New Book Celebrates the Value of Great Fantasy Literature

June 30, 2009 - PRLog -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin –  Crickhollow Books is pleased to announce the release of A Guide to Fantasy Literature: Thoughts on Stories of Wonder and Enchantment, by Philip Martin, offering insight into the broad appeal and lasting value of fantasy stories.

A Guide to Fantasy Literature is a wide-ranging, thoughtful look at the magic of fantasy storytelling and why it delights and enchants readers of all ages. The book discusses the nature of the best of fantastic fiction, from tales of Middle-earth and Narnia to many other examples of high fantasy, dark fantasy, fairy tale fiction, magic realism, and adventure fantasy tales.

The book also examines the major building blocks of fantasy fiction, and discusses the purpose and popularity of fantasy literature today. It includes material from original interviews and many brief samples of outstanding passages from the writings of the best fantasists, from J.R.R. Tolkien to J.K. Rowling, from C.S. Lewis to Stephen King, from Neil Gaiman to Brian Jacques, drawing an inclusive picture of a vibrant literary community across the ages.

While oriented to a general audience of readers, it also is of broad use for emerging writers interested in breaking into the speculative fiction genre. It explores fundamental techniques of generating creative story ideas, developing rich characters, building a sense of place, understanding the role of theme and plot, and generally crafting appealing stories of wonder and enchantment.

The author of A Guide to Fantasy Literature, Philip Martin, is a folklorist, award-winning author, and book editor who has worked with a wide variety of children’s and adult fiction. Previously acquisitions editor for The Writer Books (connected with The Writer magazine), he is now the series editor of an annual anthology on craft and career development for writers, The New Writer’s Handbook. He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

For more information, visit the website for A Guide to Fantasy Literature (http://www.fantasylit.com), or the publisher's site, Crickhollow Books (http://www.crickhollowbooks.com).

There is also a related blog. Creeping Past Dragons (http://creepingpastdragons.wordpress.com) is the companion blog to A Guide to Fantasy Literature. It’s a place for further discussions, ideas, insights, links to references and resources, information on new books, and other helpful material about fantasy as a literary genre and a creative exploration of spiritual ideas.

Recent posts discussed topics such as "Harry Potter, Magic, and Moral Caution" and the writings of G.K. Chesterton, whose writings greatly influenced C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, on the connection of childhood fantasy stories and spiritual beliefs.

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