Winner of the Locus Award and the Mythpoeic Society Award.
Gr 10 Up‘A comprehensive resource about fantasy literature and media. Similar in format to The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (St. Martin's, 1993), it presents a thorough catalog of authors, awards, movies, TV shows, fantastic themes, historical individuals, and articles on the literature of various nations. There are entries on Howard the Duck and Homer, Santa Claus and Silverberg, Garcia Marquez and Germany. Articles are concise, detailed, and clearly written, although the text is sometimes dry. The book's main value is its cross-referencing. An entry about an author highlights themes covered elsewhere in bold face, and vice versa. For example, the definition of Steam Punk as a fantasy sub-genre refers to Alternative Worlds and to the author Tim Powers. By leading browsers from their favorite writer's works to articles about specific thematic elements and then to other authors who write along similar themes, The Encyclopedia serves as an efficient reader's guide to the genre. Unfortunately, specific mythological elements are not as thoroughly covered. Although there are articles on unicorns and dragons in fantastic literature, there is no entry covering griffins. Still, this is a useful reference book.‘Lawrence Kapture, New York Public Library
Editors Clute and Grant (The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, St. Martin's, 1993) have put together an excellent and highly readable source for fantasy, the first of its kind. The editors recognize that "fantasy" cannot be precisely defined (though it excludes sf, horror, and the supernatural), so they simply let the entries speak for themselves. For example, entries cover 38 Frankenstein movies; a fascinating account of "Jack" (Frost, the Ripper, the Giant-Killer, etc.); M.C. Escher's distinctive experiments with perspective in his engravings; essays on the TV shows Bewitched and Batman; and individual entries for such movies as Terry Gilliam's Brazil, concepts such as totems, and writers like Ray Bradbury. The entries are well written and signed, and many include useful bibliographies. This belongs in most academic and public libraries.‘Peter A. Dollard, Alma Coll. Lib., Mich.
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