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Title: The Encyclopedia of Fantasy by John Clute, John Grant, Mike Ashley, Roz Kaveney, David Langford, Ron Tiner ISBN: 0-312-15897-1 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1996 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $85.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (13 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Fascinating Read
Comment: This is the most exhaustive Fantasy reference available.
All of the contributors are concise, probing and informative. Even if you don't know the author or work being cited, it is as revealing as its arguments are persuasive, which can lead you to the library to learn more.
For anyone who gets lost in the sea of jargon used throughout, the book is a glossary in itself, so don't fret! It includes the definitions of common Fantasy terms such as "Swords and Sorcery", "Fairy", and esoteric terms, like "thinning".
Basically, if it's not in here, it's not worth reading -- or at least according to the authors. They said that they've only discluded authors who they consider relatively unimportant.
A long entry indicates the importance of the author, so of course Tolkien's entry takes up a few pages. Get books by those authors if you want to read the groundbreaking genre-defining stuff.
John Grant's movies reviews are very inciteful and comprehensive. Without giving ratings, he often hints at what made one either good or bad, which can help you decide whether to see it or not.
If you want to get more interested in Fantasy, but can't pick the good books and movies from the bad, this should enlighten you. I find it a great means of escape.
Lawrence
Rating: 5
Summary: An Academic Vocabulary for Fantasy -- Better Than It Sounds!
Comment: WARNING: THIS REVIEW IS ANECDOTAL
I had coveted this book for quite some time before I ordered my copy. Aside from being a longtime and irredeemable fantasy geek, I am also an English teacher at a small independent school, and our reference library has a copy. This fact has enabled me to waste many happy free periods rifling through the _Encyclopedia_ instead of, say, grading papers or thinking deep, serious thoughts about the state of pedagogy in America. But before you write me off as a disgrace to my profession, hear me out:
_The Encyclopedia of Fantasy_ is a remarkable book, and any time I have spent with it in lieu of more mundane tasks is time very well spent indeed. I can even justify this frivolous perusal academically, because what really makes the _Encyclopedia_ a great resource isn't so much its exhaustive listing of authors or titles (much of which information is available elsewhere anyway), but the fact that Clute et al. have managed to accomplish nothing less than a rigorous, consistent, and phenomenally well cross-referenced taxonomy and analytical vocabulary for fantasy. I know, I know, that sounds awfully dry, but it isn't.
I'm a word junkie, so I love learning apt new terms for things, especially if those nameless concepts have gone begging for far too long. When Clute coins the term "thinning" to describe any fantasy world that, over time, loses its magic [Middle-earth, anyone?], you cannot help (assuming you're an aficionado of the genre) but say to yourself, "Aha! Now I know what to call it!" Furthermore, the fact that this vocabulary is employed consistently throughout the _Encyclopedia_ allows for thematic and formal juxtapositions of specific works, combinations and comparisons that might not occur even to the serious fantasy buff. Who needs hypertext when you've got such meticulous cross-indexing?
I recently received an Amazon.com gift certificate from thoughtful in-laws, and decided that even though I have access to a copy at school, I had to have an _Encyclopedia of Fantasy_ at home, both for reference while reading/writing and for couch-sprawl browsing.
I splurged and bought the $75.00 hardback. I had a hunch it would get a lot of use, and I wanted it to last. Money very well spent, as far as I'm concerned, and if you're a fantasy partisan, a literary theory wonk, or just someone who gets off on thousands of pages of really, really small type, you'll probably agree.
Rating: 1
Summary: Not what I expected...
Comment: I'm sure that this would be a wonderful book for anyone interested in the history of the fantasy genre - including movies and television shows, characters and certain authors. However, if you are looking for a book that contains information of the fantasy world itself (ie. mythical beasts, worlds, spells, etc...), like I was, this is definately the wrong book for you. I am a fantasy writer and was looking for information that would help in my writing. This book, now that I have had a good look at it, will sit on my shelf and collect dust until I can find someone to give or sell it to. If you are looking for information on movies, this is a book for you... If not, then don't waste your time and money on this book. It is not worth it.
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Title: The Writers Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic by Writer's Digest Books ISBN: 1582970262 Publisher: Writer's Digest Books Pub. Date: 01 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.99 |
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Title: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction by John Clute, Peter Nicholls, John Clute ISBN: 031213486X Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 1995 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: The Dictionary of Imaginary Places: The Newly Updated and Expanded Classic by Alberto Manguel ISBN: 0156008726 Publisher: Harcourt Pub. Date: 02 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth by Carol Rose ISBN: 0393322114 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: November, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia by Carol Rose ISBN: 0393317927 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 01 August, 1998 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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