John Gwynne’s 10 Essential Reads for Everyone: Exclusive Picks Across Fantasy and Horror
The books that opened fantasy
Gwynne names Lloyd Alexander’s five-book Chronicles of Prydain as his gateway to fantasy. “I LOVE these books, and they were my gateway to fantasy,” he said. The series begins with The Book of Three, published in 1964, and introduces Taran, an assistant pig-keeper drawn into a fight to protect Prydain.
Across the sequence, Taran faces mistakes, responsibilities and difficult choices. Princess Eilonwy and other supporting characters bring humor and energy to the journey, while The High King received the Newbery Medal.
Epic worlds and Gothic unease
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings follows Frodo and his companions as they seek to destroy the One Ring. Its three volumes are The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. Languages, histories, songs and cultures give Middle-earth depth beyond the central quest.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula shifts the mood to Gothic horror. First published in London in 1897, it begins with solicitor Jonathan Harker visiting Transylvania to help Count Dracula buy property. Journals, letters and other documents reveal the danger as Dracula moves toward England.
Horror and historical fiction
Stephen King’s ’Salem’s Lot, published on October 17, 1975, centers on writer Ben Mears’s return to his hometown in Maine. He hopes to face memories connected to the Marsten House, but a new horror spreads through the town as residents disappear or change.
Gwynne has said in earlier interviews that reading King when he was young gave him a lasting affection for creepy horror. Manda Scott’s four Boudica novels offer a different kind of darkness, reimagining the British tribal queen’s revolt against Roman rule. The series starts with Dreaming the Eagle and continues with Dreaming the Bull, Dreaming the Hound and Dreaming the Serpent-Spear.
Key points
- Gwynne calls Chronicles of Prydain his gateway to fantasy.
- The High King won the Newbery Medal.
- Dracula tells its story through letters, journals and other documents.
- Scott’s Boudica series follows a revolt against Roman rule.