The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference
Writer's Digest Books
Writer's Digest
NonFiction, Writing
Themes: Encyclopedias
*****
Description
From trolls and elves to castles and lords, from China to Mesoamerica, this book touches on all manner of material for the fantasy writer. Races, societies, nobility, magical practices, and many other topics are discussed, with an emphasis on using these elements to spark imagination and create one's own world with them. Each section is written by a different author or authors, with a foreword by bestselling author Terry Brooks.
Review
The title is a misnomer, if you ask me. They might have done better to print a larger book and go into more detail on subjects covered. I suppose
that the reader, if intrigued, should use this as a starting point for further research, but I still thought that a bit more information here might have
helped - a rough timeline of cultures or events, perhaps, to help those of us whose memory of history classes has faded to near nonexistence. Still, it
is an interesting book to page through for fantasy fans and aspiring authors alike, and certainly contains enough to get the imagination fired up for
further research or speculation. The more I page through it, the more I find, and the more useful I find this book. I recommend it, so long as one
realizes that it's not the "complete" reference the title claims it is.
Oh, and try as I might, I couldn't find an author or editor to attribute this book to, which is why I had to list it under Writer's Digest Books.
And as a closing note, this volume has been included in more recent editions of Orson Scott Card's Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction.