Appendix N: Life Imitates Art Becoming Lost Tomes

Believe I've made mention of a quasi-participation in a virtual Appendix N Book Club. More like endeavor to read the selections and fall behind as I don't read as much nor as a fast as I used to. First month was some H.P. Lovecraft stories. The next month is LotR: The Fellowship of the Ring. This is would be more of a re-read as I read the book before the movie came out. A decade and a half ago. Time flies. Anyhoo, the following book is Andre Norton's Witch World.


Here strikes tonight's blogging inspiration.


See, awhile back when I first started buying ebooks rather than reading free public domain texts provided by Project Gutenberg, I purchased several Andre Norton Witch World books. While I didn't buy all the titles available, I made sure to get all the books with Witch World in the title.


So seeing Witch World was on the docket struck as no problem. After all, I own pretty much all of them, right?


Wrong.


The original Witch World was not among the titles. After browsing on several retailers sites, it doesn't seem available in either print or digital formats new.


Only way to read the story that began the Witch World series is to track it down in libraries and second-hand shops.


Then, I got to thinking. Many of the stories that comprise Appendix N (inspirations for Dungeons & Dragons) are old. They weren't the freshest stuff on the scene when Dungeons & Dragons debuted. Certainly, not when they were credited within the contents of the first edition AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide. Conan and the like were decades old. Readers could only read them by reading the stories collected in reprint books.


Some of the material has been reprinted recently such as the REH collections of Conan.  Merritt's Moon Pool ( both stories) was collected in mass market paperback novel form. Dark Horse published the complete Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series. Alas, all these collections were published years ago. More than likely out of print now.


Sure, much is availably digitally. Others like Witch World are not.


Much like a protagonist in an Appendix N story, one can only find them by searching through forgotten corners of libraries or bookstores that specialize in carrying forgotten wares. Used book sales are akin to browsing through the bazaar.


Perhaps it's fitting that life now imitates art. Much like Gandalf reading ancient scrolls to glean ancient secrets in old libraries, the aspiring reader who seeks to better understand the origins of Dungeons & Dragons will in turn venture out into markets off the beaten path in search of old lost tomes containing forgotten lore.


Speaking of the book that started this train of thought, Witch World, I have indeed seen the book in such a shop!


Happy Reading!


Next time.