818 ratings | 561 reviews | avg rating:4.95

Philip’s Year In Books

Philip’s 2025 Year in Books

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Philip Athans’s Followers (246)

Philip’s Bookshelves

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Kevin Xu

7,840 books | 4,653 friends

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Shawn

9,212 books | 440 friends

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9,212 books | 2,954 friends

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988 books | 39 friends

Robert Greenberger

3,094 books | 776 friends

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421 books | 204 friends

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1,593 books | 1,854 friends

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2026 Reading Challenge

2026

READING

CHALLENGE

Philip Athans has read 13 of 60 books.

22%

Philip Athans

Goodreads Author

Born

in Rochester, NY, The United States

Website

http://fantasyhandbook.wordpress.com/

Twitter

PhilAthans

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Horror, Literature & Fiction

Influences

Harlan Ellison, Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Iain M. Banks, ...more

Member Since

January 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/philathans

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I 100% support AUTHORS AGAINST BOOK BANS
https://www.authorsagainstbookbans.com

I give every book 5 stars in protest against the concept of star ratings in general and the ever-unfolding algorithm dystopia!

Philip Athans, an anti-AI, anti-book bans liberal, is the founding partner of Athans & Associates Creative Consulting (www.athansassociates.com), and the New York Times best-selling author of Annihilation and more than a dozen other fantasy and horror books including The Best of Fantasy Authors Handbook Vol. I 2009-2013, The Guide to Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Writing Monsters. Born in Rochester, New York he grew up in suburban Chicago, where he published the literary magazine Alternative Fiction & Poetry. His blog, Fantasy Auth ...more

800 posts
Philip Athans's Blog

GREAT FIRST LINES

Over and over again I’ve used the opening paragraph of Raymond Chandler’s short story “Red Wind” as an example of atmospheric writing by establishing not just the setting, but how it makes our first person narrator, Philip Marlowe, feel:

There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your n

Combine Editions
Philip Athans’s books

Average rating: 3.87 · 19,125 ratings · 732 reviews · 55 distinct works • Similar authors

	Annihilation (Forgotten Realms: War of the Spider Queen, #5) 4.11 avg rating — 8,207 ratings — published 2004 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Reader's Guide to R.A. Salvatore's The Legend of Drizzt 4.45 avg rating — 1,600 ratings — published 2008 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Baldur's Gate (Forgotten Realms: Baldur's Gate, #1) 2.72 avg rating — 1,359 ratings — published 1998 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction: 6 Steps to Writing and Publishing Your Bestseller! by Philip Athans (Goodreads Author), R.A. Salvatore 3.89 avg rating — 736 ratings — published 2010 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Realms of the Dragons (Forgotten Realms: Anthologies, #9) by Philip Athans (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Jess Lebow (Contributor), R.A. Salvatore (Contributor) 3.80 avg rating — 553 ratings — published 2004 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Realms of Mystery (Forgotten Realms: Anthologies, #6) by Philip Athans (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Mary H. Herbert (Contributor), Stan Brown (Contributor) 3.63 avg rating — 539 ratings — published 1998 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Realms of the Elves (Forgotten Realms: Anthologies, #11) 3.83 avg rating — 478 ratings — published 2006 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (Forgotten Realms: Baldur's Gate, #2) 2.72 avg rating — 617 ratings — published 2000 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Writing Monsters: How to Craft Believably Terrifying Creatures to Enhance Your Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction by Philip Athans (Goodreads Author), The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society (Foreword) 3.97 avg rating — 394 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Realms of the Deep (Forgotten Realms: Anthologies, #7) 3.49 avg rating — 324 ratings — published 1999 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Philip Athans…

Series by Philip Athans

Dungeons & Dragons (1 book)
by

Philip Athans (Goodreads Author)

4.11 avg rating — 8,207 ratings

Forgotten Realms: Baldur's Gate (3 books)
by

Philip Athans (Goodreads Author)

2.78 avg rating — 2,455 ratings

Forgotten Realms: Watercourse (3 books)
by

Philip Athans (Goodreads Author)

3.54 avg rating — 647 ratings

The Fathomless Abyss (5 books)
by

Philip Athans (Goodreads Author)

3.58 avg rating — 19 ratings

Philip is Currently Reading

Philip Athans is currently reading

The Bell Jar

by Sylvia Plath

bookshelves: currently-reading

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2 hours, 37 min ago

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At the Mountains of Madness, vol.2

by H.P. Lovecraft

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May 18, 2026 06:03PM

Philip Athans is currently reading

Brand of the Werewolf (Doc Savage, #5)

by Kenneth Robeson

bookshelves: currently-reading

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May 13, 2026 07:56AM

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Philip’s Recent Updates

Philip Athans is on page 14 of 288 of The Bell Jar The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2 hours, 9 min ago · like · see status
Philip Athans is currently reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2 hours, 37 min ago · like
Philip Athans rated a book it was amazing The Kar-Chee Reign / Rocannon's World by Avram Davidson (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is a major winner of an Ace Double, starting with the first book publication of Rocannon's World--the first published novel by the amazing Ursula K. Le Guin. Rocannon's World is the first of the Hainish Cycle: stand-alone SF novels set in the sam ...more
3 hours, 4 min ago · like · see review
Philip Athans made a comment in the group Fantasy Author's Handbook — MAY 2026 GROUP READ: Writing the Breakout Novel topic " I've always said that every story, at its heart, has to be about something. That "something" is its theme. Maass said: "If a powerful problem is a novel ...more "
4 hours, 23 min ago
Philip Athans is on page 230 of 272 of Writing the Breakout Novel Writing the Breakout Novel: Insider Advice for Taking Your Fiction to the Next Level by Donald Maass progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4 hours, 25 min ago · like · see status · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Philip Athans made a comment in the group Fantasy Author's Handbook — FAH: The Blog topic " GREAT FIRST LINES https://fantasyhandbook.wordpress.com... ...more "
May 26, 2026 10:41AM
Philip Athans voted on a poll in the group Beyond Reality Final Poll August 2026 SciFi BOTM He voted for: Station Eternity Station Eternity ...more
May 25, 2026 09:45AM · like · take the poll
Philip Athans rated a book it was amazing Where No Man Has Gone Before (Star Trek Fotonovel #2) by Samuel Anthony Peeples	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Though this has never been a favorite episode of mine I find these old "Fotonovels" completely irresistible. I just had the best time with this. TREK LIVES! ...more
May 21, 2026 04:54PM · 2 likes · like · see review
Philip Athans is currently reading Where No Man Has Gone Before (Star Trek Fotonovel #2) by Samuel Anthony Peeples	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 20, 2026 08:39AM · like
Philip Athans is currently reading At the Mountains of Madness, vol.2 by H.P. Lovecraft	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 18, 2026 06:03PM · like

More of Philip's books…

Quotes by Philip Athans (?)

“Upon the one thing every writer absolutely must have, and that is intellectual curiosity.”
― Phillip Athans, R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen, Volume II: Extinction, Annihilation, Resurrection

tags: adivce, curiosity, intellect, writers, writing-advice

5 likes

“Stupid foes were easy to defeat and angry foes even easier. Mix the two together, though, and you’re in for a fight.”
― Philip Athans, Annihilation

2 likes

“A religion without followers is just a weird guy with strange ideas.”
― Philip Athans, How to Start Your Own Religion: Form a Church, Gain Followers, Become Tax-Exempt, and Sway the Minds of Millions in Five Easy Steps

2 likes

See all Philip Athans's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Riyria Revela...: Fantasy Writers Helping Victims of Hurricane Sandy	2	18	Jan 12, 2013 07:27AM
Fantasy Book Club: Triumph Over Tragedy - an anthology to benefit the victims of Hurricane Sandy	2	22	Jan 12, 2013 07:29AM
The Sword and Laser: Fantasy Writers Helping Victims of Hurricane Sandy	1	32	Jan 12, 2013 07:54AM
The Riyria Revela...: New Release: Triumph Over Tragedy to Benefit Hurricane Sandy Victims	3	26	Jan 13, 2013 08:08AM
Retro Chapter Chi...: Stay Bookish: Everything & Anything Bookish or Historical 2024	20	15	Sep 04, 2024 07:04AM

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Philip’s Quotes

“You only go around once, but if you play your cards right, once is enough.”
― Frank Sinatra

49 likes

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
― Marcus Tullius Cicero

tags: attributed-no-source, books, simile, soul

135925 likes

Philip’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-4) post a comment »

date

newest »

message 4: by Philip

Oct 07, 2011 08:27AM

Elaina wrote: "Thanks for accepting my friend request! As an aspiring fantasy author, I try to learn from other fantasy authors and their writings =]"

ME TOO!

reply | flag

message 3: by Elaina

Jul 15, 2011 08:19AM

Thanks for accepting my friend request! As an aspiring fantasy author, I try to learn from other fantasy authors and their writings =]

reply | flag

message 2: by Philip

Mar 02, 2011 05:51PM

Kevin wrote: "Hey I just got The Collected Stories of Drizzt, can't wait to read it, not as much as the third book in Neverwind Trilogy, Icewind, hope it is going to be good."

ENJOY!

reply | flag

message 1: by Kevin

Mar 02, 2011 04:48PM

Hey I just got The Collected Stories of Drizzt, can't wait to read it, not as much as the third book in Neverwind Trilogy, Icewind, hope it is going to be good.

reply | flag

Philip Athans’s Followers (246)

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