100 Books Like The Worm Ouroboros

Between 602 and 628 AD, the Byzantine Empire fought a long and grueling war with their neighbors and rivals to the east, the Sassanian Persian Empire.

The Byzantines were on the back foot for most of the war and lost a majority of their territory to the Persian onslaught. But at the eleventh hour, the emperor Heraclius led a daring counterattack deep into the Persian heartland. This is the best and most comprehensive account of one of the most dramatic wars of the entire early Byzantine period.

Howard-Johnston makes brilliant use of difficult and scattered sources to tell the story. His account of the war showcases the resilience of Byzantine institutions. I couldn’t put it down.

This is a superb example of what a multi-author compilation can achieve: wide coverage, specialist knowledge of a variety of topics and approaches, and thus fascinating details from around the world of medieval warfare. And what it lacks (in coherent overview and broad comparative approach) is supplied by my own book! I think of this as a good companion to my own more global, comparative, and theory-based account of medieval war and conflict.

So if you want to get away from academic historians and go straight to the sources, this is a great place to start. The Tale of the Heike is the epic story, developed over centuries by Japanese storytellers, of the great war between the Taira clan and the Minamoto clan for dominance in Japan in the Genpei War of 1180-1185, the war from which emerged the first samurai-centered government in Japanese history, the Kamakura. Full of colorful characters, dramatic battle scenes, and betrayal-soaked politics, it gives an authentic window onto medieval warfare.

Academic books too dry? Primary sources too intimidating? Find a copy of Under the Hog, a historical novel set in the War of the Roses in 15th century England that is perhaps the best historical novel ever — certainly the best written by a pseudonymous author! It gives a variety of close-up views of medieval combat, politics, and culture, and is a favorite among folks who think that king Richard III of England (yes, the evil hunchback of Shakespeare’s depiction) got a reputational raw deal from the Bard. 

With an equal mix of strangeness and enigmatic philosophies, this short novel barely sold a hundred copies when it was first published in 1920, but has since been recognized as a unique work by noted critic Colin Wilson. Once you’ve read it, you’ll find it both hard to categorize and understand, but it sticks to you like the remnants of a drugged-out fever dream. 

The story of a mysterious man named Maskull, who travels to a planet called Tormance, a world both wondrous and strange. Even though it’s written as a travelogue, the sheer originality invokes an atmosphere of hidden, yet unattainable knowledge for both the protagonist and the reader. The abrupt ending itself neither answers anything nor brings the story to a conclusion, and it’s an experience you won’t soon forget.

I read this book at sixteen and fell in love with it.

A romance written in 1912, it’s a story of adventure, action, and love. The sun has died; humanity dwells in an enormous pyramid surrounded by Forces of Evil, awaiting its force field to die, so they can feed on both the inhabitants’ bodies and souls. The hero’s long-lost love has been reborn in another, dying pyramid across the Night Land. He must travel to rescue her.

One of the Great Books, it’s marred by the archaic language the writer chose to employ. But it’s beautiful, awesome, and magnificent.

I loved it so much, I rewrote it in more modern language years ago. Mine’s available, but if you can get through the original, I highly recommend it.

The first in a series of science fantasy novels, the works of Vance are largely unknown to the general public, but this particular set of stories has some very influential fans, like George RR Martin (the author of A Game of Thrones), and Gary Gygax (who invented Dungeons & Dragons).
In The Dying Earth, Vance has created a unique system of magic, in which a wizard must memorize a lengthy spell in his mind that disappears from memory once it is cast. This and other innovations along with unique characters and worldbuilding has created an endearing tale that has thrilled readers since it was first published in 1950.

If you want to know where today’s top sci-fi and fantasy authors got their influence from, look no further than Jack Vance.

If you want to know the origins of Star Trek and the Alien movies, look no further. It’s essentially a mash-up of short stories with an encompassing theme. Set centuries in the future, the diverse human crew of the Space Beagle encounters hostile aliens as they explore the universe.

Each sub-story sometimes presents it from the alien’s perspective, and what a unique set of monsters they are! These various creatures run loose onboard the ship, and they possess incredible powers that could wipe everyone out. The protagonist uses a new generalist philosophy called Nexialism to defeat each one in turn. Sounds familiar? Of course it does, because this is the book that started it.

This classic work, first published in the 1960s, interprets Shakespeare’s work as portraying societies corrupted by injustice, cynical political maneuvering, and government surveillance. When it first appeared in the 1960s, it made Shakespeare’s plays seem chillingly relevant. It has the same effect today.

I love anything that explores issues of identity, how we define ourselves and others. Throw in a subtle questioning of the ‘truth’ of our most treasured memories, and I am completely hooked. Jorge Louis Borges does all that in this irresistible short story where it is possible for a person to have access to Shakespeare’s memory. As wondrous as this sounds for scholars of Shakespeare’s work, the reality is actually much more mundane and troubling.