Books That Inspired The Three Lovers

No writer is without influences, without loves of other’s books that are lodged in their mind.

Here are the books of particular influence for The Three Lovers: Mirror of Death. 

Art by Michael Whelan

Lankhmar, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser by Fritz Leiber

The most inspirational stories for The Three Lovers were the tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser in the city of Lankhmar and surrounding areas. 

My world wouldn’t exist without Fritz Leiber’s creations. His writing captured my imagination, not only the sword & sorcery elements of mysterious wizards and exotic locations, but the powerful friendship between the two main characters - the barbarian Fafhrd and the thief/trickster Gray Mouser. It showed me that pulp fantasy can be done with heart.

They have a close friendship, sharing tragedies and trauma, sticking with each other through the darkest of times and most difficult of situations. It was this aspect that inspired The Three Lovers the most. Gray Mouser had an impression on Ibban-Lothy (wizard of the lovers) and Erashaya (thief of the lovers), whilst Fafhrd had an impression on Kelsingar (warrior of the lovers). This series is one of my Top 10 Fantasy Series of All Time.

Art by Mark Salwowski

The Swords of Corum by Michael Moorcock

The idea of Chaos versus Law in Moorcock’s writing spreads its influence throughout fantasy and science-fiction, especially to roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons. It was a main theme of his Eternal Champion series, a huge masterwork comprising of dozens of main characters, such as Elric of Melnibone, Corum the Scarlet Wizard, Hawkmoon and Jerry Cornelius plus many many others. 

In The Three Lovers, it is Discord and Concord. The Stygian King, ruler of Krel-Shamarith, is Tyranny, one of the four swords of Concord (Tyranny, Justice, Honour and Fairness). Discord has no order, but it has believers who preach ideals of freedom for all in an anarchic society. The servants of Discord in the first book are the Scarlet Sultan and the Crimson Queen, two opposing warlords of the Blood-Pink Desert of Ysgrail. 

My favourite of Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series is Corum’s Swords. The first trilogy is filled with amazing ideas - such as the Lords of Chaos in their Realms of Chaos where Corum battles them to save mankind. Corum is the last of his race, the Vadhagh. He struggles to accept and even love mankind who destroyed his race. 

It is also one of my Top 10 Fantasy Series of All Time. One of the great British writers of all time, more influential than Tolkien to me. 

Art by George Barr

The Dying Earth by Jack Vance

Millions of years in the future, our planet is dying and almost unrecognisable. This is the book that spawned a whole sub-genre of fantasy - ‘Dying Earth’ - and it is one that I find The Three Lovers fitting into. They adventure at the end of time itself, or the dawn of a new era! His descriptions of odd colours in the skies and the nature of a planet on its last legs really got my imagination whirring. 

The first book is a collection of short stories about scheming wizards (my favourite), the second book is a collection of short stories about Cudgel the Clever, the third is a fix-up novel where Cudgel tricks and betrays everyone who he crosses. The fourth book involves a time-hop wizard who performs gender-changing magic. 

Vance was sort of the original ‘magic system’ guy. The Wizard would read and cast a spell, then forget it after used. Wizards had collections of spells that they notated and changed or stole from other wizards, and this affected the way my magic systems work in The Three Lovers. This idea was in the 1950s by the way, Vance was a pioneer and a genius. Top 10 Fantasy Series of All Time.

Art by Frank Frazetta

Conan the Barbarian by Robert E Howard

The themes of Conan had a massive effect on The Three Lovers. In Conan, dying civilisations cling to existence by putting their faith in strange gods and mad magicians. Conan navigates these civilisations with his wits and his sword, much like Kelsingar, fearing magic and those who use it. It was more the locations Conan visits that inspired The Spine, my strange continent of two deserts, jungles, forests and a river that gives life to all. 

My favourite character from Conan the Barbarian (1982 Movie) is Valeria, and she was definitely an inspiration on Erashaya in terms of personality - a thief and warrior who uses her wits and sword to overcome baddies. The character in Red Nails (Conan novella), Valeria, is somewhat similar to Valeria from the movie. It is probably my favourite Conan story, definitely the single most inspirational piece of writing for my Three Lovers books. It has a lost city with a mad dying civilisation who have turned to material pleasures in excess, a hero, a heroine stuck there trying to escape the weird witches and cultists in the labyrinth. What more could you want?!  Top 10 Fantasy Series of All Time. 

Art by Keith Parkinson

Dungeons & Dragons Modules by Gary Gygax and others

The D&D writings of the 70s and early 80s were inspired by all 4 above, from Moorcock’s Chaos and Law, to the Vancian magic system, to the swords & sorcery adventures of Conan, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. They are the original D&D, not what we see D&D has morphed into now, which is an epic fantasy style of play based more on Tolkien and his disciples (also great). 

These modules are inspirational reading for setting and for atmosphere. The text that Gygax and co wrote to fit in a small little box had to describe really evocative ideas and locations tersely and without fluff. (Top 10 Favourite D&D Modules). Even for none D&D fans, these modules are really great to learn tight description techniques of fantastical locations. 

Especially inspirational for The Three Lovers were Tomb of Horrors by Gary Gygax, The Giants and the Drow Modules by Gary Gygax, The Lost City by Tom Moldvay and Pharaoh by Tracy & Laura Hickman.

Arabian Nights & Grimm Fairytales

Fairytales had morals (most outdated but still some gems), whereas the Conan, Lankhmar, Corum, Cudgel and D&D did not necessarily need them to achieve the effect they wanted to. 

I wanted The Three Lovers to have a modern input of morals in terms of sexuality, religion and power, still containing the same essence from the old swords & sorcery tales. This blending of the two great fairytale books (my favourites) with the sword & sorcery genre was a natural leap for my mind to make.

Mirror of Death is heavily inspired by those old Grimm tales, an artefact with a meaning. Something that makes you think - “what would I do if I found something with those powers?”

Art by Gray Morrow

Viriconium by M John Harrison

Another set of tales in the method of Howard, Leiber, Vance and Moorcock, from a British writer whom I greatly admire. His style is far superior to anybody else on this list, though a bit more literary, his turn of phrase is to die for. 

The Pastel City is one of his very early attempts, a work of great imagination and scope with one particular description that stuck with me - ‘Lord tegeus-Cromis, who fancied himself more poet than swordsman’.

This is how I wanted to think of many characters in my Three Lovers yarn. They believe they are something more than warriors, thieves and magicians, spouting prophecy, poetry and song. But ultimately they know who they are… and they still want to be more. 

I love his more recent science-fiction book, LIGHT, where his prose is too good. If any aspiring writer wants to know how to begin a book, read those first few pages. Killer.

The Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham

I find that if I am reading something shit whilst I’m writing, it can affect my mood. Thankfully The Long Price Quartet was very good. I was reading it just as I was finishing The Three Lovers. The story was not so much an influence on my ideas, but it perfectly lined up with the atmosphere I was trying to evoke. One of melancholy. 

With themes of requited and unrequited loves, love stretching over decades as memories and poetry as magic, this series really helped me focus on theme in The Three Lovers. 

Jirel of Joiry by C L Moore

I read these swords & sorcery tales after writing the majority of The Three Lovers, to broaden my reading. They are very similar to the Conan in style and theme, clearly influenced by Robert E Howard, but with a female protagonist who kills all the beasties and weird deities. The stories have a raw feeling, very visceral and tersely descriptive. 

Erashaya has some of Jirel’s stubbornness and prideful nature, though more by coincidence than design. But even those characters you’ve never heard of before you start writing, can subconsciously effect you. Because they have influenced the media that came before you, therefore having a knock-on effect. You don’t know you were influenced by them, but you were.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my influences for The Three Lovers!