Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference

When I stumbled across this book on the internet, I had already begun work on an extensive mythological novel, reminiscent of Tolkien (young one goes on an adventure and comes back richer in more ways than one—if he/she comes back at all). High fantasy or high adventure genre could best describe this work and my inspiration was, duh!—The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit books and especially Peter Jackson’s blockbuster films. The Complete Fantasy Writer’s Reference was and still is my essential and core source regarding the “world” of my book-in-progress. Divided into 10 chapters which detail everything you could possibly want to know about classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages— on which almost all fantasy is built as the primary setting (or milieu) as some professors insist. I cannot recommend this work enough. Let me sketch in a few details for the prospective buyer. Chapters 1 and 2 offer up cultures of the world for your consideration. Christianity (or religious foundations) political and economic systems (like feudalism and manorialism) are explained in detail. Church hierarchical titles—and only the Roman Catholic Church is covered—are provided in a convenient glossary along with some fascinating esoteric terminology. Knighthood is explained as well in minute detail. Chapters 3 and 4 cover something that nearly stopped me from buying this book—the occult. Yes, magic and witchcraft. However, much of the genre (not Robert Jordan, or the founding fathers: Lewis and Tolkien) but some authors (Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, and Terry Brooks) incorporate lots of “dark” magic and what TCFWR calls “occult sciences” into their stories with gaudy references to Yog Sothoth or Cluthlu. I don’t plan on going there, but it is true horror tropes are gradually making inroads into mainstream, magical realism, science fiction, and fantasy. Genre writing of the near future may end up a clouded and murky mélange of indistinguishable character and plot handles very soon. IF the trend continues to climb. Anyway, moving on— Chapters 5, 8, and 9 continue the unveiling of commerce and law, dress and costume (with a close to complete glossary!) and more glossaries of arms, armor, armies, and fantastic beasts. Speaking of beasts, let’s back up a bit. This is what makes fantasy, FANTASTIC in my book—the cool creatures. The use of magic, black or white, light or dark, is one definition of fantasy literature—witches, warlocks, wizards, sorcerers and the like. Science fiction-style creatures are another requirement. Goblins, trolls, dragons, giant bugs or bats, talking animals like birds or four-legged beasts like wolves or bears, tigers and lions. Even shape-shifters are creeping up, were-creatures and vampires feature in the Guide as well. The book ends with a meticulous, detailed look at the medieval castle, anatomy and siege. Italics and bold print highlight important terms throughout. Essentially this book is complete and definitive. But wait! There’s more! If you purchase this book you may find as I have it is only a starting point. Other books you may want to sample in tandem with this one: 1. Everyday Life in the Middle Ages by Sherrilyn Kenyon The above book is another indispensable guide which addresses Heraldry (a subject TCWFR touches on) among other encyclopedic information of the Middle Ages. Together, these books will put you A LOT closer to brimming over in Medieval lore, and ready to write. If you must write a report or a high school or college thesis, I recommend sneaking peeks at the DK Eyewitness children’s series. A word on this: Children’s nonfiction is a gold mine of information , all tailored to be as simple as possible to understand. Check these out at the local library. 1. Medieval Life 2. Knight 3. Castle 4. Any of the 150 additional titles: Amazon search—they're great! I will certainly be picking up these titles in the coming months as I flesh out my manuscript. Consume all this and you’ll be a bona-fide EXPERT on the Medieval time period: A.D. 500 to 1500, and more than ready create your own fantasies, historical novels—or that pesky term paper. So drink deeply, and go write away.

I ordered the book used in good condition, and it arrived in a week with wear. Not a bad experience. For context, I have had a few creative writing classes already, so I wanted some fantasy geared creative writing resources. This one is pretty broad. Theres a lot of quick facts and descriptions of your average historical themes that might inspire high fantasy. If you're looking for direction and inspiration this could be a helpful resource. If you're a total beginner and new to fantasy, this would be very helpful. If you're new to fantasy this might pair well with The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction by Philip Athans. By the time this book arrived I had already read Putting the Fact in Fantasy (a collection of essays), and A Fantasy Writers Handbook by Richie Billing (a rather thorough guide to modern fantasy). I highly suggest these two for anyone whose familiar with fantasy but wants more perspective on writing from the window of, well, fantasy. I wish everyone the best of luck in their endeavors. Hope my suggestions can help!

I purchased the Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference based on a recommendation from a friend of mine. Amazon.com pestered me for a review and some of the reviews posted so far seem to be rather polar, so I hope to be able to clarify some things. The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference is an excellent reference for a fantasy writer. Should you be so inclined to write a work of fantasy, I would encourage you to add this book to your library, as it contains lots of helpful information to assist an aspiring author with writing a fantasy story. That is to say, and this may come as a surprise to some, you will still need to write your fantasy story yourself. The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference cannot tell you how to write a fantasy story of your very own, and I wouldn't be recommending it if it made an effort to do so. Many seem to believe that writing is easy and that there is some magical solution to writing a novel and thus becoming the next J.R.R. Tolkien. On the contrary, writing is a challenging, ongoing process. You will not buy a book that you can read once and have it flip a switch in your brain that makes you a writer. If that's what you are looking for, I suggest looking for a different hobby. If you are going to purchase this book, keep in mind that it is a reference, a good reference, and that it is to be referenced when there is need. The benefit to owning this book as opposed to simply looking around online is that The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference organizes information prevalent to writing a fantasy story in a very concise format, which can be difficult to hunt down elsewhere. Is The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference really "Complete?" Probably not by every definition of the word, but it is thorough enough to cover most things that most authors might need to look up. I find that it is useful to have on hand when I forget the name of a particular style of sword, or when I need to look up what an experienced blacksmith might call a particular piece of armor. I love that it draws from real-world examples, which is wonderful in the sense that -- with a little creativity -- you can take those examples and expand upon them, adapting them to your world and making them believable to the reader. It won't help you if you don't already know what your world looks like, or what your peasants wear, or if you have no idea what direction to take your plot in. The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference sits on my desk, currently, next to my keyboard. When I am writing, I will pause and look at it when there is need. I have not read it from cover to cover, nor do I expect to do so. However what I do expect is that when I have need to look up something I am unfamiliar with that pertains to my story, this book will have an entry for it. So far, I have not been disappointed. The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference most certainly will not tell you how to write your story, and it is not some magical muse that will grant you supernatural inspiration. It is, however, handy to have around, since the information contained within is not something I want to have to remember.

There are a lot of detailed reviews on this book, as well as break-downs of the various chapters, so I won't try to match those with an in-depth critique of my own. What I will say is that if you're an amateur writer interested in delving into serious fantasy, whether it's for a short story you want to publish, or a longer novel project, this is the book for you. It has a no-nonsense quality to it, very straight-forward, and extremely accessible. The writers really delved deeply into the historical, cultural and technological background that makes up the backbone of 20th century fantasy literature and as an English major in college, writing papers on various fantasy sagas, this book also contains a lot of scholarly information, sources and authoritative citations. This was a really, really good purchase and even if you're not a writer, but a simple fan of fantasy, The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference is, I believe, a must have to truly appreciate fantasy literature, learning to read it as more than simple escapist fiction.

This is not a general fantasy reference. It's specifically about the medieval genre of fantasy. If that's what you're going for, then it's an amazing reference to have.

There are a lot of guides on the market that say they are going to help you with writing fantasy, but this is the first one I've found that actually has useful information. I've read a few guides that give generic advice about following the hero's journey or not being afraid of using fantasy stereotypes, which really isn't all that helpful if you are looking for advice on building a whole world. Where those books fell short The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference excels. With sections that deal with medieval social systems, building fictional societies based on real ones, and information on tactics and weaponry this book is an indispensable asset for fantasy writers.

Fantasy Reference is a dictionary of everything related to the Medieval Era of Europe and a bit more. This book is full of lists and descriptions of cultures, creatures, weapons, clothing styles, social titles, magic, and common structures. While the information in this book is very good, it is not inclusive nor does it claim to be (in fact in the culture section, the authors' suggest further study). The book itself is meant as a desk reference and a starting point for ideas, studies, and reinventing. What this book is good is for is when you can't remember the difference between a baron and marquess, the names of practiced trades, what the name is of a particular piece of armor on a full plate suit is called, the name of various cultures around the world, etc. It will not be the only reference book on your shelf, but more of an index to the rest of your reference.

Let me just say that I wasn't sure what to expect when I bought this book. It's touted as the "Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic" and I wasn't quite sure it would hold up to that title. Well, the title is not exactly the most appropriate, but this is still an amazing book! If you're looking for tons of illustrations, in depth descriptions, detailed myths and legends and detailed magic, well, this isn't the book for you, I'm afraid. This book should probably more accurately be called "Real World Historical Tidbits That You Can Cannibalize For Your Own Fantasy Setting". That's what it is, really. And it's a great book for that! Rather than explicit detail on just any one area, this book gives you several different areas which you can start from and continue on from there. Several world cultures from our history are detailed, as well as medieval european occupations and all about witches and wicca. The chapter on witches is actually extremely compelling. I found the portions I was most interested in -- arms, armor, clothing and castles -- to be a bit more on the fluff side, but still informative. This book could have been improved if it had a few more illustrations (sometimes a brief description just doesn't do it) and a bit more depth in a few areas. But it's definitely worth buying, no matter what. You will still love this book -- I recommend to lots of people that they pick it up (and they do!).