Foundational Authors of the Fantasy Genre?

Thomas Cole, The Voyage of Life: Youth, 1842
U.S. National Gallery of Art

All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

Nine years ago this list started a pretty interesting conversation, so I thought I would see if it might do so again. 

The initial post was inspired when I discovered that a good friend of mine, an accomplished, published fantasy author who has also worked as an editor and a book reviewer, had at that point NEVER read anything by R.E. Howard. I found this disconcerting! 

So, I wrote up a quick list of the authors who considered foundational to the genre, authors that I thought all serious fantasy fans should read at least once. The sorts of writers where you read one of their works and think "that's a cliché" then discover it wasn't a cliché until others copied them...

This isn't about gatekeeping, anyone should and can enjoy fantasy without this reading list, But if one wants to really know and understand the genre, then I think this list covers all the bases.

In no particular order:

J.R.R. Tolkien

C.S. Lewis

R.E. Howard

H.P. Lovecraft

Clark Ashton Smith

Fritz Leiber

Michael Moorcock

Poul Anderson

Lord Dunsany

T.H. White

Mary Stewart

Mary Renault

Lloyd Alexander

Susan Cooper

Ursula K. LeGuin

Leigh Brackett

E.R. Burroughs

J.K. Rowlings

On reflection, after the discussion from nine years ago, I would add these to the list:

Edgar Allen Poe

Terry Pratchett 

Stephen R. Donaldson

I may have missed one or two but those are the big ones, IMO. Influential writers whose work was ground breaking in some way and/or had a profound impact on the genre. There is a bias for older works, writers who came up towards the birth of the modern genre in the first half of the 20th century. I think that is natural and only to be expected. 

This is not a list of the "best" fantasy authors, or my favorite writers. I left many of my favorites off the list, as heart-breaking as it was to do so. 

That said, there are some names that I have a tougher time defending, whose influence may be more personal for me than widespread in the genre. Stewart, Renault, Cooper, and Alexander are perhaps not as widely influential as I believe they should be. 

So, this is a personal list. Others are likely to have a very different list. In fact, the purpose ofthis list is really to generate debate and discussion, not as some sort of litmus test or dogmatic declaration of "How Things Are or Must Be."

Comments encouraged!

My "Off the Shelf" book reviews

 All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

And yet more crass self-promotion. From May 2006 through April 2013 I was the "Off the Shelf" columnist for Knights of the Dinner Table (aka KoDT), a comic book/game magazine published by Kenzer & Company. I wrote most of these columns during that period, but there were a handful, roughly one a year, written by others. Most of the columns were straight forward reviews, but I also wrote several as  review essays on several topics.

I felt that having a column like this was a privilege not to take lightly, and so I generally only reviewed works that I felt comfortable recommending to readers. I wanted to direct people to books worth reading rather then warn them from books that I may not have liked. After all, just because a work wasn't to my taste didn't mean others would not enjoy it. 

Because Knights of the Dinner Table was a comic and magazine aimed at table top roleplayers, I tried to include at least a paragraph in each review on what a gamer or gamemaster could pull from the work regarding inspiration and ideas for their games. 

One of my long term goals for ‘Off the Shelf’ was to work my way through the authors listed as ‘inspirational and educational reading’ in Appendix N of the 1st edition AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide (p224, Gary Gygax, TSR (c) 1979). I didn't manage to get to them all, but I got to most of them. I wasn't always able or willing to review the books listed for the authors (some of them are fairly obscure today) so in some cases the author was listed but not the specific work I reviewed. I've marked works by Appendix N authors with a * at the end of the entry. In the years since I wrote my column, Appendix N has inspired many blogs and at least one rather bad IMO, book. A quick google search will turn all of these up, here is one example. 

The 1981 Tom Moldvay Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set included, on page 62, a bibliography of "Inspirational Source Material." I think it is actually a better, more comprehensive list than the more famous Appendix N (as do some others). I have indicated authors from that list with a # mark at the end of the entry.

In 2013 the editors brought on Noah Chinn to take over the column. Noah is an excellent author in his own right (I reviewed two of his books in the column) and a good friend of mine, he was an excellent choice to keep the column going. Noah has also been posting about his reviews since he took over the column. I encourage you to check out his work. 

Individual back issues of Knights of the Dinner Table magazine, including all of those listed below, can be found here for purchase.

KoDT #115 May 2006 Thieves’ World anthology series edited by Asprin and Abbey*# (revised and expanded here.) 

KoDT #117 July 2006 The Lankhmar aka Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series by Fritz Leiber*#

KoDT #118 August 2006 The Corum Saga by Michael Moorcock*# (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #119 September 2006 The History of Middle Earth and Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien*#

KoDT #120 October 2006 Conan of Cimmeria by Robert E. Howard*# (actually a review of The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, a different book then Conan of Cimmeria)

KoDT #121 November 2006 The Barsoom Series by Edgar Rice Burroughs*#

KoDT #122 December 2006 Black Seas of Infinity: The Best of H.P. Lovecraft *#(revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #123 January 2007 The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault#

KoDT #124 February 2007 The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany*#

KoDT #125 March 2007 Quag Keep by Andre Norton*#

KoDT #126 April 2007 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke 

KoDT #127 May 2007 Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson*#

KoDT #128 June 2007 The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien*#

KoDT #129 July 2007 The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander#

KoDT #130 August 2007 A Rendezvous in Averoigne by Clark Ashton Smith#

KoDT #131 September 2007  Goblin Quest and Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines 

KoDT #132 October 2007 The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova 

KoDT #133 November 2007 The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs*#

KoDT #135 January 2008 Tales of the Dying Earth (aka the Compleat Dying Earth) by Jack Vance 

KoDT #136 February 2008 His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #137 March 2008 The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #138 April 2008 Medieval Romances by Howard Pyle 

KoDT #139 May 2008 The Wardstone Chronicles aka The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #141 July 2008 That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis# (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #142 August 2008 Flashman and the Redskins by George MacDonald Fraser 

KoDT #143 September 2008 The Last Mythal by Richard Baker 

KoDT #144 October 2008 Dracula by Bram Stoker# (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #145 November 2008 Game Night by Jonny Nexus 

KoDT #146 December 2008 The Compleat Enchanter by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt*# 

KoDT #147 January 2009 The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte 

KoDT #148 February 2009 The Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart# (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #149 March 2009 Lankhmar Book 8: Swords Against the Shadowland by Robin Wayne Bailey (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #150 April 2009 "Important Fantasy Writers"  (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #151 May 2009 The Han Solo Adventures by Brian Daley 

KoDT #152 June 2009 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore

KoDT #153 July 2009 The Wyvern's Spur by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb 

KoDT #154 August 2009 The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 

KoDT #155 September 2009 She by H. Rider Haggard#  

KoDT #156 October 2009 The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #157 November 2009 The Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan 

KoDT #158 December 2009 The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #159 January 2010 Peter & Max by Bill Willingham 

KoDT #160 February 2010 The Corps series by W.E.B. Griffin

KoDT #161 March 2010 The Legend of Sigrid and Gudrun by J.R.R. Tolkien*#

KoDT #163 May 2010 Shadow Hawk by Andre Norton*# 

KoDT #164 June 2010  The Moon Pool by Abraham Merritt*# 

KoDT #165 July 2010 The Last Seal by Richard Denning 

KoDT #166 August 2010 The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson*#

KoDT #167 September 2010 Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver 

KoDT #168 October 2010 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 

KoDT #169 November 2010  Johannes Cabal: the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard 

KoDT #170 December 2010 The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum# (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #171 January 2011 Evermeet: Island of the Elves by Elaine Cunningham 

KoDT #172 February 2011 Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover and Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker by George Lucas and Alan Dean Foster 

KoDT #173 March 2011 The Magicians by Lev Grossman

KoDT #174 April 2011 The Original Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks

KoDT #175 May 2011 "AD&D Player's Handbook by Gary Gygax and others in a Genre Genesis article" aka "Genre Genesis: The Literary Foundations of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons in the Players Handbook"

KoDT #176 June 2011 "AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual by Gary Gygax and others in a Genre Genesis article" aka "Genre Genesis: The Literary Foundations of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons in the Dungeon Master’s Guide & Monster Manual"

KoDT #178 August 2011 "Genre Genesis III" aka "Genre Genesis: The Literary Foundations of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons in the early AD&D Modules"

KoDT #179 September 2011 The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer

KoDT #180 October 2011 Master of the Macabre (lesser works of Edgar Allan Poe) (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #181 November 2011 Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things and In Ghostly Japan by Lafcadio Hearn  

KoDT #182 December 2011 "Santa Claus in Fantasy Fiction" (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #183 January 2012 Bleeding Heart Yard aka A G**damned Love Story: The Curious Case of Bleeding Heart Yard by Noah Chinn

KoDT #184 February 2012 The Belgariad by David and Leigh Eddings

KoDT #185 March 2012 Swords Against the Darkness III edited by Andrew Offutt

KoDT #186 April 2012 The Doctor and the Kid by Mike Resnick

KoDT #187 May 2012 A Tale of the House of the Wolfings, and All the Kindreds of the Mark Written in Prose and in Verse by William Morris

KoDT #188 June 2012 Black Amazon of Mars by Leigh Brackett*#

KoDT #189 July 2012 Ready One Player by Ernest Cline

KoDT #190 August 2012 The White Raven by Diana L. Paxson

KoDT #191 September 2012 The Tempus novels aka the Sacred Band series by Janet Morris (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #192 October 2012 A Guile of Dragons by James Enge

KoDT #193 November 2012 The Jewel of the Seven Stars by Bram Stoker#

KoDT #194 December 2012 Trooper #4 by Noah Chinn

KoDT #195 January 2013 The Lancashire Witches by William Harrison Ainsworth (revised and expanded here.)

KoDT #196 February 2013 The Express Diaries by Nick Marsh

KoDT #198 April 2013 Sanctuary by Lynn Abbey (revised and expanded here.)

It does seem fitting to me that I started and ended my tenure reviewing works from the Thieves' World setting.

 All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

My History Talks

 All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

This is more crass self-promotion, but if I don't promote myself my voice just dies unheard in the wilderness. Perhaps its proper fate but anyway... I thought a post letting people know where to find my talks and interviews might be of interest. I'll up date this as I give more talks and interviews. 

These are all talks on historical subjects, that were recorded and have been preserved on the web, I've given many talks over the years that were unrecorded. 

Presentations:

“Mountain Storm: Counter-insurgency and the Marine Air-Ground Task Force” Presented at Landpower Conference sponsored by the US Army War College, December 2-4, 2015

The following three talks were all given at the Historicon War College in July 2019. Videos of most of the other presentations can be found here. 

"Firepower & Mobility - Archery in Ancient Warfare" - Examining the role of archery in ancient warfare in the Mediterranean and Europe, including the factors that encouraged, and discouraged, missile warfare in societies.

"The History of War Gaming" - The history of war gaming from its earliest days in the ancient world through computer simulations, focusing on the ways commercial wargames and military training wargames have inspired each other.

"Ethical War gaming: A Discussion" - A discussion on how best to deal with ethical ‘landmines’; such as wargaming groups like the SS; or, when is it ‘too soon’ to wargame a conflict?

Interviews & Podcasts:

125th Anniversary of the Battle of Cuzco Well

I provided the narration and historical content for this Marine Corps video commemorating the Battle of Cuzco Well. 

"Giants Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Transforming the Marine Corps"

A talk about the transition of the Marine Corps from colonial infantry at the end of World War I in 1918 to an amphibious force at the start of World War II on Dec. 7, 1941. 

"Remembering Marine Valor at Pearl Harbor"

A short talk on Maj. Alan Shapley and 1st Lt. George Cannon, two officers among the many Marines cited for gallantry during the surprise attacks at Pearl Harbor and Midway on Dec. 7, 1941.

"Eagles, Globes, and Anchors – 20.Maritime Strategic Thought"

Breanne Robertson and I were interviewed about the book we co-edited, The Legacy of American Naval Power: Reinvigorating Maritime Strategic Thought, an Anthology (2019). 

I was interviewed for the Seminole Wars podcast about the Marine corps' involvement in those conflicts. The long interview was split into two podcasts:

"SW0106 Marines Earned Sea Legs in the US Frigate Navy; Engaged British, Pirates, Creeks and Seminole on Florida’s Early 1800s Gulf Coast"

"SW0107 Marines Escape Andrew Jackson’s Wrath with Timely Florida War Deployment; Show Great Value on Land/Swamps in Second Seminole War"

I was interviewed twice for the Marine Corps Association's Scuttlebutt Podcast:

#178: Paul Westermeyer talks the Grand Old Man of the Marine Corps, Archibald Henderson

#181: Walking the Road to 250 – 1840-1860. Archibald Gillespie and the California Adventure

I was interviewed for a short Marine Corps documentary on the landing at Nassau during the Revolutionary War. 

The Marines First Amphibious Landing - 1776

All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

My professional works

All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

This is crass self-promotion, but I thought a couple posts letting people know where to find my writing might be of interest. After all, if no one reads any of this it is sort of useless. So here is a short bibliography of my professional history work.  I did leave out some shorter articles and my book reviews, but this is the bulk of my professional historical writing.

Thesis:

“The development and decline of Romano-Byzantine archery from the fourth to the eleventh centuries”, Master’s Thesis, Ohio State University (1996) 

I'd like to expand on this, as a journal article, a book, or a dissertation some day.  It's my oldest work, I think I've grown as a writer and historian quite a bit since. It can be down loaded here, at the OhioLink Thesis & dissertation center. It can also be found on Medievalist.net here. 

Books:

U.S. Marines in Battle: Al-Khafji, 28 January - 1 February 1991 History Division, U.S. Marine Corps, (2008)

 This work can be downloaded for free at the MCU website here. It can also be found in various book sellers on the web. 

 

U.S. Marines in the Gulf War, 1990–1991: Liberating Kuwait History Division, U.S. Marine Corps, (2014)

This is my most significant work to date.  It can be downloaded as a free pdf at the MCU website here. It can also be found in various book sellers on the web. I was awarded the 2015 Brigadier General Edwin Simmons-Henry I. Shaw Award by the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. A scholarly review of the work on H-War can be found here.

 

Desert Voices: An Oral History Anthology of Marines in the Gulf War, 1990-1991 with Alexander Hinman, History Division, U.S. Marine Corps, (2016)

Conducting oral history interviews was one of my favorite parts of researching Liberating Kuwait. I wanted to let the Marines we interviewed speak more directly to readers, hence this work.  It can be downloaded as a free pdf at the MCU website here. It can also be found in various book sellers on the web.

 

U.S. Marines in Afghanistan, 2010–2014: Anthology and Annotated Bibliography with Christopher Blaker, History Division, U.S. Marine Corps, (2017)

Intended as a first look and primer for Marines in Afghanistan during the period noted. It can be downloaded as a free pdf at the MCU website here. It can also be found in various book sellers on the web.

The Legacy of Belleau Wood: 100 years of making Marines and winning battles, an anthology Edited by Paul Westermeyer and Breanne Robertson, History Division, U.S. Marine Corps, (2018)

It can be downloaded as a free pdf at the MCU website here. It can also be purchased through the GPO here, or in various book sellers on the web. In 2018 this work was chosen as a Notable Government Publication by the American Libraries Association (ALA) Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) Publications Committee.

The Legacy of American Naval Power: Reinvigorating Maritime Strategic Thought, an Anthology Edited by Paul Westermeyer and Breanne Robertson, History Division, U.S. Marine Corps, (2019)

I worked on both of these Legacy anthologies with Breanne Robertson, together we did a podcast about the book for the Marine Corps War College's podcast, Eagles, Globes, and Anchors. You can download that podcast here. This work can be downloaded as a free pdf at the MCU website here. It can also be purchased through the GPO here, or in various book sellers on the web.

Semper Fidelis: 250 Years of U.S. Marine Corps Honor, Courage, and Commitment Histories Branch, History Division, U.S. Marine Corps, (2025)

This was a team effort, put together by Histories Branch, Marine Corps History Division: Henry Himes, Lisa Budreau, Brian Neumann, Seth Givens, and Joshua Schroeder all contributed, a true team effort. I wrote the early history, the Gulf War, and some of the '80s, plus many of the sidebars. I also concieved the idea for the book. It is the first comprehensive official history of the Corps produced since 1966. It is not intended to be the last word on the history of the Corps - it contains a suggested reading list for further study - but provides a solid foundation for understanding our Corps' history.  You can download free pdfs or epubs, or find out how to order physical copies, here. 

The United States Marine Corps: The Expeditionary Force at War, Casemate Publishers, (2019)

 I wrote this for Casemate's Short History series, it is intended as an introduction to Marine Corps history rather than a scholarly work. I am very happy with the reception it has received, especially the reviews from Leatherneck & Wargames Illustrated magazines. It is available on Kindle and in hardback, and can be found here on Amazon.  

Articles:

"History Division’s Publications: 

Marines in the Vietnam War" Marine Corps History Vol. 1, No. 1 (2015)

A bibliographic survey of History Division's works on the Vietnam War up until 2015. It can be downloaded as a free pdf at the MCU website 

here. 

“Shattered Amphibious Dreams: The Decision Not to Make an Amphibious Landing during Operation Desert Storm” Marine Corps History Vol. 3, No. 2 (2018)

My last work on the Marines in the Gulf War, I really wanted to use that title, and I wanted to highlight the value of the Corps' amphibious feint. It can be downloaded as a free pdf at the MCU website here. 

“Every Marine a Flag Raiser: The Legacy and Meaning of the Iwo Jima Flag Raisings” Investigating Iwo: The Flag Raisings in Myth, Memory, & Esprit de Corps  History Division, U.S. Marine Corps, (2019) Co-author Dr Breanne Robertson

Dr Breanne Robertson's book on the Iwo Jima flag raising is one of History Division's 3 best books (out of over 200), in my opinion, so I'm very glad to have co-authored its concluding article with her.  This work can be downloaded as a free pdf at the MCU website here. It can also be purchased through the GPO here, or in various book sellers on the web.

 “Historiography for Marines: How Marines should read and understand histories” Marine Corps Gazette (November, 2019 Volume 103, Number 11, p78-82)

This article is something I planned for years, and I always hoped it would be published in the Gazette. I'm not sure it made the impact I hoped, but this article is near and dear to my heart. It can be downloaded here. 

“Leathernecks in Overlord: U.S. Marine Participation in the Normandy Campaign” Leatherneck (June, 2026 Volume 109, Number 6, p18-27)

I did the research for a presentation at the Normandy 75 conference in Portsmouth in 2019. When the proceedings volume from that conference never materialized I turned the paper into this article. It can be downloaded here. 

All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.