Our book's not out yet, but why not give you something to read in the meantime? The following come recommended from the authors. By buying them here, you can help to support this website.
The Call of Cthulhu, H. P. Lovecraft - A selection of Lovecraft's finest stories, edited and with annotations from S. T. Joshi, the world's finest Lovecraft scholar. This one includes "The Hound", the first story to mention the Necronomicon, as well as such classics as "Herbert West - Reanimator", "The Call of Cthulhu", and my personal favorite, "The Haunter of the Dark". (Dan)
The Thing on the Doorstep, H. P. Lovecraft - More annotated stories from the master of terror, including "The Music of Erich Zann", "The Dunwich Horror", and "At the Mountains of Madness" (Dan)
Lord of a Visible World, H. P. Lovecraft and S. T. Joshi - Through tens of thousands of letters, Lovecraft kept in touch with people across the United States, discussing subjects ranging from his personal history to literature to history to philosophy. Joshi takes excerpts from these letters and strings them together to create a biography in Lovecraft's own words. (Dan)
Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos - Features stories set in Lovecraft's fictional universe. Read stories by Lovecraft, those from his writing circle, and others by such forgotten authors as Colin Wilson, Philip Jose Farmer, Ramsey Campbell, and Stephen King.
Dagon - Award-winning southern author Fred Chappell, and guest of honor at NecronomiCon, is also a writer of outstanding Lovecraftian fiction. Check out his Southern Gothic treatment of Lovecraft's Innsmouth Cycle in his novel Dagon. (John)
(For John's comments on this book, see his essay on Stuart Gordon's movie Dagon.)
Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, Jeremy Black and Anthony Green - An excellent reference to the Mesopotamian pantheon. It doesn't relate directly to the Simon Necronomicon, but looking up some of the references that Simon makes may open your eyes.(Dan)
Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, Samuel Noah Kramer and Diane Wolkstein - For those with an interest in genuine Sumerian magic and religion (as opposed to the bogus crap in the Simon book), this book will provide a rich background in Mesopotamian history, mythology, and sexuality. Compare Kramer's and Volkstein's profile of Inanna/Ishtar to the slanderous rubbish written about Her in the Simon Necronomicon. (John)
The Sumerian Language, Marie-Louise Thomsen - This is the best all-around introduction to the Sumerian language, its history and grammatical structure that I've found so far. It is also useful for an understanding of how badly Simon butchered the syntax, grammar, phonetic spelling, and (theoretical) pronunciation of Sumerian in his pitiful Necronomicon hoax. Most highly recommended indeed. (John)
The Book of Black Magic, Arthur Edward Waite - For a look at what real grimoires looked like, check out this work by Waite. This provides you with a sampling of the sort of writing and spells that appeared in these books. Waite's writing itself is not recommended. (Dan)
Psychic Self-Defense, Dion Fortune
Real Magic, Isaac Bonewits - Simply the best general textbook and overview of magic written in modern times. Bonewits explains why and how magic and religion work, how Pagan religions may have more magical voltage than the monotheistic newcomers, and how the antiquity and popularity of a deity, a belief, or a magical system may determine its level of power.(John)
For the record, we don't advocate these books, but we want you to make up your own minds on them.
Necronomicon by Simon - It's not real Sumerian religion, and it's not real Lovecraft. It is the most popular Necronomicon hoax out there. (Dan)
The Necronomicon Spellbook by Simon - A slim book that, I have been assured, is useless for those who know something about magic. In fact, this is by Simon's own admission. Read a review of it here. (Dan)
Al Azif - Filled with calligraphy, this book purports to be Alhazred's Necronomicon translated into a fictional Middle Eastern dialect. (Dan)
Necronomicon by H. R. Giger - Well, I suppose we can support this one. A collection of creepy art from the man responsible for Alien. Yes, that one. (Dan)
Brotherhood of the Wolf DVD - Probably the best historical conspiracy horror martial arts action movie ever made. Yes, it's not always historically accurate, but it's a beautiful film with a stunning plot. (Dan)
Ghostbusters DVD - Who you gonna call? A darkly funny look at the supernatural. John tends to compare our own exploits to this movie. (Either that or Patton.) This movie will be reviewed in the new edition of the Necronomicon Files, and comes highly recommended by both of us. (Dan)
Dagon DVD - John recommends this adaptation of Lovecraft's "The Shadow over Innsmouth", and has written an essay on its merits and symbolism.
Call of Cthulhu, Sandy Petersen and Lynn Willis - You too can brave the terrors of space, fight the Great Old Ones, and experience the terrors of the Necronomicon! This classic game requires nothing more than this book, pencil, paper, dice, friends, and your imagination. (Dan)
Call of Cthulhu, Monte Cook and John Tynes - A remake of the classic, using the same rules system as Dungeons and Dragons. I have mixed feelings about this, but it's a beautiful book with a number of good ideas.
Book of Vile Darkness, Monte Cook - For Dungeon Masters who want tips on being evil. A Dungeons and Dragons product. (Dan)