Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy

Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy

Author: Douglas A. Anderson

Publisher: Del Rey

Published: 2003-08-26

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 034546981X

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Terry Brooks. David Eddings. George R. R. Martin. Robin Hobb. The top names in modern fantasy all acknowledge J. R. R. Tolkien as their role model, the author whose work inspired them to create their own epics. But what writers influenced Tolkien himself? Here, internationally recognized Tolkien expert Douglas A. Anderson has gathered the fiction of authors who sparked Tolkien’s imagination in a collection destined to become a classic in its own right. Andrew Lang’s romantic swashbuckler, “The Story of Sigurd,” features magic rings, an enchanted sword, and a brave hero loved by two beautiful women— and cursed by a ferocious dragon. Tolkien read E. A. Wyke-Smith’s “The Marvelous Land of Snergs” to his children, delighting in these charming tales of a pixieish people “only slightly taller than the average table.” Also appearing in this collection is a never-before-published gem by David Lindsay, author of Voyage to Arcturus, a novel which Tolkien praised highly both as a thriller and as a work of philosophy, religion, and morals. In stories packed with magical journeys, conflicted heroes, and terrible beasts, this extraordinary volume is one that no fan of fantasy or Tolkien should be without. These tales just might inspire a new generation of creative writers. Tales Before Tolkien: 22 Magical Stories “The Elves” by Ludwig Tieck “The Golden Key” by George Macdonald “Puss-Cat Mew” by E. H. Knatchbull-Hugessen “The Griffin and the Minor Canon” by Frank R. Stockton “The Demon Pope” by Richard Garnett “The Story of Sigurd” by Andrew Lang “The Folk of the Mountain Door” by William Morris “Black Heart and White Heart” by H. Rider Haggard “The Dragon Tamers” by E. Nesbit “The Far Islands” by John Buchan “The Drawn Arrow” by Clemence Housman “The Enchanted Buffalo” by L. Frank Baum “Chu-bu and Sheemish” by Lord Dunsany “The Baumhoff Explosive” by William Hope Hodgson “The Regent of the North” by Kenneth Morris “The Coming of the Terror” by Arthur Machen “The Elf Trap” by Francis Stevens “The Thin Queen of Elfhame” by James Branch Cabell “The Woman of the Wood” by A. Merritt “Golithos the Ogre” by E. A. Wyke-Smith “The Story of Alwina” by Austin Tappan Wright “A Christmas Play” by David Lindsay


The Gilded Ones

The Gilded Ones

Author: Namina Forna

Publisher: Ember

Published: 2022-01-11

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 1984848712

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INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY TEEN VOGUE "A dark feminist tale spun with blood and gold. Must read!" –Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death. Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat. Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she's ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself. The start of a bold and immersive fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther.


The King of Elfland's Daughter

The King of Elfland's Daughter

Author: Lord Dunsany

Publisher: WordFire +ORM

Published: 2022-05-31

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1680573756

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From “one of the greatest writers of this century,” a fantasy masterpiece about the aftermath of a marriage between a mortal prince and an elfin princess. —Arthur C. Clarke Before the fellowships and wardrobes and dire wolves . . . . . . there was the village of Erl and the Kingdom of Elfland. Considered formative to the development of the fairy tale and high fantasy subgenres, The King of Elfland's Daughter follows Alveric, who leaves home on a quest with a few basic instructions: locate the Princess Lirazel in Elfland, convince her to return to Erl and marry him, and together produce the first magical Lord of Erl. But what happens when a village gets exactly what it asked for? How does an elf learn to live as a human? Is love lost once, lost forever? The people of Erl are about to find out. Take a walk through the fields we know and see if you can spot the pale-blue peaks of the Elfland Mountains. Fans of J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Neil Gaiman will adore Lord Dunsany’s influential 1924 classic as much as those authors themselves did. “No amount of mere description can convey more than a fraction of Lord Dunsany's pervasive charm.” —H. P. Lovecraft “We find that he has but tranfigured with beauty the common sights of the world.” —William Butler Yeats “No one can understand modern fantasy without understanding its roots, and Lord Dunsany's work is immediately significant as well as enjoyable even today.” —Katharine Kerr “A fantasy novel in a class with the Tolkien books.”—L. Sprague de Camp


Sleeping Giants

Sleeping Giants

Author: Sylvain Neuvel

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2016-04-21

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 1405921870

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**A must-read thriller for lovers of The Passage, World War Z, The Martian or Interstellar** What happens when you make a discovery that changes everything? Deadwood, USA. A girl sneaks out just before dark to ride her new bike. Suddenly, the ground disappears beneath her. Waking up at the bottom of a deep pit, she sees an emergency rescue team above her. The people looking down see something far stranger... "We always look forward. We never look back." That girl grows up to be Dr. Rose Franklyn, a brilliant scientist and the leading world expert on what she discovered. An enormous, ornate hand made of an exceptionally rare metal, which predates all human civilisation on the continent. "But this thing ... it's different. It challenges us. It rewrites history." An object whose origins and purpose are perhaps the greatest mystery humanity has ever faced. Solving the secret of where it came from - and how many more parts may be out there - could change life as we know it. "It dares us to question what we know about ourselves." But what if we were meant to find it? And what happens when this vast, global puzzle is complete...? "About everything." * * * 'Bursts at the seams with big ideas. A sheer blast from start to finish. I haven't had this much fun reading in ages' Blake Crouch, author of the Wayward Pines trilogy 'A stellar debut which masterfully blends sci-fi, political thriller and apocalyptic fiction. So much more than the sum of its parts - a page-turner of the highest order' Kirkus Reviews 'Reminiscent of The Martian and World War Z, this is a luminous conspiracy yarn that shoots for (and lands among) the stars' Pierce Brown, author of Red Rising


Secondary Worlds

Secondary Worlds

Author: Wystan Hugh Auden

Publisher:

Published: 1968

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13:

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Discussion of the primary worlds of the senses and historical reality, and the secondary worlds of imagination and poetry.


A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien

A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien

Author: Stuart D. Lee

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2014-04-02

Total Pages: 590

ISBN-13: 1118517482

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This is a complete resource for scholars and students of Tolkien, as well as avid fans, with coverage of his life, work, dominant themes, influences, and the critical reaction to his writing. An in-depth examination of Tolkien’s entire work by a cadre of top scholars Provides up-to-date discussion and analysis of Tolkien’s scholarly and literary works, including his latest posthumous book, The Fall of Arthur, as well as addressing contemporary adaptations, including the new Hobbit films Investigates various themes across his body of work, such as mythmaking, medieval languages, nature, war, religion, and the defeat of evil Discusses the impact of his work on art, film, music, gaming, and subsequent generations of fantasy writers


Tolkien and C.S. Lewis

Tolkien and C.S. Lewis

Author: Colin Duriez

Publisher: Paulist Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1587680262

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"This book explores their lives, unfolding the extraordinary story of their complex friendship that lasted, with its ups and downs, until Lewis's death in 1963. Despite their differences - of temperament, spiritual emphasis, and storytelling style - what united them was much stronger: A shared vision that continues to inspire their millions of readers throughout the world."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved


The Tolkien Reader

The Tolkien Reader

Author: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

Publisher: Perfection Learning

Published: 1986-11

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780756910723

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A classic collection of stories, poems, and critical essays by J.R.R. Tolkien.


Tolkien Fantasy Tales

Tolkien Fantasy Tales

Author: J. R. R. Tolkien

Publisher: Del Rey

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0345466462

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Contains four volumes of stories, poems, commentaries, unpublished manuscripts, and translations of medieval poems by Tolkien, including tales of Middle-earth, the setting of his Lord of the Rings novels.