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Title: The Writers Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic by Writer's Digest Books, Writer's Digest, Terry Brooks ISBN: 1-58297-026-2 Publisher: Writers Digest Books Pub. Date: November, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.76 (17 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A book that even JRR Tolkien would refer to...
Comment: Once upon a time, I decided to try my hand at creative writing, and began a long search for books that would help me. I go to a local Border's bookstore and come across this book. After casually flipping through it, I figure that it'd be worth buying. As with just about every book I've purchased, I underestimated the power of this book. It's a valuable resource for fantasy writers as it gives information about magic and the various races and creatures of myth and fantasy. If you're into historical fiction (Especially concerning the Middle Ages), no problem. This book outlines the structure and daily life of a castle as well as help formulating your own armies and battles. Another valuable component is the presentation of a diverse range of cultures from around the world, allowing fantasy writers to get inspiration from places other than Europe (a traditional muse for the genre). Writers everywhere, I cannot stress enough how much this book should be a part of your reading materials.
Rating: 4
Summary: Very good, but not perfect.
Comment: I'm surprised by some of the negative reviews I see here. This book wasn't perfect, but it was very entertaining to read -- and, more importantly, is definitely helping out my writing.
References are important for fantasy. Bestselling author Terry Brooks cautions in his introduction that writing without basis in fact is one of the worst mistakes an author can make. Running away with your imagination is -not- a good thing. This is a much more helpful tidbit than saying something to the effect of "the sky's the limit" on your imagination. A completely imaginative fantasy novel would make no sense, and readers would be unable to relate. There aren't that many out on the market today -- publishers would turn down manuscripts like that. So, in essence, one -needs- references.
Hence, the Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference. It's entertaining as well as informative -- but very informative. The first thing I learned was about feudal titles -- Baronet, Viscount, Marchioness, as well as more common ones like Duke, Count, and Baron. This will prove to be extremely useful to a fantasy writer with only mediocre knowledge of feudalism -- I've already put it to use. But there was still so much more the author of this segment could have written about.
That seemed to be the main flaw of the book -- it was good, but it wasn't long enough. So much more could have been elaborated on. Sure, I learned a lot...but couldn't more have been included? Especially about magic. This was a fantasy reference guide, but most of the book was on medieval culture and fighting. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it. There's too much magic in modern fantasy, and not enough of the gritty medieval details. But I still felt more magic could have been included.
If you want to learn about how to write a workable magic system -- don't get this. Get Orson Scott Card's "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy". But if you want to learn tips to better your writing, by referring to existing cultures and conventions, or how to write about costume, by all means, get this book.
I'm certainly glad I did.
Rating: 5
Summary: Perfect addition to my library
Comment: I honestly can't believe some of the detractors of this book who go on and on about it not having enough detail to suit them. This book covers more than it's fair share of topics. I think the nay sayers are simply confused about it's purpose.
"The Writers Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic" isn't meant to be academic text simply because it's title has the word "complete" in it. I'm amazed that any fantasy writer would take things so literally. Instead, this book is meant as a concise writer's reference, an overview or compendium of various bits of knowledge for those who are just looking for a fast fact or a short reference on something interesting that they can further research themselves. It's more a book for ideas and a brief explaination of topics than anything else, but that doesn't make it any less valuable. In fact, much like "Everyday Life in the Middle Ages: The British Isles, 500 to 1500" -- another book I've reviewed that seems to get confused with indepth works of academia -- not having to search through mounds of college level text just to find a small bit of knowledge makes it that much more valuable to some of us.
I'm a writer of a dark fantasy series based in a feudal society and I've found this book not only invaluably helpful but also extremely easy to handle. Let's face it, there are just times we writers want a quick fact about etiquette, dress, manner, magic, etc and not an entire lecture. That's when I pick up this book, page to the correct section, and 9/10 times will instantly find what I'm looking for. It sure beats scanning mountains of academic text to find a simple fact or two.
The introduction by Terry Brooks explains most of this. The book is easy to handle and extremely easy to use with chapters written by various fantasy authors covering everything from fantastic creatures, dress, weapons, armor and armies, magic, witchcraft, castles, world cultures, various traditional fantasy cultures, and so much more! There's something for everyone and that's a rare find in fantasy reference books for writers today. I didn't expect, nor did I want, each chapter to go into excruciating detail on every topic presented. One or two pages of explaination are enough for me. After all, I'm a big girl. If I find something of interest I'm perfectly capable of researching it further on my own. I don't expect the authors to do my work for me, they've already helped me too much the way it is. Besides, if you're like me, then it'd take the fun out of writing because one of the reasons I write fantasy is to discover new facets about my world as I go. I LIKE to research, because that's when I learn.
"Complete Fantasy Reference" is really the perfect starter (primer) for those just beginning or considering the possiblities of a series set in a magical Medieval society; or, like me, for those of us who are already in the midst of their series and just looking for a touch of realism or a new idea to explore. I always have it close by when I'm writing. I honestly don't know what I'd do without it now. Highly recommend.
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Title: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card, Orson Scott Card ISBN: 158297103X Publisher: Writers Digest Books Pub. Date: September, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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Title: The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy by Darin Park, Tom Dullemond ISBN: 1896944094 Publisher: Dragon Moon Press Pub. Date: July, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Characters and Viewpoint (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Orson Scott Card ISBN: 0898799279 Publisher: Writers Digest Books Pub. Date: April, 1999 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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Title: The Encyclopedia of Fantasy by John Clute, John Grant ISBN: 0312198698 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth by Carol Rose ISBN: 0393322114 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: November, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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