Read On...Fantasy Fiction: Reading Lists for Every Taste

by Neil Hollands

Overview

So,you're looking for some great new fantasy reads? Or perhaps you're looking for fresh reading lists for handouts and to post on your library's Web site? If so, this guide is just the ticket. Created to offer a different perspective on the fantasy genre and reach a broader reading audience (including fans), the book offers new reading paths for fantasy lovers. It organizes more than 800 titles into over 100 lists, in such categories as The Magic of Threes: Fantasy's Best Trilogies, The Fellowship is the Thing: Companions on a Quest, Fan-to-Sea-Nautical Fantasy, and When Groan Men Scry: Puns as a Fantasy Tradition. The organization and approach are based on various appeal factors of the genre. A great tool for advising readers, creating reading lists for library Web sites, flyers, and newsletters, and making checklists or reading plans for adults and teens who enjoy fantasy fiction.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781591583301
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/30/2007
Series:	Read On Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.49(d)

About the Author

Neil Hollands is originally from Ogden, Utah. Neil Hollands read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at age four and has been a fan of fantasy fiction ever since. He found his true calling as a librarian in 2003. He works at the Williamsburg Regional Library, where he specializes in readers' advisory. Comments about the content of this book are welcome at [e-mail].

Table of Contents

Series Foreword     xiii
Introduction: Take Off Your Mask; It's OK to like Fantasy     xv
Story     1
Down the Rabbit Hole: The Way from Here to Fantasyland     1
Never Mind the Acne; I'm Here to Save the World: Coming-of-Age Stories     3
Magic 101: Memorable Systems of Magic     5
Dizzy Spells: When Magic Goes Awry     7
Domestic Disputes: Fantasy's Fickle Family Values     8
End-Djinn Trouble: When Magic Meets Technology     10
Fabulous: The Best Fantasy Derived from Familiar Fables     11
Holy Grail, Batman! Amazing Quests for Magical Objects     13
There and Back Again: Fantasy in Which the Journey Is the Story     15
Games of Thrones: Fantasy's Most Devious Royal Intrigues     17
Wander Lust: The Great Love Affairs and Romantic Pursuits of Fantasy     19
Why Does This Baby Have a Tattoo? Prophecy and Fate in Fantasy     21
"You Killed My Father, Prepare to Die!" The Fantasy of Revenge     22
It's Not Nice to Fool with Mother Nature: Ecological Fantasy     24
Poor, Poor Powerful Me: Accepting One's Power and Otherness     26
Barbarians at the Gate: Invasion Fantasy     28
Armageddon Out of Here: Fantasy's Furious Final Battles     29
Sailing into the West: Dying Lands and Races     31
Once upon a Time: Fantasy's Love Affair with Books and Storytelling     32
Dangerous Minds: Marvelous Mental Powers     34
Speak Softly and Carry a Big Sword: Fantasy's Memorable Weapons     36
Riddle Me This: Fantasy's Fascination with Brainteasers     37
To Hell and Back: Necromancy and the Afterworld in Fantasy     39
Lyres and Lutes and Fiddles and Flutes: Music in Fantasy     40
Curses (Foiled Again): The Making and Breaking of Fantasy's Worst Curses     42
At an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet, Don't Eat All that You Can: Great Books in So-So Series     43
Down the Generations: Epic Family Sagas of Fantasy     45
Character     49
The Fellowship Is the Thing: Companions on a Quest     50
Bosom Buddies, Odd Couples, and Dynamic Duos     51
Chivalry in Flower: Fantasy's Most Noble Knights     53
Developing Damsels, Not Distressed: Feisty Princesses and Tomboy Treasures     54
Damsels Who Deal Distress: Women Warriors     56
Conans for Librarians: Fantasy's Strongest Barbarian Warriors     58
Wizards and Warlocks: The Wise, the Wily, and the Wacky     59
Witches: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly among Fantasy's Women of Magic      61
Absolutely the Worst: Fantasy's Most Detestable Villains     62
Rogues' Gallery: Thieves, Assassins, and Other Charismatic Scoundrels     64
Life in the Hood: Monks and Other Religious Figures in Fantasy     66
Finding Courage: Fantasy Heroes Look Deep Within     68
Animal Attractions: Fantasy Characters to Bring Out Your Wild Side     69
The Care and Feeding of Magical Creatures: A Fantastic Menagerie     71
Smaug Gets in Your Eyes: Fantasy's Formidable Dragons     73
Just off the Turnip Cart: Country Folk Who Make Good     74
Bastards! And Other Returns of the King     76
The Ancient Races: The Best Fantasy Featuring Dwarves and Elves     77
The Long and Short of It: Giants and Little Folk     79
...And Some Visits with Even Stranger Peoples and Races     80
Ye Gods! Deities in Fantasy     82
Rainbow Warriors: Cultural Diversity in Fantasy     83
Looking for Some Hard-Headed Women: Fantastic Female Characters     85
If They Hit You in the Head, Keep Your Wits Gathered about You: Resourceful Lead Characters     86
Whiny, Self-Interested, and Undependable...I Can Relate to That: Fantasy's Antiheroes     88
Setting     91
What a Wonderful World: Fantasy Settings You'll Long to Visit      92
It Seems Like Old Times: The Best Fantasy of the Ancient World     94
Eric the Well-Read: The Best of Viking Fantasy     95
Cam-a-lot: The Many Faces of Arthurian Fantasy     96
Medieval-Doers: Fantasy's Favorite Setting     99
Celtic-kle Your Fancy: Fantasy in the Celtic Tradition     100
London Calling: The Grand Tradition of Fantasy in an English Setting     102
Easterns: Fantasy with the Flavor of Asia     104
Steampunk: Forward-Looking Fantasy in Victorian Settings     106
Alternate America: Finding Fantasy in a New World     108
Contemporary Style Is Not Just for Furniture: Modern Worlds with Fantastic Spins     110
Battle-Tested: Fantasy That Puts You in the Middle of the War     112
Borderline: The Weirdest, Most Whimsical Trips into Fantasy Realms     113
Fan-to-Sea: The Best of Nautical Fantasy     115
In Forest Deep: Fantasy Journeys into the Woods     116
Urban Developments: Big-City Fantasy     118
Fantasy Underground: Dark Trips into Dungeons and Deep Places     120
Running Hot and Cold: Fantasy Thrills on the Thermometer     121
It's All Academic: Fantasy Books for School Are Fun to Read     123
Rated RPG: The Best Fantasy for Gamers      124
Mood     127
Fantasy for Fantasy Lovers: Right down the Middle of Genre Conventions     128
Reinventing the Genre: The New Weird     130
Smashing of Bone, Spurting of Blood: High-Violence Fantasy     131
Washing of Face, Breaking of Nail: Low-Violence Fantasy     133
Passing Fancies: The Best Fantasy to Pass around to the Whole Family     134
Tickle Your Fancy: Fantasy to Make You Giggle, Smirk, and Guffaw     136
So Bad They're Good: Villains for Days When You'd Rather Join in the Evil Laughter     138
Badass Fantasy: Heroes Who Don't Take Anything from Anyone     139
Flights of Fantasy: High-Flying Fantasy to Read on an Airplane     141
Magic between Two People: Fantasy for Romance Readers     142
Steaming Up the Looking Glass: When Romance Is Nice, but Sex Is Better     144
It Was the Dark Lord in the Conservatory with the Candlestick: Fantasy for Mystery Readers     146
The Dark Fantasy Tradition: Spine-Chilling Fantasy for Horror Readers     148
The Mythic Past: Great Fantasy for Historical Fiction Lovers     149
Rocket Ship or Dragon Sticker? Fantasy for Science Fiction Fans     151
Seriously Fantastic: Fantasy for Literary Fiction Readers     153
Tiptoeing Hesitantly into the Real World: Literary Fiction for Fantasy Readers     155
Picture This: Graphic Novels of Fantasy for the Visually Inclined     156
Fantasy behind the Films: For Those Who Like to Compare Books with Movies     158
Language     161
Magic Words: Fantasy Writers with a Gift for Language     161
Worth an Epic Effort: Complex Fantasy to Challenge the Reader     163
Frothy Fun: Lighter-than-Air, Easy-Reading Fantasy     165
Repartee Animals: Dialogue-Driven Fantasy     166
Elevated Muses: High-Tone, Genteel Fantasy     168
The Slangs and Argots of Misfortune: Gritty, Low-Tone Fantasy     170
Details of Sound and Fury: High-Description Fantasy Signifies Everything     171
It's All about Me: Fantasy in the First Person     173
When Groan Men Scry: Puns as a Fantasy Tradition     174
Reading Aloud Allowed     176
Slow Build to a Big Finish: Fantasy for 4:00 A.M. Finales     178
Fast-Paced, Can't-Put-'Em-Down Fantasies     179
Never-Ending Stories: Lots of Pages but Worth the Weight     181
Never Toss a Dwarf: Fantastic Fantasies with a Low Page Count     182
Suggested Trilogies and Other Series     185
The Magic of Threes: Fantasy's Best Trilogies     185
Let's Make the Magic Last: Series that Hold Up from First Book to Finish     187
Award-Winning Fantasies     189
World Fantasy Award for Best Novel     189
Locus Award for Fantasy Novel     190
Mythopoeic Award Winners-Adult Novel     191
Mythopoeic Award Winners-Children's Literature     192
Fantasy Novels that Won the Hugo Award     192
Fantasy Novels that Won the Nebula Award     192
Index     193

Editorial Reviews

Offering readers' advisors a wide-ranging look at fantasy fiction, Hollands, an RA specialist at the Williamsburg Regional Library, VA, organizes over 800 titles by appeal factor, in terms both broad, like story, character, language, and mood, and highly specific, like steampunk, Arthurian legend, and even brevity. The detailed table of contents makes the book ideal for browsing, and the index of authors, subjects, and titles serves the reader looking for an exact match. Two appendixes address suggested trilogies and series and past winners for various awards. A brief history of fantasy adds some deeper context to the themed lists presented here. Award winners and appropriate YA suggestions are marked, as are recommended choices for readers new to the genre….[t]he text's accessible arrangement makes a handy ready-reference for brief questions, and the sheer number of possibilities all but guarantees readers will find something appealing. Recommended for all RA collections in public libraries.” —Library Jourbanal

“[A] very good introduction to the topic of fantasy fiction and provides an excellent starting point for referring library customers to authors and titles that may be of interest to them….Readers of fantasy fiction will enjoy this book and will find many other books to read. Thus, it will be a useful purchase for most public libraries. Academic libraries that support classes in fantasy literature or creative writing will also benefit from having the book on their shelves.” —American Reference Books Annual

“This latest volume in the Read On series is a wonderfully useful readers' advisory tool for the fantasy genre….[A] great tool for librarians who need a quick readers' advisory reference in this extremely popular genre. Plan to keep it handy when teen fantasy fans, always avid readers, come looking for more recommendations.” —VOYA

“The newest entry in the Read On readers'-advisor series, Fantasy Fiction is an important contribution to readers' advisory. Annotations for more than 800 titles are arranged by the familiar appeal factors of story, character, setting, mood, and language….Hollands' book is more than just another reference source for fantasy fiction. His pithy, insightful, and sometimes just plain funny annotations also make this nearly impossible to put down. The book will be helpful to readers' advisors working with fantasy readers but is bound to appeal to fans as well, so make sure copies are readily available for browsing….[H]ighly recommended for all public libraries.” —Booklist, Starred Review

“Whether you're exploring the genre yourself, building your library's collection, or helping your patrons find something fantastical to read, Neil Hollands's Read On…Fantasy Fiction is a useful toolbox. More than 800 titles are organized into 100 categories, and the quirkiness of some of the categories….[i]s one of the hallmarks of the publisher's Read On series.” —American Libraries

“This volume was compiled to assist librarians in providing readers' advisory services to adults and children who enjoy fantasy fiction. Some 800 titles in the genre are organized into approximately 100 thematic lists, which are then sorted alphabetically by author. Some of the sub-genres and themes highlighted include coming-of-age stories, the making and breaking of curses, Arthurian fantasy, barbarian warriors, graphic novels, and puns.” —Reference & Research Book News

“Librarians who do readers advisory for teens or adults will wonder how they ever got along without this funny, opinionated, wide-angle guide. Hollands has arranged approximately 800 titles, each with a brief, enticing annotation, into over 100 topical lists of 10 or fewer titles….Nearly all of the titles within those lists are in print and include enduring classics and books recently published. Though the focus is on books for older readers, younger ones are served by a few lists, and titles particularly recommended for teens are marked with a symbol. Award winners are similarly labeled, and also listed by award in an appendix. Other standard resources, such as Ruth N. Lynn's Fantasy Literature for Children and Young Adults (Libraries Unlimited, 2005) are more comprehensive, but not so current, or as engagingly written.” —School Library Jourbanal

“[A] near perfect guide to fantasy literature in all its guises from Clive Barker's Abarat (the first entry in the lovely index) to David Zindell, the last entry….One of the best reading list guides I've ever had the pleasure to read! Highly recommended for readers for their use at home and for librarians who have the same job as Hollands does — be they a general reference librarian or a children's librarian. It's that good.” —greenmanreview.com

“Read On—Fantasy Fiction benefits from Mr. Holland's knowledge of fantasy fiction. Every aspect of fantasy fiction's appeal is explored by Mr. Holland, including links to the mystery genre or Celtic history… June Michelle Pulliam and Anthony J. Fonseca have packed Read On—Horror Fiction with enough different points of entry into horror fiction to make it easy to help readers find something interesting.” —Collection Management

“Part of Libraries Unlimited's Read On series, Hollands's book lists over 800 fantasy titles arranged by their primary appeal factor. An excellent resource for quick lists of fantasy for readers and librarians” —Reference & User Services Quarterly

“Neil Hollands…compiles an informative read about the genre…This book is highly recommended for public librarians who engage in reader's services.” —Public Libraries

“…excellent resource for RA and collection development librarians and the readers they serve. . . . Hollands not only leads readers to new books (or old forgotten favorites) but gives the stumped librarian a place to find everything from culturally diverse titles to action-packed stories that will appeal to gamers.” —Reference & User Services Quarterly

From the Publisher

Librarians who do readers advisory for teens or adults will wonder how they ever got along without this funny, opinionated, wide-angle guide. Hollands has arranged approximately 800 titles, each with a brief, enticing annotation, into over 100 topical lists of 10 or fewer titles. Gathered beneath one of five rubrics dubbed "appeal characteristics"-Story, Character, Setting, Mood, and Language-the lists range from specific themes ("'You Killed My Father, Prepare to Die!' The Fantasy of Revenge") and familiar set pieces ("Armageddon Out of Here: Fantasy's Furious Final Battles") to character types ("Smaug Gets in Your Eyes: Fantasy's Formidable Dragons"), genre-expanders ("Steaming Up the Looking Glass: When Romance Is Nice, but Sex Is Better"), and even length ("Never Toss a Dwarf: Fantastic Fantasies with a Low Page Count"). Nearly all of the titles within those lists are in print and include enduring classics and books recently published. Though the focus is on books for older readers, younger ones are served by a few lists, and titles particularly recommended for teens are marked with a symbol. Award winners are similarly labeled, and also listed by award in an appendix. Other standard resources, such as Ruth N. Lynn's Fantasy Literature for Children and Young Adults (Libraries Unlimited, 2005) are more comprehensive, but not so current, or as engagingly written.
—John PetersCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal