Charlotte Burcher, Neil Hollands, Andrew Smith, Barry Trott, and Jessica Zellers, Guest Columnists
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The second edition of the Reading List, RUSA’s juried selection of the best genre books in eight different categories, was announced at the ALA Midwinter Meeting this past January. The winning titles showcased the rich pleasures that genre books offer readers. To celebrate the creation of the Reading List and to highlight the importance of genre fiction in library collections, I instituted an “Alert Collector” occasional series on genre fiction. The first column in the series focused on romance fiction. This second entry focuses on fantasy fiction.
Fantasy fiction is, like much of genre fiction, at the center of a storm. Motifs, approaches, and styles that were once its sole domain have spread out and entered other genres. Today it is often difficult to decide if a book is a fantasy or a horror or a romance title. To the dismay of some purists, sometimes it is even hard to tell fantasy from science fiction. Forms are changing, genre lines are blurring, and new spin-off genres are appearing. The richness of this genre world offers readers great new frontiers to explore, but it can be a bit of a headache for librarians trying to build collections, work with readers, or even shelve titles in the most useful manner.
To help us get our bearings in this fabulously rich stew of books, I asked the Adult Services staff at Williamsburg Regional Library (WRL) to look at the genre and map it out for readers and librarians alike. I thought of WRL because several of the staff there are known in readers’ advisory circles for their knowledge of fantasy fiction and their appreciation of genres in general. Charlotte Burcher, who wrote the “Historical Fantasy” section, reads broadly in adult and young adult fantasy. She is a member of WRL’s Looking for a Good Book team and a regular blogger on fantasy titles at Blogging for a Good Book. Neil Hollands, who wrote the “Literary Fantasy” section, is the author of Read On … Fantasy Fiction (Libraries Unlimited, 2007) and coordinates WRL’s Looking for a Good Book service. He writes for Booklist Online’s Book Group Buzz blog and reviews fantasy titles for Library Journal. Andrew Smith, who wrote the “Realistic Fantasy” section, is readers’ services librarian at WRL, where he implemented the library’s Gab Bags collection for book discussion groups and coordinates the library’s book groups and author visits. He is a contributor to the NoveList readalikes collection and develops reading lists as part of the WRL Looking for a Good Book team. WRL Adult Services Director Barry Trott, who wrote the “Epic Fantasy” section, is series editor for Libraries Unlimited’s Read On series and author of Read On … Crime Fiction (Libraries Unlimited, 2008). He also writes for NoveList and edits the “Readers’ Advisory” column in RUSQ. Jessica Zellers, who wrote the “Paranormal/Urban/Contemporary Fantasy” section, is electronic resources librarian at WRL. She is completing her first book on women’s nonfiction for Libraries Unlimited and is a regular contributor of readalikes and articles to NoveList.—Editor
Fantasy is one of fiction’s largest and fastest growing genres. While there are many definitions, a generous approach to the genre includes any work that contains magic or other elements that cannot be understood by the rules of reality. It also includes largely realistic works set in imagined variations on certain historical periods—the medieval era in particular. Although fantasy does have escape value and is enjoyed by many readers for exactly this reason, it is a mistake to think of this as the genre’s only appeal. The best fantasy fiction features a wonderful blend of action, strong characters, and detailed, atmospheric settings. Classical themes such as honor, love, war, revenge, responsibility, otherness, obsession, and loyalty are explored in fantasy tales. Subjects such as bigotry, greed, religious extremism, politics, abuse, and addiction can be examined in fantasy contexts without offending cultural sensitivities. Fantasy is a chameleon, taking in elements of historical, romance, crime, and adventure fiction, often in the pages of the same book. This article highlights five major types of fantasy: epic high fantasy, paranormal/urban/contemporary fantasy, historical fantasy, realistic fantasy, and literary fantasy. While this covers the largest subset of the genre, space does not allow us to fully cover other important subgenres: political fantasy, hero fantasy, dark fantasy, romantic fantasy and fantasy romance, humorous fantasy, fables, and science fantasy most prominently. Alert collectors should also note two other aspects of fantasy: First, an appreciation of series and their reading order is critical to the genre. Series gaps in the collection reduce the enjoyment of readers and circulation of every series title. Circulation of a series may languish until that series becomes known or nears completion, but then it will rise quickly. Second, while this article focuses on fantasy published for the adult market, collectors should understand that, more than in any other genre, young adult readers will explore the adult fantasy collection and, conversely, adult fantasy fans will appreciate young adult and children’s fantasy works. Awareness of authors such as J. K. Rowling, Lloyd Alexander, Susan Cooper, Brian Jacques, Diana Wynne Jones, Robin McKinley, Garth Nix, Christopher Paolini, Tamora Pierce, Philip Pullman, and Jonathan Stroud will behoove librarians trying to satisfy fantasy readers.
Epic High Fantasy
When many readers think of fantasy fiction, they are really thinking of epic high fantasy. These stories, often rooted in Norse and Celtic mythology, feature elegant prose, large casts of characters, arduous quests, and lots of magic. Objects play an important role here; rings, chalices, and swords are frequently keys to the success of the quest. A major appeal of epic fantasy is worldbuilding. These tales play out on a large map, giving an opportunity for authors to develop and explore their worlds. Series titles are common here as well. These tales take time to reach resolution.
Contemporary epic fantasy writers can hardly avoid being compared to the early masters. E. R. Eddison, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Lord Dunsany paved the way for writers like Terry Brooks, Ursula K. Le Guin, David Eddings, Raymond Feist, Jennifer Roberson, and Stephen Donaldson. Epic fantasy flourishes today with these writers and others producing exciting tales of high adventure. Readers come to these works looking for adventure on a sweeping scale, elegant language, and struggles between good and evil.
Bujold, Lois McMaster. Chalion series. The Curse of Chalion. New York: EOS, 2006. (ISBN 0061134244).
Perhaps better known for science fiction, Bujold is also a master of high fantasy. Here, she presents a damaged hero, betrayed by those he trusted, who returns to serve the royal family. As tutor to the young royesse of Chalion, former nobleman Lupe dy Cazaril puts his life and honor at risk to protect his charge and to revenge himself on his betrayers. Bujold presents a compelling mixture of magic, violence, and romance in this series starter.
Duncan, Dave. Tales of the King’s Blades series. The Gilded Chain: A Tale of the King’s Blades. New York: Avon Eos, c1998. (ISBN 9780380974603).
Duncan blends adventure, magic, politics, and swordplay into a satisfying tale. This series starter sets the stage, a land with a medieval/feudal feel, and the premise, that a class of men is raised to be bound swordsmen to their liege lords. Duncan tells the life of the swordsman Durendal, bound by powerful magic to serve the king. Durendal and his band are sent on a quest to uncover the secrets of the distant city of Samarinda.
Hobb, Robin. Farseer trilogy. The Assassin’s Apprentice. New York: Bantam Books, 1995. (ISBN 055357339X).
Hobb has made her name with several epic high fantasy series. The Farseer trilogy is Hobb at her best. She tells the story of a prince’s by-blow, trained as an assassin to serve the royal family. Hobb is noted for her skilled and creative world-building and for the depth of her characters. She offers up a fine mix of adventure, political intrigue, and romance.
Jordan, Robert. The Wheel of Time series. The Eye of the World. New York: Tor, 1990. (ISBN 0812500482).
Jordan’s series is an epic undertaking in worldbuilding. Over twelve books, Jordan takes readers on a far-reaching journey across his fictional landscape. The series starter introduces the heroes of the quest, who find themselves caught up in events far beyond their imagining, in a world where magic and physical prowess battle for control. Complex characters, twisting plots, and a deft blend of action and description make this a potent series.
Kay, Guy Gavriel. Tigana. New York: Roc, 1990. (ISBN 0670833339).
Kay is noteworthy for having been selected to assist in the editing of J. R. R. Tolkien’s work for posthumous publication. Tolkien’s influence is clear here in the varied cast of characters, the strong sense of place, and the story of a young hero, son of a vanquished kingdom, leading the struggle against the forces of evil. A prolific fantasist, Kay has a number of important stand-alone novels as well as series titles.
Paranormal/Urban/Contemporary Fantasy
Buffy the Vampire Slayer did a great service to humankind (above and beyond killing monsters, that is): she ushered in the craze for Contemporary Fantasy. Buffy showed the masses that fantasy can be fun, modern, quirky, sexy, and funny. Also known as Paranormal Fantasy, the books usually feature paranormal characters (werewolves, vampires, wizards, fairies, etc.) in a contemporary setting. City settings are especially popular (ergo the subgenre Urban Fantasy) and crossovers with other genres are hot, most notably with romance and erotica. Expect fast pacing, exciting plots, and hip characters.
Forerunners of Contemporary Fantasy include Charles de Lint and Emma Bull, both of whom are still popular. J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer are phenomena in their own right; other hot authors include L.A. Banks, Patricia Briggs, Rachel Caine, P.C. Cast, MaryJanice Davidson, Christopher Golden, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Sherrilyn Kenyon.
Armstrong, Kelley. Women of the Otherworld series. Bitten. New York: Viking, 2001. (ISBN: 0452286034).
Werewolves, necromancers, and other assorted denizens of the supernatural world drive the stories in Armstrong’s books. Expect a bit of mystery, a lot of romance, and female leads who steal the show. The novels work well on their own or can be read in sequence (ten to date); first in the series is Bitten.