The Hinterlands Canon

The Hinterlands Canon is my project of curating a selected history of speculative fiction that captures material that inspires me both as a reader and a writer while also aspiring to one day comprise a representative sample of the field's vast, deep, and diverse history. You can find the initial declaration of the Canon along with the inaugural class in The Hinterlands Zine Issue #1: (Available Here).

The Canon will be updated annually with new "classes" much like a Hall of Fame model.

Cover of The Books of Earthsea

The Books of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin - Class of 2026 Blog Part 2 - Class of 2026

Cover of Delicious in Dungeon Volume 1

Delicious in Dungeon by Ryoko Kui - Class of 2026 Blog Part 2 - Class of 2026

Cover of Fist of the North Star Volume 1

Fist of the North Star by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara - Class of 2026 Blog Part 2 - Class of 2026

Cover of The Complete Chronicles of Amber

The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny - Class of 2026 Blog Part 1 - Class of 2026

Cover of Berserk Volume 1

Berserk by Kentaro Miura - Class of 2026 Blog Part 1 - Class of 2026

Cover of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki - Class of 2026 Blog Part 1 - Class of 2026

Cover of The Knight

The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe - Best Reads of 2025 Video - Class of 2026

Cover of Dhalgren

Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany - Best Reads of 2025 Video - Class of 2026

Cover of Roadside Picnic

Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - Best Reads of 2025 Video - Class of 2026

Cover of Holy Fire

Holy Fire by Bruce Sterling - Best Reads of 2025 Video - Class of 2026

Cover of Peace

Peace by Gene Wolfe - Added in a Review+ on The Hinterlands Blog Class of 2026

Cover of The Jewel in the Skull

The History of the Runestaff Series by Michael Moorcock Added in Hinterlands Zine #1 - Class of 2026

Cover of All-Star Superman

All-Star Superman: Written by Grant Morrison, Illustrated by Frank Quietly - Inaugural Class

Cover of Burning Chrome

Burning Chrome by William Gibson - Inaugural Class

Cover of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke - Inaugural Class

Cover of Dune

Dune by Frank Herbert - Inaugural Class

Cover of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Series by Douglas Adams - Inaugural Class

Cover of Salem's Lot

Salem's Lot by Stephen King - Inaugural Class

Cover of Frankenstein

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly - Inaugural Class

Cover of Shadow & Claw

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe - Inaugural Class

Cover of Volume 1 of Sage of the Swamp Thing

Saga of the Swamp Thing: Written by Alan Moore, Art by Stephen R. Bissette and John Totleben - Inaugural Class

Cover of Dragon Ball Volume 1

Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama - Inaugural Class

Cover of One Piece Volume 1

One Piece by Eiichiro Oda - Inaugural Class

Cover of The Eye of the World

The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson - Inaugural Class

Cover of Invisible Cities

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino - Inaugural Class

Cover of The Color of Magic

Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett - Inaugural Class

Cover of Perdido Street Station

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville - Inaugural Class

Cover of The Complete Chronicles of Conan

The Complete Chronicles of Conan by Robert E. Howard - Inaugural Class

Cover of The Dispossessed

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin - Inaugural Class

Cover of The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - Inaugural Class

Cover of The Hobbit

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien - Inaugural Class