People who would catch my interest are...
Mainstream fantasy novelists
George RR Martin
Glen Cook
Tad Williams
Robin Hobb
Greg Keyes
Comic book writers
Kurt Busiek (liked his Conan,and like his comic storylines)
Michael Brian Bendis (He handled making the Avengers more gritty well)
J Michael Strazynski - Rising Stars was great.
If Joss Whedon writes for Marvel, do you think he'd write for Paizo?
Geoff Johns or Grant Morrison
People who've written in shared worlds
Paul Kidd
Michael Stackpole - The X-Wing novels were great. Haven't been able to get into his other stuff much though.
Aaron Alston - Liked his Wraith Squadron novels, and I think he's one of the best gaming writers ever - understanding and communicating to GMs what kind of though might go into adventures and campaigns, and how to approach them.
Rich Baker - I think he writes the best adventures, and would be willing to give a novel a shot. I think he'd get the appropriate "D&D" and fantasy gaming feel. He's probably the only writer who I'd be sure to buy any adventure he wrote.
Matthew Woodring Stover - His Revenge of the Sith was better than the movie, if I recall.
You might try some authors who aren't in the fantasy field right now, like Craig Dirgo, who works with Clive Cussler on his Oregon files series, or James Rollins, Raymond Benson who wrote some entertaining James Bond books, or (good luck!) Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
I'd certainly give it a shot if one of the Paizo staffers wrote it.
I would definitely not buy it if it was written buy:
Terry Brooks
Kevin J. Anderson
Contributor
|
I think J. Gregory Keyes would do a good job. He's had work published in Dragon, after all. I'd rather see someone like him, with his own creative voice, than someone that's already written novels for a Dungeons and Dragons audience, specifically (specificly? specifickly?).
Keyes is wicked!
I also liked Heathenson's idea bout doing a collection of shorts. I really like the shorter pulp stuff that used to be so common to the fantasy/scifi genre. Actually, my favorites are the flip books with two stories back to back. That'd be killer because you could pit together author grudge matches.
I gotta say too, that I'm pretty biased towards Paizo's own staff and frequent contributors. I want to see what Paizo's regulars can do, basically because they're all good writers, swell people, and I like them. Plus anyone buying a Pathfinder Novel will already recognize their names. A lot of the novelist that folks mentioned in this thread were also game/dungeon designers.
Anyway, my author votes would be on any of the Paizo staff (though I have a strong bias for James's work) and regulars like Nick Logue, Amber Scott, Richard Pett, Wolfgang Baur, Tito Leati, and Tim and Eileen Connors. I bet Tom Ganz could write a killer novel too, provided some one shoots him a translator.
|
Stephen King--The Eyes of the Dragon is a great fantasy novel with touches of horror in it. Greyhawk meets Lovecraft.
Lois McMaster Bujold--The Curse of Chalion was great.
Tad Williams--The War of the Flowers was amazing.
I don't know the second authour, but I second the others and add previously mentioned George R. Martin.
All of them wrote often quite "harshly realistic" novels.
"War of the Flowers" is the one book of Williams I didn't read yet, but if you imagine something like "Shadowmarch"/ "Shadowplay" (feys who aren't nice and good at all, low magic, but strange mirror magic artifacts showing up, political intrigue, demi gods and noble houses plotting) and "Otherworld" (sf, but with very strange "magic" in it), there is surely much potential for very unusual campaign novels. I just fear he might be somewhat expensive. ;-)
Shadowmarch also features some nice new takes on "standard critters". For everyone who owns "Shadowplay" (Orbit books edition): keep in mind descriptions like the one on p.236 when Vansen's and Barrick's co-prisoners in the Longskull hunting camp are described for the first time. ;-)
Nothing to add to the praise to Martin.
Thinking of Stephen King: "Dark Tower" and "The Stand" are my favourites of his. "Dark Tower" is a very strange tour de force through space and time with an odd blend of wild west, medieval chivalry, and sf feel. "The Stand" is most of all one thing: apocalyptical.
Re-thinking this recommendation: A King novel surely wouldn't know shining heroes, but then the other two authours use to describe their main characters in all their complexity, too - something unfortunately not necessarily a standard in campaign setting novels... But that would answer the real question behind the question, wouldn't it? ;-)
Greetings,
Günther
|
|
Michael Stackpole - The X-Wing novels were great. Haven't been able to get into his other stuff much though.
As a youth I read his Battletech novels, definitely the best in the whole series - complex political intrigues and betrayals between star spanning noble houses and of course the usual blend of fighting descriptions.
A good choice for fast paced novels.
Greetings,
Günther
People who've worked in D&D novels before:
Douglas Niles & Elaine Cunningham. both have done excellent work, and both are fun to read.
Agreement with people who've already posted stuff:
Raymond E. Fiest would probably do a pretty good job, yeah.
Pie-in-the-Sky, odd choice that no one's mentioned yet:
Terry Pratchett. Seriously - if you've really read the diskworld books, you know that pratchett can do bizzare and amazingly unique takes on classic monsters while keeping their feel "classic."
Pratchett's dwarves, for instance, have a huge and interesting culture. Pratchett's elves are just utterly scarey (you wanna know how fay creatures should feel? go read Lords & Ladies by terry pratchett, and Summer Knight by Jim Butcher). Seriously. think about it. let it grow on you...
Oh, and if you havn't read the diskworld books, go do it now. Really.
I forgot tp mention Richard A Knaak earlier. The Dragonlance stuff he wrote seems to get a lot of praise. Haven't read any of it myself, but I've heard enough good things about it that if he wrote a Pathfinder novel, I'd pick it up.
And, I really like the idea of shorter format stories, like the pulp era length (Conan, and so on), or the novella length, like The Hedge Knight, or the Weis/Hickman novellas from the various Tales anthologies. A lot of good stuff can be done in that format, and it's easier for me to commit the time to read something of that length. I can read a whole story instead of just a few chapters, then pick up with a new story when I have time again.
Edward Bolme's "The Orb of Xoriat" was pretty excelent.
Here's another vote for him and for Don Bassingthwaite.
Please don't distract George R.R. Martin. His books come out so rarely that I can hardly stand it as it is.
|
I suppose it all depends on what sort of story you are looking for.
If the purpose is to highlight the new game world, then you need a tolkien approach. Think about it, most of tolkiens characters are pretty one-dimensional....the Lord of the Rings is really more of a tour book through middle earth, a last trip before the dawn of a new age.
If the purpose is develop interesting Iconics, then character development becomes much more important. R.A. Salvatore's take on a particular drow elf named *hack/cough* is actually a great example of good character development. He doesn't need to detail the world, or its magic, races, flora, fauna etc because its already detailed in a plethora of products.
food for thought.
Tell me even if you can't imagine yourself reading fiction based on a game. Humor me. Who would get your attention and get you to buy?
--Erik Mona
Umm .. how about ... NOT spewing perfectly good money in the drink for novels ? No offense, but with many hundreds if not thousands of basically cookie-cutter crapola 'novels' churned out for the various game lines (thank gawd for public libraries), I can remember all of about ... maybe 20 at most that were worth reading.
A rare diamond in the rough (*cough*Dragonlance*cough*Drizz't*cough*theGreyhawkonewiththedewd wearing a magical/awarehellhoundhidecloak*) hardly strikes me as worth the effort.
But, hey, I'm just a consumer. ^_^
Allow me to chime in, in agreement with my friend Turin the Mad, and grind my personal axe, that MOST of the novels written by the multitude of game companies/authors are barely worth the paper they're written on; and I think their purpose is mainly to support the 'campaign world' they're set in:) Sadly, even most of the Greyhawk novels were lousy, notwithstanding the campaign world is fantastic. 1st Edition D&D didn't have a single novel to aid it, unless you're counting Gygax's novels around the time he left TSR & after. Do we really need even more of them now??? I ask you...
|
I ask you...
short answer: yes! :)
Having just read "Bound by Iron" by Edward Bolme and "Night of the Long Shadows" by Paul Crilley, I'd like to add those authors to my voting list. The first one, if you want to have really interesting characters with a touch of Pratchett-style humor, the second one if you like a good story with quite some surprises without being erratic.
|
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
|
Tim Waggoner - I am Reading his Blood of the Flame Trilogy for Eberron and I really like his style.
I have recently started reading some of the Eberron Novels (namely the afore mentioned Blood of the Flame trilogy, The Inquisitives & The Shadows of the Last War Anthology)and those writers are all quite good and relatively unknown in this genre (the gaming novel).
Another vote for Raymond E. Feist.
I mostly borrow novels from the library these days, but I buy Feist's books. His style would be a very good match for Pathfinder too.
Raymond! Raymond! Raymond! Raymond!!!!!!!
Go Raymond E. Feist!!!!
His Midkemia books are FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!
Many many votes for him!
Dan Abnett would be another good person if he'd be interested in writing about dnd rather than Warhammer stuff.
Warmage 101
Tell me even if you can't imagine yourself reading fiction based on a game. Humor me. Who would get your attention and get you to buy?
--Erik Mona
I think "who" is less important than "what"...
Greyhawk was started by E. Gary Gygax, who wrote about a hero who never seems to appear in any portion of the game.
Earlier novels also seemed to be in an alternate universe...and some were pretty bad.
Later on, under WoTC, the novels take on the aspect of the classic adventures...which...by that time...had been played out.
I think "what" would draw my attention would be writing novels that complement the games and adventures you put out. The "bad guys" might win the day in the novel, setting the scenario for the adventure. Protagonists and antagonists both would be fair game for "consumption".
How would an author go about reporting the epilogue to launch a new adventure?
Would players report back results perhaps? West End Games had a feedback mechanism to advance the "TORG" setting. This idea could provide a never-ending supply of novels that players would be interested in, but not required to purchase, providing a real enjoyment to the game without leading them by a chain.
Well, I'll even submit something once the guidelines are up.
==============
If it is purely a matter of "who", then you will want RA Salvatore.
$$$
Depends on how you want the world to "Feel".
Gene Wolfe (maybe a bit to in depth / literary for a game world novel)
Glen Cook
Raymond E Feist
Neil Gaiman
Tell me even if you can't imagine yourself reading fiction based on a game. Humor me. Who would get your attention and get you to buy?
--Erik Mona
Let's make it a contest!
Fans could submit sample chapters, and you could select the best one to write the whole book.
After GRRM and Dan Abnetts' Warhammer 40K stuff I have lost all desire to read "Gaming" fiction. However, like always Paizo's good taste and excellent work could make me change my mind.
My most recent (2 years past) forays into gaming fiction were some of the first few Eberron novels. Among those I felt that Keith Baker did a good job. You guys might even be able to afford him.
Even if GRRM could do a Pathfinder book what would he cost? Like half a mill? (that last part was a complete guess).
After GRRM and Dan Abnetts' Warhammer 40K stuff I have lost all desire to read "Gaming" fiction.
I understand this, and to each their own, but I have but this to say:
A fine steakhouse or fancy Thai food is great, and should be enjoyed when one can, but at the same time, sometimes you just want a nice cheeseburger. Not any cheeseburger will do, mind you, but it doen't have to be a fancy, expensive cheeseburger. In fact, its the cheeseburgers that help you appreciate the five course meals. And sometimes its as much a talent to make a good cheese burger as to be a chef.
After reading some more of the posts....
Logue, Pett or maybe another one of everyone's favorite adventure authors.
These guys are creative, cool and they are quite entertaining. If I cant have wenching and beheading in my fantasy novels (Song of ice and Fire) then some cool characters and witty repartee is perhaps the next best thing.
I want to see what kinda chops Richard Pett's got.
I think an anthology in the vein of Thieve's World, with 4-5 writers doing short stories covering a few different areas of the world might be a decent idea. And anything that really shined out could merit game support and/or further novelization.
I second the approach if not the author choice, along with Logue, and other Dungeon mainstays. Tangentially episodic shorts with recurring characters (from different perspectives). I actually just finished the first couple of Thieves' World books and I really really like that style. I think it fits gaming fiction much better than a straight novelization of "Keep on the Borderlands" or whatever.
Thieves World does indeed rock.
Yep! If I cant have any of my picks from page one of this thread, I vote we do a "Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn" =type treatment. Where different authors put together 10-15000 words illustrating a corner of the place. My man Nick should get one of those spots.
You know, I have a lot of "Centipedal Force" notes that could definitely be reworked for your setting. He's even got a baby face now, to appeal to the younger demographics! Just, you know, throwing that out there.