That's Fantastic

Imaginary Worlds, by Lin Carter.

A Ballantine Books “Original Adult Fantasy” that I got at Half, despite its terrible cover art by Gervasio Gallardo. From the inside blurb: “IMAGINARY WORLDS is a book about fantasy, about the men who write it, and how it is written. It is a joyful excursion by a man who himself loves fantasy.” – Power of Babel. Pretty much covers the state of the genre up to 1973. It was my Fantasy Bible for a while. Carter was an enthusiastic superfan more than a scholar (though the facts he does present are always interesting and enlightening), and not that great of a writer of fiction, but he helped pave the way for the explosion of fantasy that was to come.

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Literary History. Fantasy. Paperback.

Dragons, Elves, and Heroes, Edited by Lin Carter.

A Ballantine Books Adult Fantasy, an anthology of the legends, tales, and poetry that came before and inspired the “literary fantasy” of modern times, often translated by authors who are great in their own right.

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Anthology. Fantasy. Paperback.

The Young Magicians, Edited by Lin Carter.

A Ballantine Books Adult Fantasy, an anthology of the modern literary fantasists, from William Morris to Tolkien. Includes two Tolkien poems I found nowhere else for a long time: “The Dragon’s Visit” and “Once Upon a Time”. I notice Lin Carter puts his own story right after Tolkien, and the last in the book. One can almost hear him clearing his throat and pointing in comparison.

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Fantasy. Anthology. Paperback.

Fantasists on Fantasy: A Collection of Critical Reflections by Eighteen Masters of the Art, Edited by Robert H. Boyer and Kenneth J. Zahorski.

An anthology of “essays, excerpts and letters” by Fantasists on Fantasy. Great fantasists too, too many to list, but many of my favorites. It came out in the mid-80’s and I remember reading it on breaks at Mr. Gatti’s. A good gathering in one place.

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Literary Criticism. Fantasy. Paperback.

A Reader’s Guide to Fantasy and A Reader’s Guide to Science Fiction, by Baird Seales, Beth Meacham, and Michael Franklin.

I jumped on the “Fantasy” volume in the early 80’s and used it as a guide in seeking out new books and authors. The main body of the book lists the authors, their main works, their history and achievements, and why they are important to the genre. There is a table listing the series and their order, a list of what they believe to be absolutely necessary books in the genre, and a list of the awards that they have won. I got the sci-fi companion volume many years later and have hardly glanced into it, but hey … the collection.

Ranking: Essential … and Dispensable.

File Code: Guide. Fantasy. Paperbacks.

Dragons! Edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Duzois.

One in a series of Ace fantasy anthologies. I have this for the James P. Blaylock short story, ‘Paper Dragons’ which I couldn’t get anywhere else at the time. Now it’s in “Thirteen Phantasms”, so I suppose I could sell this book.

Ranking: Dispensable.

File Code: Fantasy. Anthology. Paperback.