Discovering Classic Fantasy Fiction

The antecedents of fantasy literature extend back to the very beginnings of storytelling itself, but modern fantasy became recognizable as a distinct literary form only in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with the publication of the novels of William Morris and the short stories of Lord Dunsany. The emphasis by these writers and their successors on ideal and sometimes less than ideal places and peoples who exist only in a realm of pure imagination laid the foundation for later works by J. R. R. Tolkien and many others. Book jacket.

John Tamberlain is The Tomahawk, the universe’s most feared food critic – though he himself prefers the term ‘forensic gastronomer’. He’s on a quest, in search of the much-storied Hotel Grand Skies, a secretive and exclusive haven where the rich and famous retreat to bask in perfect seclusion. A place where the waiters know their fish knife from their butter knife, their carotid from their subclavian artery, and are trained to enforce the house rules with brutal efficiency. Blurring the lines between detective story, horror and sci-fi, Hunters & Collectors is a mesmeric trip into the singular imagination of M. Suddain – a freewheeling talent whose poise, invention and sensational sentences have already earned him comparisons to Vonnegut, Pynchon and Douglas Adams.

Buried away for centuries, a forgotten magic lurks...waiting to return They tell Unchosen, "Accept your fate and you'll be rewarded in the next life." The threat of execution is their recourse. Rejecting his role as an outcast, Brock risks his life and obtains a false rune, marking him a member of the Empire's ruling class. Under a veil of deception and backed by natural talent, the teen then schemes his way into a school where the Empire's future leaders are trained. Within the Academy, a legendary school of magic, science, politics, and combat, he uncovers secrets kept hidden for centuries - secrets that expose cracks in the foundation of Empire society. Among his discoveries is a long forgotten magic, powerful and dangerous - a magic he is determined to wield. Caught between his continued charade and a desire to tame his frightening new abilities, one misstep on either front could destroy him.

Nearly sixty teens awaken halfway through their training, stranded on a harsh alien world with few supplies, no adults, and led by a treacherous artificial intelligence, but their greatest enemy is each other.

WORLD FANTASY AWARD WINNER • A true horde of fantasy tales sure to delight fans, scholars, and even the greediest of dragons—from bestselling authors Ann and Jeff VanderMeer Step through a shimmering portal ... a worn wardrobe door ... a schism in sky ... into a bold new age of fantasy. When worlds beyond worlds became a genre unto itself. From the swinging sixties to the strange, strange seventies, the over-the-top eighties to the gnarly nineties—and beyond, into the twenty-first century—the VanderMeers have found the stories and the writers from around the world that reinvented and revitalized the fantasy genre after World War II. The stories in this collection represent twenty-two different countries, including Russia, Argentina, Nigeria, Columbia, Pakistan, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, China, the Philippines, and the Czech Republic. Five have never before been translated into English. From Jorge Luis Borges to Ursula K. Le Guin, Michael Moorcock to Angela Carter, Terry Pratchett to Stephen King, the full range and glory of the fantastic are on display in these ninety-one stories in which dragons soar, giants stomp, and human children should still think twice about venturing alone into the dark forest. Completing Ann and Jeff VanderMeer's definitive The Big Book of Classic Fantasy, this companion volume to takes the genre into the twenty-first century with ninety-one astonishing, mind-bending stories. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL

Handbook of fantasy fiction for teachers, librarians, parents and guardians and children themselves in which to find many titles of fantasy fiction that they like, or may be tempted, to read. Includes groups such as classic fantasy, comic fantasy, Arthurian, dark fantasy, animals and dragons.

In a dark and perilous realm, a nameless outcast seeks a voice, a past, and a future: “A dazzling debut” (Jennifer Roberson). In all of Erith, there is perhaps no one as wretched as the nameless mute foundling confined to the lowest depths of Isse Tower. Abused by many and despised by all, the pathetic creature lives without memories in the shadows. The amnesiac longs to escape—to roam the wild landscape in search of a past, a name, a destiny—but dangers surround the tower. Only flying ships and majestic winged horses carrying important visitors can reach the castle safely, landing high above the ground on its battlements. The local servants whisper about malevolent creatures that roam the forests and bear no love for humankind. Escape seems impossible in this treacherous world of wights and monsters. Praised as Australia’s J. R. R. Tolkien, Cecilia Dart-Thornton has set a towering new standard for fantasy fiction, earning the respect and acclaim of readers, reviewers, and some of the world’s most renowned fantasists. With roots firmly embedded in the ancient folklore of the British Isles, The Ill-Made Mute—the opening volume of Dart-Thornton’s magnificent Bitterbynde Trilogy—introduces fantasy lovers to an unforgettable character whose remarkable adventures rival the epic trials of the Bagginses and the tales of The Silmarillion.

A FINALIST FOR THE 2020 WORLD FANTASY AWARD Unearth the enchanting origins of fantasy fiction with a collection of tales as vast as the tallest tower and as mysterious as the dark depths of the forest. Fantasy stories have always been with us. They illuminate the odd and the uncanny, the wondrous and the fantastic: all the things we know are lurking just out of sight—on the other side of the looking-glass, beyond the music of the impossibly haunting violin, through the twisted trees of the ancient woods. Other worlds, talking animals, fairies, goblins, demons, tricksters, and mystics: these are the elements that populate a rich literary tradition that spans the globe. A work composed both of careful scholarship and fantastic fun, The Big Book of Classic Fantasy is essential reading for anyone who’s never forgotten the stories that first inspired feelings of astonishment and wonder. INCLUDING: *Stories by pillars of the genre like the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Mary Shelley, Christina Rossetti, L. Frank Baum, Robert E. Howard, and J. R. R. Tolkien *Fantastical offerings from literary giants including Edith Wharton, Leo Tolstoy, Willa Cather, Zora Neale Hurston, Vladimir Nabokov, Hermann Hesse, and W.E.B. Du Bois *Rare treasures from Asian, Eastern European, Scandinavian, and Native American traditions *New translations, including fourteen stories never before in English PLUS: *Beautifully Bizarre Creatures! *Strange New Worlds Just Beyond the Garden Path! *Fairy Folk and Their Dark Mischief! *Seriously Be Careful—Do Not Trust Those Fairies!