Editing Approved Literature (section)

==Weird Stuff ==

*'''''Dante Alighieri - The Divine Comedy''''': In this section because due to genre-spinning hybrid that it is. It is also a very trippy experience. The Divine Comedy is best known for its first part, the Inferno, which pretty much codified culture and pop-culture take on Hell. Beyond that, its also a good look at Renaissance, with both its politics and fascination in antiquity. The second and third parts are much more esoteric and increasingly focused specifically on Christian theology, but worth looking into for Dante's literary skills. Some Italian madlads have even made a [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]] campaign setting out of it: see [[Inferno]] for the gory details.

*'''''David Brin - Uplift Hexology''''': A sort of really lazily worldbuilt sci-fi setting, based around the idea that a trillions-years-old galactic civilization is perpetuated by the "uplifting" of near-sentient animals and tool-using species. Every species has its specific attitude and special trait, like most bad sci-fi, except for humans and their uplifted dolphins and chimpanzees. But it does have some interesting ideas about evolution and how that could lead to truly strange forms of life and ways of thinking, if you can suffer through all the ecofanaticism.

*'''''Daniel Falconer - The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island''''': Created as a tie-in to the 2005 remake of King Kong by Peter Jackson, this book is a glorified encyclopedia that explores the geography, flora and fauna of Skull Island as depicted in the film, vastly expanding upon the pulp fantasy-influenced artificial environment designed for the film. This book is a ''goldmine'' for worldbuilding and creature design if you want to do a [[Sword & Sorcery]] or fantasy [[Stone Age]] setting, or just include a "Lost World of [[dinosaur]]s" type area in your own setting, with an incredible variety of fleshed out beasts ranging from small, inoffensive coastal grazers to apex predators. The only drawback is that it's out of print and extremely hard to find in physical copy at a non-exorbitant price.

*'''''Stephen King''''': Exactly ''which'' King books are worth recommending here is '''highly''' [[Skub |open to debate]], as he's put out a ''lot'' of novels. ''The Dark Tower'' books are fairly /tg/ adjacent (to the point they're recommended separately below, mainly due to being non-horror), and the ''Mr. Mercedes'' series is a decent model for a "supernatural detective". Note that he has also written a lot of stuff that's either not very good, or only minimally useful for /tg/ purposes (it might give you a neat idea or two to steal, but rest of the book is the sort of plot that will never work as a game). His output under the pen-name '''Richard Bachman''' shares the same issues. Adaptations are just as varied: from absolute classics, through applicable to /tg/ despite low quality, to best ignored.
**'''''[[The Dark Tower]]''''': King is normally known primarily for his horror writing, and recommended as such above, and while the Dark Tower does have its horrifying moments, it has much more than that. This book series is part Western, part Adventure, part Sci-Fi, part Fantasy, etc. The premise is that the last living Gunslinger, Roland Deschain, must reach the Dark Tower and prevent its collapse, or else all of reality will fall with it. With his friends plucked from different points in history to fight at his side, they face off against a gamut of bizarre enemies, including an evil wizard, various demons, a homicidal train AI, and even Dr. Doom robot furries armed with lightsabers and explosive golden snitches (no that is not an exaggeration, that is a very literal description). Even King himself appears in the book series, with his real life car accident being an important plot point. The story’s dimension-hopping premise makes for a good TTRPG - which is why [[The Dark Tower]] RPG exists.