4th Ed era, so some of the characters use classes that won't quite be familiar for newer players, but over all the story was really good and was a good character study.
I enjoyed reading I, Strahd and Knight of the Black Rose, two books set in the Ravenloft setting. As you have read Dragonlance books already, you may especially enjoy Knight of the Black Rose, as it ties in characters from that setting as well.
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
read every single one of them. Use Goodreads to get the correct chronological.
Many of the early books significantly helped define Forgotten Realms and will give you a rich histor.
I read all of the books up until those published after 2015.
I made the list and went on ebay and purchased/bid on what I could. Quite a few people were selling huge selections.
After reading I turned around and put them back up on ebay. Literally I read quite a few books with very little investment. Pay for the books with shipping and sell them making the buyer responsible for shipping
Another great place to look for them is Abe Books which is an online resource for used book sellers that combines the resources of hundreds of used book stores.
Thanks guys! I’m heading to Barnes and Noble to get some more. I’m thinking of definitely getting Dragon lance and some R.A Salvatore but maybe dungeon academy even though it looks a bit young. I’ll update you with what I got!
Happy reading!
INSPIRATIONS: Clark Ashton Smith, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, M. John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Steven Brust, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville.
SYSTEMS: ShadowDark, C&C, AD&D.
GEAR: pencils, graph paper, dice.
Got The Druid’s Call and Dungeon Academy: No Humans Allowed! Very excited to start both. Thank you so much for the suggestions! I’m always open to new book recommendations
Paul Kidd's Greyhawk trilogy. White Plume Mountain, Descent in the Depths of the Earth, and Queen of the Demonweb Pits.
https://greyhawkstories.com/2020/03/25/interview-with-paul-kidd-the-real-justicar/
One of coolest - Darkwalker on Moonshae!
If you haven't already, check the back of the PHB for Appendix E: Inspirational Reading.
25-30 years ago, I read RA Salvatore and thought it was great. Today, I consider it ... well, I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but my views on literary quality have shifted considerably. If you want quality writing, Patrick Rothfuss, China Mieville and Richard Morgan have done spectacular things for the genre. Less of a literary heavy weight, but still wonderfully entertaining is Joe Abercrombie.
They're all problematic, though. Rothfuss seems unable to finish his trilogy. Mieville is great, but is more steam punk than medieval fantasy. Morgan is a sprinter - his series start out absolutely fantastic, but lose momentum (somewhat). And Joe Abercrombie, although I love him, is sorta tropey.
The Builders by Daniel Polansky isn't really fantasy at all, but a western fable, but it's still absolutely brilliant =)
Moving off topic, I'll try to veer back. Polansky's Low Town series is fantasy, and great. Robert Jackson Bennett wrote the City of Stairs trilogy, which is also somewhat steam punky, but great fantasy none the less. His Founders trilogy is more straight fantasy, though.
'But Acromos' I hear you object, 'none of these are actually D&D books!'
No, but great fantasy tales are the best inspiration. And I'd venture that these are better by far than anything that carries the brand. Sorry, brand.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
There are no decent D&D books, they all read like really bad fan fiction written by a DM. The writing style is commonly written like an adaptation from a comic, graphic, novel or adventure shallow and clunky. If there isn't a name for that there should be.
I would look to general fantasy writing or maybe a LitRPG for a laugh. The Stormlight\Mistborn stuff by Brandon Sanderson is great, as the Windershins series. In both cases there are well written stories and researched stories. The stuff classic D&D was based off of, like LOtR and Michael Moorcock's stuff are good, between those two authors you have the whole sense of good and evil, from Tolkien's simple child like view to the more harsh realist take in Morrcock's works, he's where AD&D hardcore consequences come from.
Personally, I enjoy all of the Forgotten Realms novels, and I tend to find a lot of stuff outside those to be heavy handed and tedious. DragonLance is good as well, but with a more serious tone. I find the Realms novels to be light and moderately goofy and hokey enough to be enjoyable as an escape. Easy reading, often fun, interesting adventures and most of the series books develop characters pretty well. Ravenloft is another series tied in with those and I find most of them interesting as well, though a few seemed to drag out and plod along the storyline so slowly, I found my interest waning.
If you enjoyed the DragonLance you've already read, those 3, Forgotten Realms, Ravonloft and Dragonlance offer a LOT of books and you'll likely enjoy them all. I have started looking for Eberron books at my local second hand bookstore, but haven't yet had any luck. For outside the D&D world, I enjoyed Terry Brooks work as well, especially the Landover series.
Talk to your Players. Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
If you want literary fantasy you need to look to Wolfe and Vance and to Peake. Not to Brandon Sanderson.
INSPIRATIONS: Clark Ashton Smith, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, M. John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Steven Brust, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville.
SYSTEMS: ShadowDark, C&C, AD&D.
GEAR: pencils, graph paper, dice.
Do you have some titles or a full names, I will check it out. These are well crafted worlds, that stay within the limits of their ages.
Brandon Sanderson is good stuff. No question.
For fantasy considered to be reaching literature, I'd recommend The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, Titus Groan and Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake, and The Dying Earth, The Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel’s Saga, and Rhialto the Marvellous by Jack Vance.
Wolfe is glorious. Is arguably the best the genre has to offer.
I'm an English teacher and actually aim to include Peake in the curriculum at work. Already snuck some fantasy and even some great, pulpy sword and sorcery legends in there! It's different to the usual fantasy fare. Is quite gothic in flavor. You'd won't find better descriptions of architecture outside of its pages.
Vance is probably the one who I'd say reads the most like D&D among the three but the man was also masterful in his use of language. The first two books of his listed there were a big influence on Gary Gygax. The names of spells in his books read just like those in D&D.
INSPIRATIONS: Clark Ashton Smith, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, M. John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Steven Brust, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville.
SYSTEMS: ShadowDark, C&C, AD&D.
GEAR: pencils, graph paper, dice.
Have to be careful with those labels. Our comments could be called lit some day, you never know... No faults with Vance.
Totally agree. Venom in her veins was really fun.
For other DnD novels I like Richard Baker’s stuff (the Last Mythal) and Erin Evans series with the tiefling twins.