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Encyclopaedia of Fantasy (Paperback)

by John Clute (Author), John Grant (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 1087 pages
  • Publisher: Orbit; New edition edition (22 April 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1857238931
  • ISBN-13: 978-1857238938
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 135,423 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #22 in  Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Film > Encyclopaedias
    #68 in  Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Film > Film Genres > Science Fiction
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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

This masterful follow-up to the 1993 Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is an essential purchase for anyone who's serious about fantasy. Those who are serious about horror will also find it an excellent reference. The works of prolific and confusing authors such as Michael Moorcock, as well as authors such as J R R Tolkien, who have many posthumously published fragments are explained with admirable clarity. Especially fascinating are the numerous terms for motifs and themes, constituting what the editors call a map of the many "fuzzy sets" in the universe of fantasy fiction--terms such as "crosshatch," "polder" and "water margin." There are many entries on horror movies and the better-known horror writers (only writers who write no fantasy, such as Richard Laymon, are excluded). You'll also find carefully written definitions of horror, dark fantasy, supernatural fiction, gothic fiction, sychological thrillers and weird fiction. Locus calls The Encyclopedia of Fantasy "massive and welcome" and writes: "This will be the standard reference for years to come." --Amazon.com


New Scientist

For the hardback: 'Entries are sharp, witty and packed with information'
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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive reference guide of fantasy, 5 Dec 2000
By Steven Douglas (Lincoln United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is a wonderful piece of work. If you wish to read it start to finish, or dip into it at random or to reference a particular subject it will not disappoint you. Want to know where your favourite writer was born,what influenced their writing, did they write other books under other names? Every time I pick this book up I find something completely new and am unable to put it down. One section cross references to another then another. Thought you'd read all the books worth reading in fantasy, then pick this up and produce a five page list for your next book buying excursion. John Clute and John Grant the authors have produced a fine work. They ask for contributions if faults or omissions have been made, however, I challenge you to find any!
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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for any serious fantasy fan, 20 Nov 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Encyclopedia of Fantasy (Hardcover)
This is an excellent, wide-ranging survey of the fantasy field. It covers everything you could think of: authors, films, television, comics, art, and major themes of the genre. As well as being highly informative, this is an encyclopedia that's genuinely entertaining to read. The editors have strong opinions about what makes good fantasy (ie not recycled pseudomedieval garbage), and that comes through strongly in some of the 'theme' entries. John Grant's movie reviews are also worth looking out for; they can be very funny at times!

Of course, it's not perfect. Any encyclopedia is out of date even before it's published (this only goes up to 1996), and something you look for is bound to be missing. Some entries attempting to define types of fantasy, or elements of its structure, can also be confusing. Many of these are written by John Clute, and he tends to use quite obscure words which will have you reaching for your dictionary in puzzlement. The entries on the structure of fantasy often refer to each other, making it hard to get a handle on the subject, espescially if you aren't familiar with the examples referred to.

Having said that, this is still the best single-volume reference work on fantasy, and I'm sure it will continue to be so for years to come. Worth reading, but a bit pricey..., so you may be better off with the paperback or looking for it in the library.

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