You can also get all the Fine Deadlands, Hell on Eart, etc. products at PEG HQ.
Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series is a fabulous read for REALLY interesting characters, consepts, and
scenes that are very "Deadlands'esque". With the exception that it's a little more "glass half full" then Deadlands
tends to be. None the less a FABULOUS read! (1: Seventh Son , 2: Red Prophet , 3: Prentice Alvin, 4: Alvin Journeyman, 5: Heartfire.)"The Dark Tower Series" by Steven King (About a gunslinger named Roland.) is a very good read once it gets rolling. Part 1: The Gunslinger, Part 2: The Drawing of Three, Part 3: The WasteLands, and Part:4 Wizard and Glass. You can also get Parts 1 - 3 in one paperback. ((Suggested by "Tallest John")) The List of 7 by Mark Frost: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and a mysterious companion confront a murderous, black-magic using cabal in Victorian England. "Some good ideas, but not very Western." ((Suggested by Friedrich VonStaat)) The 6 Messiahs by Mark Frost: "Sequel to the List of 7. All over the best analog to Deadlands I have seen anywhere." Sir Arthur Conan Doyle travels to the American West to stop a cult leader and his army of goons from
destroying the world. "Contains a rabbi, gunslinger, and kick-ass zen swordsman, amoung other colorful characters. The lead baddie actually seems to be harrowed. (i.e. - Came back from the dead with mysterious powers and evil intent. He even uses the 'infestation' power to kill someone in the first chapter.)" ((Suggested by Fridrich VonStaat)) Anti-Ice by Steven Baxter: A steampunk novel in which England discovers a fuel of incredible power in the antarctic. ((Suggested by Fridrich VonStaat)) Note from Michelf: Last I checked this title was OUT OF STOCK. The Steampunk Trilogy by Paul Di Fillipo: "Only the first story is real steampunk- a mad scientist createates a beautiful (and rather frisky) woman from a newt. Hey, and she looks just like Queen Victoria. Hijinks ensue. Watch for the various malfunctioning weapon-canes he invents; also note the nuclear powered train- in 1863!" ((Suggested by Fridrich VonStaat.)) The Difference Engine by Bruce Sterling and William Gibson: "Rather enjoyable alternate history in which Charles Babbage's mechanical computer actually works, and the computer revolution occurs a century early. Light on plot, but a fun read." ((Suggested by Fredrich VonStaat)) The Drastic Dragon of Draco Texas by Elisabeth Scarborough: (OUT OF PRINT) "I had high hopes
for this but it's more comedy than horror or western." A remote trading post is threatened by a dragon. Plucky women use brains rather then violence to deal with the threat, and discover the dragon's true nature. ((Suggested by Friedrich VonStaat)) Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier , "a recent bestseller, is a civil war novel about a rebel deserter's trek across the south. It could easily could be called a wierd southern novel- while no supernatural stuff happens, there is a pervasive feeling of danger and dread. That's just the kind of feeling deadlands should have." - Friedrich
VonStaat An anthology called It Came From the Drive-In contains a short story about a gang of outlaws sucked into a demon's twisted parody of the old west, where they are forced to act out classic stereotyped roles. The
demon, of course, gets to be sherriff. includes a man-eating tumbleweed." - VonStaat The Alienist by Caleb Carr. "Although it doesn't contain any weirdness or steampunk is it's a great book about a serial killer in New York City in 1896. It really gives you a good feel of what the cities were like." - ? Dry Water by Eric S. Nylund. "While it's about magic in the modern west, there are quite a few encounters with old western ghosts.--in one scene, the characters make a fire with wood from a hangin' tree, and the sticks turn to bones as they burn. Great image. Also, a real deadlands-esque scene where they are attacked by the ghosts of a snake-oil salesman and the people he killed with his poisonous elixers--the salesman has broken glass from his remedy bottles instead of teeth. Creepy." - Prolific reader VonStaat Brittle Innings is a southern gothic horror/baseball novel- about a mute pitcher on a triple-A baseball team in WWII Georgia who discovers that the team's hulking first baseman is actually frankenstein's
monster." - VonStaat
Hoyle's Modern Encyclopedia of Card Games; Rules of All the Basic Games and Popular Variations.
(Let me tell you, there's more then one book of games. Try going to Amazon.com and doing a search with the word "Hoyle") Having trouble naming your Deadlands PC? Be it a he or a she of any nationality, take a look at The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook. Think of it as the professional version of the "Name your child" books, because it not only gives names, surnames, etc, but the meanings and common history of the words... ((Suggested by Benjamin Schollnick)) Time/Life Sceries: The Old West: (OUT OF PRINT) Everybody and their dog who plays Deadlands wants to get their hands on this wonderful 26 Vol. set. A must as far as referance material go. ((Psst! Follow the link above to Bibliofind!)) Time/Life Echoes of Glory Series Illustrated Atlas of the Civil War, Arms and Equipment of the Union, Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy. (Suggested by BrickRedLeg.)
They Saw The Elephant: Women in the California Goldrush
Some Went West, More positive female rollmodels of the Old West.
Black Hats and White Hats : Heroes and Villains of the West. A wonderful quick historical reference with lots of pictures and info! ((Suggested by Rob.))
"You're all at a bar when . . ." Saloons of the Old West by Richard Enfoes. ((I forget who's web page I saw the title of this book on.))
The American West in the Nineteenth Century/255 Illustrations from 'Harper's Weekly' and Other
Contemporary Sources from the Dover Pictoral Archive. Dover is your friend, they have lots and lots of books out with period images of all kinds!!!
America's Historic Trails: With Tom Bodett. "This companion to the 13-part PBS series (See
Suggested Viewing Section.) leads travelers and history buffs along historic trails and wagon roads used by explorers, patriots, slaves, and gold seekers. The book follows ten actual routes that still exist, including El
Camino Real, the Wilderness Road, the Mormon Trail, and the California and Gold Rush trails. Practical travel information is highlighted. 80 color photos. 20 maps."
The Civil War Supply Catalogue: A Comprehensive Sourcebook of Products from the Civil War Era
Available Today. This book makes me drool. Can you tell I'm a LARP'er?
The Big Book of the Weird Wild West: (Paradox Press/DC Comics 1998.) Like others in the Big Book
series, this large volume retells dozens of interesting and/or funny western tales and legends in comics form. Nasty gunfighters, cannibals, Indian legends, tall tales, and weird folks abound. (From the PEG website)
Mad Amos: by Alan Dean Foster, YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK! I loved reading this book. It's a collection of short stories revolving around Amos Mallone, whom some call mad. Amos is a Mountain Man in the days when such men were growing rare. Not to mention he was something of a mountain of a man to begin with. The very first story is the best one of them all in my opinion. Marshals who have players that play "normal" characters and complaine that they have nothing to do but shoot people (or don't complaine but just kill kill kill) because they have no "mojo" of their own should read how Amos deals with the Chineese Dragon. It may make them feel better and/or put them in a new mindset.The Flight of Michael McBride: by Midori Snyder (Tor Books 1995). A wild mixture of Native American and Old World legendary, as a young Irish-American man is pursued across the Old West by malevolent forces from the Unseelie Court of faerie. (The Unseelie, if you didn't already know are not as nice as the Seelie Court . . . Although, if the old stories are to be believed, that's really not saying much.) The Haunted Mesa: by Louis L'Amour (Bantam Books 1987) A modern-day story dealing with the Anasazi, the mysterious ancestors of the Navajo who disappeared before the coming of the white man. The Circus of Dr Lao: At the turn of the century Dr. Lao's circus travels to a tiny town to astonish the residents with such exhibits as Medusa, Pan, a Yeti, and the (?) Loch Ness Monster. The inspiration for a slightly more light hearted movie (see the movie section.) with Tony Randal. The Mound and The Curse of Yig: by H.P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop (revisions set in modern day Oklahoma) are suggested by name. But you could prolly go with anything that has Lovecraft's name on it for over all feel. Shadow on the Sun: Venerable fantasist Richard Matheson has turned to westerns of late, and this one features a malevolent Indian spirit. Walking Wolf: A strange tale of a white boy, raised by Indians, who just happens to be a werewolf. Featuring a vampire gunslinger, a mad monster-hunter, and lots of violence. The White Buffalo: Richard Sale's novel preceded his screenplay (see the movie section) of the same title, and in some ways it's even better. There's an excellent glossary of Sioux terms at the end. Logan Winters' Spectros Series consist of four strange pulp-occult-western novels. (Silverado, Hunt the Beast Down, Natchez, and The Silver Canyon.) They feature a good magician and his companions chasing an evil sorcerer across the Old West. Both magicians are shape-changers, and there are no shortages of gunplay or monsters. Confederacy of the Dead: A collection of Civil War short horror stories from various different authors such as Anne McCaffery, Michael Moorcock, and Karl Wagner, to name a few. Some of these stories are less "horrific" then others. One involves a little girl's view of her father's home comming. She doesn't recognise him as her father, and since his jaw had been blown off and replaced with a wooden one she calls him "the nutcracker". Another has a Confederate scout by the name of Adrian Becker who introduces a very interesting way of dealing with the undead. (Involving a herd of very hungry hogs.) Exorcisms & Ecstasies: By Karl Edward Wagner contains a couple of stories and fragments of his Gothic Western character, Adrian Becker. (See Confederacy of the Dead Above.) Devil's Tower: By Mark Sumner, (1996 Del Rey) a comming of age type story in a very Deadlandsy world. The front cover of the 1st edition paper back likens it to Orson Scott Cards Alvin Maker series. And if you like the Alvin Maker world you'll like "the West that never was". "The turning point of the Civil War had come when the bodies got up at Shiloh. Dangerous magic had risen on a flood of blood and violence, and it swept across the land, washing away all but the strong and the lucky. Unnatural powers had been loosed, and nothing would ever be the same again. Town out west were dying faster then mayflies in June. To survive the perils of the frontier - bandits, hexes, marauders, and conjurations - folks needed a strong sheriff. And any lawman who expected to survive had better have a fast gun and a talent for magic." Devil's Engine: By Mark Sumner (1997 Del Rey) (OUT OF PRINT IN THE US) The sequil to Devil's Tower above. "Singers and scribblers and chatterors called up nightmare conjurations more dreadful than those that already roamed the unsettled land. Even a bullet-stopping sheriff with as much talent as Jake Bird was hard-pressed to keep Medicine Rock going when towns from Canada to Mexico were being abandoned. Unknown to the settlers, a greater calamity yet was stalking them. Using Buffalo Bill Cody as his agent, robber baron Jay Gould was laying tracks for America's first transcontinental railroad. Medicine Rock was chosen as the rail point where East would meet West. But the honor concealed catastrophe, for with his strange blue-green steel rails, Gould intended to rob the entire territory of its magic." Trails In Darkness: By Robert E. Howard, A collection of short stories in the Horror Western vien. Dead in the West: by Joe Lansdale, disgusting, graphic, heart wrentching in some places, a great read. This is the tale of a "Grim Servent 'O Death" type preacher man who has big time issues with his past. He wanders into a small town just in time for some big time revenge to be wreaked upon the townsfolk by a fella they hung a few months past. The Hawkline Monster: A fairly quiet but surprisingly modern-sounding tale of a mind-bending energy creature. The thing lives in the cellar of a house owned by sisters who, along with the cowpoke assassins they hire to kill the creature, are psychically befuddled at every turn by the misunderstood monster. Razored Saddles: (OUT OF PRINT) "Steampunk" type Sci Fi novel. The Magic Wagon: (OUT OF PRINT) A much quieter Joe Lansdale western about a tiny travelling circus carting around the petrified body of Wild Bill Hickok.
Dead in the West: (2 issues, Dark Horse Comics 1993-1994) Science fiction author Neal Barrett Jr. and
artist Jack Jackson (both Texans) adapt Joe Lansdale's zombie western novel. (See above)Desperadoes: (5 issues Homage/Image Comics 1997-1998, Collected edition 1998) This brief
horror-western series reads like a superhero team comic, with lots of action and wisecracking from its typically
diverse cast: ex-marshall, ex-prostitute, ex-slave, and Pinkerton detective. They're hunting a serial killer who may
or may not gain supernatural powers from (gasp) skinning children. The final issue is an intriguingly different
ghost story.