SpiralWorlds library
Books, Comics & Graphic Novels
Enter worlds shaped by epic poetry, Gothic horror, speculative fiction and sequential art. Follow landmark books, writers, heroes, villains and comic universes into the wider SpiralWorlds archive.
Curated reading
The Bookshop
Explore the books behind the stories: ancient epics, Gothic classics, speculative fiction and more.
Choose a work, then read its guide before picking an edition. Each guide identifies one checked UK edition with a clearly labelled Bookshop affiliate link; purchases through that link may earn SpiralWorlds a commission at no extra cost to you.
The Poetic Edda or The Prose Edda?
Start with the poems or with Snorri’s prose account of the myths. Both offer stories behind Norse gods, giants and heroes for readers who want to go back to the sources.
Ad – affiliate links. The selected paperbacks below link to Bookshop UK. Qualifying purchases may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Check the translation, format and current availability before ordering.
Choose this for Norse poems about creation, Ragnarök, the gods and heroes such as Sigurd. Oxford World’s Classics paperback · ISBN 9780199675340.
View paperback and price at Bookshop UK The Prose Edda — Jesse Byock translation
Choose this for Snorri’s prose account of creation and the struggles of gods, giants, dwarves and elves. Penguin Classics paperback · ISBN 9780140447552.
View paperback and price at Bookshop UK
Epic voyages and heroic lives
Exile, duty and the price of founding a homeland. The Odyssey — Emily Wilson translation
Strange islands, dangerous hosts and a long-delayed homecoming. The Iliad — Emily Wilson translation
Achilles, Hector and the grief behind the siege of Troy. Beowulf — Seamus Heaney translation
The hall at Heorot, Grendel and the dragon of the hero’s old age. Don Quixote — Edith Grossman translation
A knight and his squire find the world less obliging than romance.
Gothic and visionary literature
A creator, an abandoned creature and the consequences of refusing responsibility. Dracula — Bram Stoker
Letters, diaries and a trail of terror from Transylvania to Whitby. Paradise Lost — John Milton
Rebellion, temptation and the choices of Adam and Eve. The Divine Comedy — Dante Alighieri
A journey through Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. A Christmas Carol — Charles Dickens
Scrooge, Marley and three visitors who demand a change.
Dystopias, satire and strange voyages
A state that controls its records, language and citizens. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — Douglas Adams
Absurd bureaucracy, improbable travel and a useful towel.
Stories within stories
Scheherazade’s frame story and an opening volume of the tales.
Browse our Bookshop.org UK collections
These six public reading lists are curated by SpiralWorlds on Bookshop.org UK. They are separate from the guides above and cover more books, including source mythology, historical references, comics and books for Games Masters. Links open Bookshop.org; purchases attributed to our affiliate account may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Greek and Roman classics, Gilgamesh and Arabian tales. Myths and folklore of many worlds
Norse sources, Welsh tales and other mythic traditions. Literary worlds, Gothic tales and satire
Gothic novels, visions of the afterlife and satire. History behind the setting
Medieval societies, the ancient world and trade routes. Useful books for Games Masters
Maps, encounters, locations and practical GM advice. Graphic stories and comic worlds
Fantasy and science-fiction comics and graphic storytelling.
Reading for your next campaign
Choose a book by the story you want to run
Start with the kind of adventure you are preparing. Each link opens a review and edition recommendation, or the practical Games Master reading shelf.
Divine grudges, island encounters and the cost of getting home.
Explore The Odyssey Exiles and a disputed homeland
A refugee fleet, conflicting duties and the price of founding a new society.
Explore The Aeneid Creators and their creatures
Responsibility, rejection and a monster with a voice of its own.
Explore Frankenstein Rival houses and scarce resources
Politics, ecology and the struggle to control a vital resource.
Explore Dune Knightly ideals and comic trouble
A would-be knight, his squire and expectations that collide with reality.
Explore Don Quixote Journeys into the otherworld
A guided journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise.
Explore The Divine Comedy Help with tonight’s preparation
Compare PDF preparation tools, adventure tables and UK print books.
Choose a GM book or PDF
Written worlds
Books, epics and plays
Journey from ancient epic and classical tragedy through Gothic horror, satire and modern speculative fiction.
Writers of imagined worlds
Authors
Meet writers whose stories have shaped fantasy, science fiction, horror, adventure and the literature of imagined worlds.
Authors of imagined worlds
Discover novelists, poets, dramatists and other writers connected to the stories explored throughout SpiralWorlds.
Comic character libraries
DC and Marvel characters
Enter two large character libraries filled with heroes, villains, teams, cosmic powers and supernatural figures.
Heroes and teams
Marvel starting points
Start with eight dedicated pages for some of Marvel’s best-known heroes and teams, then continue into the full character library above.
Stories in sequential art
Comic titles and worlds
Follow distinctive comic worlds through sword-and-sorcery, dystopian law, super-hero alliances, occult horror and deconstructed heroism.
Keep the library growing
Support SpiralWorlds
If this archive helps you find stories, sources or inspiration, you can support its continued upkeep and expansion.
Find a work, writer or character
Search SpiralWorlds
Look for a title, writer, hero, villain, team or story anywhere in the wider archive.