For the young adult reader in your household, please consider the stories of Brian S. Pratt. Aside from helping me out tremendously with experiential advice when I decided to go digital with my work, the prolific Mr. Pratt has scribed several series of books -- The Morcyth Saga and The Broken Key are two of them-- and is currently involved in writing Travail of the Dark Mage -- the sequel series to The Morcyth Saga. A highly approachable and reader-oriented novelist (I cannot stress this enough!), Mr. Pratt offers both new readers and returning ones a whole wagon-load of exciting narratives, introductory material, sample chapters, free e-books, and even some no-frills versions of his work -- truly something for every taste and every budget, all available in more formats than practically any other books on the planet! Traditional bindings? E-books? Brian S. Pratt has got them! And he has more adventures on the way! Please visit him at www.morcythsaga.com and start your adventure today!

Shepard's Quest  begins with  three lads from  Quillim who stumble across an ancient burial tomb known as the King's Horde.  But in order to gain the Horde for  themselves, they learn that they must first  recover and reassemble the four segments of the fabled key that unlocks it.

The one  that started it all!  Written in 2nd-person -- much like the fantasy role-playing games that inspired it  -- The Unsuspecting  Mage  kicks off the  7-part  Morcyth Saga, where high school senior, James, finds himself spirited to a  strange world and  must use his  earthly  knowledge to survive.

As I mentioned on my Author page, I have great admiration for the Mars books of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and I encourage anyone who is interested in early "Planetary Romance" or "Sword and Planet" novels to check out at least the first three in the ERB Mars series. Below are the Michael Whelan/Ballantine Del Rey covers from the 80's, which I still think are among the most stunning of all the renditions I've seen.

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs; a Ballantine Del Rey book; ISBN: 978-0345331380

The Gods of Mars  by  Edgar Rice Burroughs; a Ballantine Del Rey book; ISBN: 978-0345324399

The Warlord of Mars by  Edgar Rice Burroughs; a Ballantine Del Rey book; ISBN: 978-0345324535

The Comic Book Heroes (From the Silver Age to the Present) by Will Jacobs and Gerard Jones; First Edition, from Crown Publishers, Inc.
ISBN: 0-517-55440-2

If you love the comics of the 1960s, as I do, below are a few of the books from my personal library that I highly recommend. The ISBNs listed may not accurately reflect any subsequent editions (especially with the Jacobs/Jones book, which I believe has since been updated), but represented here are the specific printings that I own.

Brush Strokes with Greatness: The Life and Art of Joe Sinnott, by Tim Lasiuta. Published by TwoMorrows Publishing;
ISBN: 978-1-893905-72-6

Marvel Comics in the 1960s: An Issue by Issue Field Guide to a Pop Culture Phenomenon, by Pierre Comtois. Published by TwoMorrows Publishing; ISBN: 978-1-60549-016-8

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If you'd like to take a break between reads, below are some films, documentaries, and a series or two (all available on DVD -- and many on Blu-Ray) that share a mediaevalesque flavour in one way or another. If pennies are tight, sometimes you can get a really good deal on used copies -- which I often do. Many of the films below are favourites of mine, and have helped to inspire my thinking.