The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference

by Terry Brooks, David H. Borcherding, Sherrilyn Kenyon, et al.

Book Overview

Featuring an introduction by megabestselling author Terry Brooks, The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference is an A to Z coverage of the realm of the fantastic, offering writers of science fiction,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582970262
• ISBN13: 9781582970264
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Writer's Digest Books
• Length: 277 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A Very Usefull Book

An excellent Reference, I bought this book looking for information like: How many men in a legion? How far does a longbow shoot? And what is a plinth? I was not disappointed. Pro's: Easy to read, covers a lot of ground, including sections on: Arms, Armor and Armies, Creatures of Myth and Legend, and Magic. Well organized, with a complete 14-page index, and a nice cover. Cons: This book is a Fantasy reference, so if you're looking for solid historical fact, look elsewhere. It covers a lot of info, but doesn't tell you how, where, or when to use it. As a Reference I give it 5 stars, and I highly recommend it to beginning Writers and Fantasy Fans alike. If you are looking for a book on how to write Fantasy, check out: How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, by Orson Scott Card. Another Great book.

This book will stimulate your imagination.

Terry Brooks' introduction to Fantasy Reference is a writer's guide in disguise. He learned from his editor of fifteen years that "It is harder to write good fantasy than any other form of fiction." Why? "The temptation to free-fall through a story chock full of incredible images and wonderful beings can be irresistible -- but, when not resisted, almost invariably disastrous." The book is worth the price just for this introduction, but there is so much more.Chapter 1: Traditional Fantasy Cultures. These essays help writers get a sense of history for their fantasy tale to develop successfully. These include Feudalism, Christianity, Knighthood, Political Entities, and more. Each of the main topics is subdivided for ready reference. For example: Peripheral Cultures provides a brief history of the Mongols, Moors, Magyars, Normans, Picts, Saracens, Saxons, and Vikings. Chapter 2: World Cultures are a critical backdrop in any story. "Nevertheless, many fantasy novels today seem to be set in an unending series of northern European countrysides..." (Michael J. Varbola) This chapter discusses science, art, military, economy, etc., to help writers make the places real and visual. There are great ideas here.Chapter 3: Magic. The heart of a good fantasy is the magic that binds the world together or can rip it apart. Reading the history of magic helps writers understand spells, and know how the culture developed within Magic's realm. Chapter 4: Witchcraft and Pagan Paths describes ways to recognize a witch, what witchcraft is, traditions and religions, and herbs. An example is "weik" is an Indo-European root word having to do with religion and magic. Chapter 5: Commerce, Trade, and Law in Contemporary Fantasy begins "It is a misconception that the Middle Ages was broken into three factions: those who worked, those who fought, and those who prayed." (Sherrilyn Kenyon) This chapter discusses the infrastructure that made civilization work. It is filled with elements that any writer needs.Chapter 6: Fantasy Races shows the physical similarity or differences between (e.g.,) elves and dwarves; these are the descriptions defined by myths and legends, and are, therefore, plausible. You will find many other topics within this chapter that can help your definitions. Years ago I read about a hero who was killed, and at the moment of his death, he called out to one of the mythical gods to save him. Instead of dying, he fell into a different land in the body of an elf. I laughed so much when this protagonist called himself a Vulcan.Chapter 7: Creatures of Myth and Legend has an alphabetical listing of these creatures, the country of origin, the appearances, and magic. For example, a banshee lives in Irish legend, and wails when death is approaching. Lorelei is a water spirit of German legends. Chapter 8: Dress and Costume is about the materials, designs, clothing, and more. Many drawings accompany the descriptions to provide a rich and fertile fie

An irreplacable reference for the fantasy writer.

Fantasy is probably one of the most difficult forms of literature to write a story. While the genre does give an author freedom to create a breathtaking and beautiful world of his own, the author has to make that world believable, which can be quite a daunting task. Thankfully, the editors of "Writer's Digest" books have given us "The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference" so fantasy authors, newbies and pros alike, can do just such a thing.The book starts out with an excellent introduction by renowned fantasy author Terry Brooks, and his words effectively tells the reader the lessons a fantasy author must learn to make his fiction acceptable. Then comes the rest of the book, all of the material to help a fantasy author realize his potential.Although this is a reference book, I seriously recommend going through the entire book cover to cover, or at least skim over some of the important points. That way, you can get a sense of what this book really has to offer and you can return to the right pages when an idea strikes you.The book covers practically everything, from cultures to magic to religions to monsters to clothing to castle anatomy...almost everything a fantasy author could want at his disposal. The amount of information within this book is so immense it's nearly impossible not to find something to beef up a story.But at the same time, this book doesn't get too big-headed. While it does contain a lot of information, it doesn't brag about possessing everything known to man on the subjects found in the book. In fact, the book encourages the writer to branch out and look for other sources related to the information within the book. Chapter Two, World Cultures, especially encourages the author to research more information than the book could ever hold.All in all, "The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference" is honestly complete, at least in a sense. It encompasses all the important points a fantasy author should be aware about and would most likely find interesting or look up in the future. But at the same time, it encourages the author to do his own research so he can find things not even this reference could find. I highly recommend this book for anyone writing fantasy, ameteur or pro. It's that good.

An Invaluable Resource For Anyone Creating Fantastic Worlds

An invaluable resource for writers, game designers, and anyone else creating works of fantasy in which it is importnat to understand how fantastic worlds can be effectively designed and structured. Subtitled "An Indispensible Compendium of Myth and Magic" and co-authored by fantasy giant Terry Brooks and SKIRMISHER Webmaster Michael Varhola. Brooks provides a vision and overall structure for the book, while Varhola draws on both his real-world experience and imagination to create comprehensive chapters on arms, armor, and armies; fantastic cultures based on those of our real world; and traditional fantasy cultures. Other chapters cover clothing and costumes, magic, monsters and creatures, denizens of a fantasy world, and just about every other topic needed to fully explore this fantasic subject.

A useful tool for budding fantasy writers

As a writer working on my first fantasy novel, I found the book to be pretty informative - especially the parts about the various magic systems that could be used in a story. One of my pet peeves about the fantasy genre is a writer who uses a "point and click" style of magic, as though all the wizard has to do is point a finger at a foe and say PRESTO! I feel that the best magic systems in fantasy novels are the ones that involve preparation and cause and effect, and don't just involve making something out of nothing. One of the things that this book does is help the writer map out a believable system of magic, drawing on forms in our world such as witchcraft, voodoo, etc. The sections on using alternate cultures to base your fantasy worlds on (instead of the tired old Tolkien-esque European one) and weapons and armor were also very helpful. While I do agree with those reviewers that said some of the information in this book was nothing new to serious fantasy readers, I still found it to be very useful.