I have been slowly working on compiling a list of inspirational reading based on what has been recommended in the various Dungeons and Dragons books. When I left off, I was working through the authors listed in Appendix N of the Advanced D&D Dungeon Master's Guide. Next up for consideration is Leigh Brackett.
Leigh Brackett is one of the authors that is listed only by name in the DMG and is another one of the authors that crosses genres. Like a lot of the pulp authors of the 1940s to 1960s, she wrote science fiction that incorporated a lot of fantasy elements. Not surprising, since she was partly influenced to write by Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars books. She didn't stop there, though. She wrote hard-boiled detective stories, westerns, and numerous screenplays, including a draft of The Empire Strikes Back.
That Gygax includes her here without listing any suggestions is not surprising. A lot of the authors he recommends are classic writers from the pulp sci-fi era. The lack of suggestions leaves me in a bit of a lurch, though. She was extremely prolific. I haven't read much of her stuff yet, despite having a few things on the reading shelf. So I'm going to add quite a few entries for her.
Reading synopses online, I eliminated some of her novels. The crime and western novels are off the list. The other big category I removed is the screenplays. Eventually I may include some movies on the list, but I really want to focus on the solely written material first.
The planetary adventure novels are a given, especially the Eric John Stark stories. The Long Tomorrow is good reading for a post-apocalyptic game. The short fiction is on the list for now. Eventually some of these might fall off the list as I read them, but for now I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Most of the short stories have been anthologized, many of them in multiple books. Where I own an anthology that contains the story, the anthology and the story are in the list in bold. Other stories have either one or more anthologies that I know contain them or the original publication listed. I know there are other anthologies I haven't listed. If anyone knows of ones I have omitted, please let me know.
A few of the anthologies and most of the full novels are available as ebooks from Baen books. The online samples for the anthologies are often one or more complete stories contained in the anthology. The samples for the books are typically the first chapter or chapters.
-----. "The Ark of Mars" - published as part of Alpha Centauri or Die!
-----. Beyond Mars (Baen Books ebook) - contains "No Man's Land in Space," "Child of the Green Light," "Outpost on Io," "The Halfling," "The Dancing Girl of Ganymede"
-----. Lorelei of the Red Mist: Planetary Romances - contains "The Blue Behemoth," "Thralls of the Endless Night," "The Jewel of Bas," "The Veil of Astellar," "Terror Out of Space," "The Vanishing Venusians," "Lorelei of the Red Mist," "The Moon That Vanished," "The Beast-Jewel of Mars," "Quest of the Starhope," "The Lake of the Gone Forever," "The Dancing Girl of Ganymede"
-----. Martian Quest (Baen Books ebook) - "Martian Quest," "The Treasure of Ptakuth, "Water Pirate," "The Sorcerer of Rhiannon," "The Veil of Astellar," "The Beast-Jewel of Mars," "The Last Days of Shandakor," "Mars Minus Bisha," "The Road to Sinharat," "Purple Priestess of the Mad Moon"
-----. Martian Quest: The Early Brackett - contains "Martian Quest," "The Treasure of Ptakuth," "The Tapestry Gate," "The Stellar Legion," "The Demons of Darkside," "Water Pirate," "Interplanetary Reporter," "The Dragon-Queen of Venus," "Lord of the Earthquake," "No Man’s Land in Space," "A World is Born," "Retreat to the Stars," "Child of the Green Light," "The Sorcerer of Rhiannon," "Child of the Sun," "Out of the Sea," "Cube from Space," "Outpost on Io," "The Halﬂing," "The Citadel of Lost Ships"
-----. Sea-Kings of Mars and Otherworldly Stories - contains "The Sorcerer of Rhiannon," "The Jewel of Bas," "Terror Out of Space," "Lorelei of the Red Mist," "The Moon That Vanished," "Sea-Kings of Mars," "Queen of the Martian Catacombs," "Enchantress of Venus," "Black Amazon of Mars," "The Last Days of Shandakor," "The Tweener," "The Road to Sinharat"
-----. Shannach–the Last: Farewell to Mars - contains "The Truants," "The Citadel of Lost Ages," "The Woman from Altair," "The Shadows," "The Last Days of Shandakor," "Shannach—the Last," "Mars Minus Bisha," "Runaway," "The Tweener," "Last Call from Sector 9G," "The Queer Ones," "All the Colors of the Rainbow," "The Road to Sinharat," "Purple Priestess of the Mad Moon," "Come Sing the Moons of Moravenn," "How Bright the Stars," "Mommies and Daddies"
-----. Swamps of Venus (Baen Books ebook) - contains "The Stellar Legion," "Interplanetary Reporter," "The Dragon-Queen of Venus," "The Citadel of Lost Ships," "Terror Out of Space," "The Vanishing Venusians," "Lorelei of the Red Mist," "The Moon that Vanished"
-----. Stark and the Star Kings and Other Stories - contains "Stark and the Star Kings," "Enchantress of Venus," "The Lake of the Gone Forever," "Child of the Sun," "Retreat to the Stars," "The Jewel of Bas"
Brackett is one of my favorites.