Diana Wynne Jones
Paperback | Pages: 234 pages Rating: 3.95 | 4540 Users | 383 Reviews
Particularize Epithetical Books The Tough Guide to Fantasyland
| Title | : | The Tough Guide to Fantasyland |
| Author | : | Diana Wynne Jones |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 234 pages |
| Published | : | October 5th 2006 by Firebird (first published 1996) |
| Categories | : | Fantasy. Humor. Fiction. Language. Writing. Reference |
Ilustration To Books The Tough Guide to Fantasyland
The definitive edition of a cult classic by the legendary Diana Wynne Jones.Imagine that all fantasy novels--the ones featuring dragons, knights, wizards, and magic--are set in the same place. That place is called Fantasyland. The Tough Guide to Fantasyland is your travel guide, a handbook to everything you might find: Evil, the Dark Lord, Stew, Boots (but not Socks), and what passes for Economics and Ecology. Both a hilarious send-up of the cliches of the genre and an indispensable guide for writers, The Tough Guide to Fantasyland has been nearly impossible to find for years. Now this cult classic is back, and readers can experience Diana Wynne Jones at her very best: incisive, funny, and wildly imaginative. This is the definitive edition of The Tough Guide, featuring a new map, an entirely new design, and additional material written for it by Diana Wynne Jones.World Fantasy Award Finalist
A Hugo Award Finalist (Nonfiction)
Define Books As The Tough Guide to Fantasyland
| Original Title: | The Tough Guide to Fantasyland |
| ISBN: | 0142407224 (ISBN13: 9780142407226) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Epithetical Books The Tough Guide to Fantasyland
Ratings: 3.95 From 4540 Users | 383 ReviewsEvaluation Epithetical Books The Tough Guide to Fantasyland
This is a satirical 'dictionary' of the many cliches found in fantasy fiction, principally of the epic/quest variety.I made the mistake of reading this right through - it probably comes across as much more humorous if dipped into occasionally. As I read it, like any overextended joke, it started to fall a bit flat. I enjoyed the author's novel based on this idea of 'tours' in fantasyland - The Dark Lord of Derkholm - much more, to be honest. This I rate as a 3 star read; good in parts but a bitHilarious! This is a wonderful book. I loved the section on Ecology (hey, it works out so prettily) and in general, it's very clever and post-modern and what have you... not in a bad "look how clever I am" sense but a "look how cliched things have become" sense. To me the latter is always good... (though I have my stances on the irony, but that's another matter, isn't it?)
At its best this is hilarious, piercing and painfully accurate. All of our favourite (and least favourite) fantastical tropes are impaled, pinned to the ground and ruthlessly ridiculed for the repetitive and overused cliches that they are. But it's also a little too much of a good thing. Hard as it is to believe, even laughing at bad fantasy gets tired after a while. Definitely one to dip into every now and again.
This is a wonderful, wonderful book. Its the perfect antidote to all those terribly solemn tomes full of wizards speaking portentously, hidden heirs to the kingdom, the sort who instantly become amazingly adept with a sword, and tediously earnest quests for magic McGuffins. In the guise of a guidebook (with a map - naturally), its actually an encyclopedia of fantasy tropes. Instead of a proper review, I cant do better than to give some examples:[Quote]ENDLESS QUEST: See QUEST, ENDLESS.NUNNERIES.
This is hilarious, an absolute must for every fantasy writer. The book is a mock A to Z guide of the tropes of fantasy. Now and then, I just open it randomly for a dose of laughter, read a few entries starting with different letters, giggle, and close it again, till next time. As I writer, I can say that if you write fantasy, you can't avoid at least some of the clichés described in all their ridiculous details in this book. It's up to you to use them in an original way, if at all possible. Of
Bloody brilliant. Can't believe it's taken me so long to read this bad boy!
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