Five books that made me

Ask any reader to narrow down the books that influenced them the most to just five and this will usually cause them break out into a cold sweat, and I’m no different. However, I’ve done my best to keep this list lean enough to match the digits on one hand.

For those who don’t know me, I’m Steve Pannett, a self-published author of gritty fantasy fiction books and long-time creative designer. This post is my love-letter to five books that left their mark on me, both as a reader and a writer. You ready? Let’s go!

1. The Beast from the East – R. L. Stine

I’m reliably informed that the original Goosebumps series was comprised of 62 books, but to nine-year old me it felt like that catalogue was utterly and wonderfully endless. Of course, what really happened was I was reading and then rereading the entire collection on a near-endless loop, such was my affinity with the pulpy, kid-lit “horror” nature of them. Some people will say they had books that had a formative impact during their childhood, well these books were my childhood.

And seeing as I had to pick just one, I let my mind wander in order to dredge up just a single title to put on this list. I remembered Monster Blood (basically evil Flubber, for any fellow millenials reading this) and I thought briefly of Ghost Beach, but the most prominent and striking recollection was of The Beast from the East.

I can’t remember specifics, but I think the book followed some unfortunate children who found themselves in a fantasy (or maybe alien) woodland that was populated by the titular beasts. Again, the exact story is lost to my crumbling memory, but there was jeopardy involved around the notion that whoever was dubbed “the beast” by sunset would be subject to the forfeit of being eaten. Essentially, a big old game of “it” – but the loser gets devoured.

I don’t know why that book became lodged in the dusty recesses of my brain. Maybe it was the cover art (the evil koala-thing must’ve left an impression) or maybe it was the pace and ever-constant threat in the storytelling. Either way, I still have a soft spot for the entire Goosebumps series, which hooked me as an avid reader from a very young age (and also a quick shout-out to the copycat series, Shivers, whose entire catalogue also made its way onto my reading/re-reading carousel).

2. The Lord of the Rings – J. R. R. Tolkien

I know this will be on 99% of fantasy authors’ lists, but that just goes to show how influential a certain Professor Tolkien was in this genre (and across fiction, in general). I first read the LOTR when I was far to young to understand either much of the story, or the significance of how that story was told. I remember the edition I had was the 1988 hardback, single volume of the entire trilogy (as pictured above, although I had to lift this image from the internet as I don’t know where my copy is) and I remember that particular tome weighed so much that it broke the fabric handle of my book bag.

However, I reread The Lord of the Rings when I was a teenager and—like many fantasy fans—it properly left its mark from there. I still found the prose a bit flowery and convoluted for my specific reading tastes (a sign of when it was written, as much as it is of Tolkien’s intensely-detailed writing style) but I couldn’t deny how profoundly it had shaped both me, and fiction itself, since.

3. Legend – David Gemmell

Anyone who has spent more than five minutes with me knows how much I feel indebted to David Gemmell’s writing. I even remember exactly how I was introduced to his work in the first place; I was in secondary school (probably my early/mid-teen years) and a friend came into a chemistry lesson just before it was due to start. He handed me a book and said I should give it a go (I think prompted by a conversation we’d had a few days prior). That book was The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend.

I had no idea who the fuck Druss the Legend was, and I had never heard of the author, David Gemmell, but I was so intrigued that I remember stealing looks at the book and reading random snippets while our chemistry teacher droned on about stuff I had precisely zero interest in. I took the book home that evening and read it in one setting.

That weekend I went to the local charity shop and bought every book by Gemmell I could find—and chief among them was his debut, Legend.

I’ve heard Gemmell’s work described as “popcorn fantasy” (meant in a positive light) and I’ve seen it criticised for being too simplistic or overly reductionist. All of those assessments are valid, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. The Drenai saga, the Rigante series, any one of the standalones, Gemmell’s entire back catalogue should be devoured by every fantasy fan out there.

And if you want my advice, start with Legend.

4. On Writing – Stephen King

Again, it feels a bit cliché for an author to cite a book about writing as one that influenced him the most, but that’s just how the cookie crumbled for me. I have read Mr King’s catalogue widely, and though I have nothing but praise for the likes of IT, The Stand and The Dark Tower series, none of them quite left a mark on me like his semi-autobiographical On Writing did.

The reason it resonated so much because it wasn’t written like a textbook. While it acknowledges the need for writing to be both a craft and a skill, it didn’t reduce it to a task or a job. At its core, the book insists that good writing can only come from a place of love. Love for both writing and reading. Any other starting point will be soulless and empty.

This sentiment played a big part in me deciding to take my own writing one step further. Prior to reading it, I’d only ever been writing for me. It was just something I did as a bit of fun. No different to reading a book, playing a video game, or doing something fun with friends. On Writing made me realise I actually had a really solid foundation…because I really enjoyed writing.

From there, I have never once considered my writing as a money-making venture, or something to give me status. Fame and fortune. If that stuff comes with the journey then that would of course be wonderful, but after reading King’s book I made a promise to myself that I will only ever write if I’m enjoying doing it.

So far, so good.

5. Best Served Cold – Joe Abercrombie

This one won’t come as a surprise to anyone who has read my own books, as I think Joe Abercrombie’s influence is probably quite tangible as you read them. That’s not because I’m trying to be a copycat or some shitty tribute act, but because Joe’s books were the first that I’d read in the fantasy genre where gallows humour, extreme violence and a world where not everyone gets what they deserve (at either end of that particular spectrum) was not only possible, but also bloody good fun to read.

I had always associated “grimdark” with its purported Warhammer 40k origins, and therefore considered it just too endlessly bleak for my tastes, but reading both the First Law books and The Shattered Sea series really opened my eyes to a genre of fantasy where things could be both grim, but also weirdly warm. Dark, but still funny. Crushing and devastating, but still thoroughly entertaining.

Not only that, but Joe Abercrombie’s character work is arguably the strongest out there. He writes fully-rounded people, rather than just fantasy caricatures or archetypes. Heroes make incredibly questionable decisions, villains have understandable (even relatable) motivations and almost everyone is both a product of and victim to their own personality, at some point along the way. It’s so close to being a mirror held up to actual humans that the books might as well flash dangerously in bright sunlight.

And the best of his work (so far), in my mind, is Best Served Cold, one of the three standalone novels that gets sandwiched between the original First Law trilogy and the Age of Madness trilogy – a nine-book series that, to me, is one of the greatest, most entertaining works of fiction available today.

So those are my five books! I’d love to hear what books are close to your heart. Connect with me on social media and let me know, or stick a comment in the box below!

📚✌🏻SP

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